It’s 10:00 on a Tuesday night and Club Chit-Chat, an adult entertainment venue on Clinton Street in South Buffalo, is doing brisk business. About two dozen men, most of them middle-aged, blue collar types in free giveaway t-shirts and baseball hats, are seated around the main stage drinking $4 bottles of Labatt and Molson, waiting for the next performer as the Rolling Stones blast from powerful speakers. A number of scantily-clad members of the club’s staff are chatting up some of the patrons. The aggressive “friendliness” almost brings a little bit of warmth to the place, until you remember that the friendliness is little more than a marketing ploy—the girls are looking for their next lap dance client, not friends.

The tall, bearded, well-dressed club’s owner steps into the DJ booth and taps a few buttons on the sound system console. The Stones fade away and are replaced by Christina Aguilera—“Dirty,” in particular, heavy on the bass. He grabs the microphone and leans into it, ready to announce the next act. “Gentlemen, let’s give a warm welcome to… Miss Mary! Be good to her, this is her first time dancing!”

It is in fact the first time dancing for “Miss Mary,” a 21-year-old student at Buffalo State College. But this doesn’t even constitute her first night at work; this is a trial-by-fire job interview. The audition goes well, as within a half-an-hour, Mary has herself a new job. She has officially entered the world of adult entertainment.

It’s very likely that you have seen advertisements requesting applicants for this job, or jobs like it, right here on campus at the University at Buffalo. Throughout September and much of October, simple fliers stating, “Exotic dancers wanted!” and a phone number were visible on bulletin boards in Harriman Hall, in front of Bert’s, and blanketing the Student Union. A number of September issues of The Spectrum featured large classified ads with content similar to the posters.

Being a stripper probably isn’t the first choice of part time job for most college students, but for many like Mary—who has now been working happily at the Club for almost two months—it would seem to be the best choice available to them. With a rising cost of living and tuition getting more expensive every year, traditional part time work is rarely enough to make ends meet for most college students.

“I already graduated college once,” said Mary. “I got an associate’s degree in horticulture in 2004, but I couldn’t find a job in that, so I ended up waitressing instead.”

After six months of sub-minimum-wage employment and living as best as she could on tips and other unstable sources of income, Mary made the decision to go back to school for a bachelor’s degree and enrolled at Buff State. With financial aid and help from family, she was able to make it work for two semesters, but money got tight at the beginning of the Fall 2005 semester. A new job was in order.

“I actually thought of stripping as a part time job without anyone suggesting it to me,” Mary said. “I know a few girls who have done it before and they made decent money without having to work 40 hours a week.”

So, she started job-hunting and landed an audition at Club Chit-Chat. The club had been advertising for new dancers at local colleges since the start of the semester and has received a fairly healthy response.

It turns out that tales of decent money working part time hours were quite accurate, according to Mary. “The hourly wage isn’t that much, but I can make over two hundred dollars in tips and private dances on a good night.” The only problem, she said, is that those part time hours can be scheduled somewhat inconveniently. “I usually have to work from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. at least one night a week, but it’s not really bad, because it’s always on a day when I only have afternoon classes.”

The work isn’t for everybody, of course. Dancing topless around a pole in front of a crowd of enthusiastic—and often inebriated—men requires a lot of self-confidence and strong nerves. “The first night I danced, when I auditioned, they asked me to do three songs, but I couldn’t do it,” Mary said. “They let me do just one instead, and even that was hard. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to puke on stage.”

For Mary, it has gotten easier with time. “I still get a little nervous, but it isn’t nearly as bad now,” she said. “Practice and experience made me a lot more comfortable.”

Mary does have one warning for any ladies who are considering exotic dance as a profession—be prepared to make a hefty initial investment. “The costumes that the dancers wear can be pretty expensive,” she said. “Some of the sex shops will give discounts to girls who work at local clubs, but even then it’s a lot of money. I spent three hundred dollars buying stuff before I could even really start working.”

On the whole, Mary wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a foray into her area of employment, with a few words of warning. “You have to be comfortable with yourself and with other people,” Mary said. “This is like extreme customer service—up close and personal. You have to be comfortable enough to work in an environment you’re not used to and wear a smile while doing it.”

Maybe that’s what it comes down to: being comfortable wearing a smile, because when it comes to this job, you won’t be wearing a whole lot else.