University Relations has been making last-minute changes to the 2002-2003 Ohio State Faculty and Staff Directory since Nov. 8, removing by hand a strip-club advertisement from each of 10,700 directories which had not yet been distributed.
Dockside Dolls, a gentlemen’s club, ran three advertisements in the directories. The removed ad was a stand-out page reading “Need Tuition?” at the top, with a picture of a blonde woman and employment information listed below.
OSU spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk said the advertisement “crossed the line.”
“It invites our students to advance their college careers in a manner inconsistent with our mission,” Conlisk said.
The two Dockside advertisements still included in the directory are located in the employment and consumer sections and have a pictures of a blonde and a brunette woman, as well as information on gimmick nights such as amateur night and lingerie night.
Johnny Basinger, director of operations for Dockside’s 12-club chain, was upset at University Relations’ move and defended the content of the retracted ad.
“The ad does not mention anything about dancing,” Basinger said.
He said in addition to dancers, each club employs about 25 waitresses, a door woman and a hostess. Also, three-fourths of the bartending staff of each club is female.
Basinger, who tried and failed to get ads in the Duke University and University of North Carolina directories, approached the schools through University Directories, the same company which creates OSU’s directories.
He said he bought the ads several months ago, and urged University Directories to make sure the ads were approved by OSU. He said he had since been assured on several occasions OSU had no problems with the content of the ads.
Conlisk said OSU will refund $8,000 from University Directories to Dockside Dolls, which compensates the club for the advertisement as well as another which will be removed from the student directory. The other two ads will remain in the faculty directory.
Conlisk said University Relations plans to set up an advertising committee.
“They will set some advertising standards that would more clearly prevent us from accepting such advertising in the future,” Conlisk said.
The committee would also “set guidelines consistent with the educational mission of the university,” she said.
Though Basinger said he would not seek legal action, he said he was still angry about the omission.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s censorship,” he said.
