"sex-worker stall" at freshers' evening

head_porter.cowspan@gmx.co.uk]
[CONFIDENTIAL]

Dear all,

as you know, tonight the "upper" village, Vachepont Magna, was kind enough to host its annual freshers' evening, when it lets College societies set up their stalls in the High Street. As you also know, it helps smooth relations between village and College.

A Cowspan alumnus who lives in the village and generally sends positive material into the national paper he works for has phoned me to say there was an SU stall with, among other things,condoms and literature on safe sex, as usual. 

What was different this year, he told me, is that among the literature was a leaflet for students who may become involved in sex work. 

Newer recruits to the Lodge may be surprised at this, but we do sometimes have students who enter into relationships, usually with older individuals not short of a bob or two. As long as they do not bring pastoral issues to us or we do not have reason to raise such issues with their tutors, the matter stays there. My predecessor as Head Porter remembered his predecessor telling him the same thing.

What my contact was concerned about is that the village's Lepston Hill Estate has had problems with street prostitution in the past. I know something of this due to my past as a Police officer, and know that women who are working the streets are unlikely to currently be students. But the alumnus' quandary is that if he doesn't send the copy in and another reporter who lives in the village and writes for a local paper does, it's going to look like he's covering up, part of a putative Old School Tie network. Never mind that this gentleman had a Lepston HIll Estate scholarship and the other lady went to a private school; I won't bore you with the details of who's more likely to know more about school ties.

There is, however, another dimension, in that if the Lepston Hill Housing Association Committee should complain to the Vachepont family, the Fellows will have to field phone calls they find uncomfortable and, as you know, it all comes back to the Lodge: we are the whipping-boys of last resort.

Add to this the definition of "sex worker" adopted by the SU that will classify any female student who posts for tasteful pics for a certain University rag as such, mainly so that male students who have limited experience of women beyond nannies and matrons can have a frisson in meetings to which the girls who pose for such pics tend not to be invited, and we have the possibility of reputational damage to College at a key time for our application for full University membership. 

As usual, press enquiries are to go straight to the College Press Liaison officer. Full term hasn't started yet, but I understand the Head Tutor will be talking to the chap who was staffing the stall.

On other matters, I am hoping the current impasse regarding communications and related matters will be resolved soon, certainly before the Buttery referendum.

More soon

Wat

Charles Watson Tyler
Head Porter
Cowspan College
Vachepont Parva 
[CONFIDENTIAL]