HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Randolph College students take notes during the brief lectures they were given during their field trip to the Chicken Ranch Brothel. The 11 girls were also given the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of two of the "working girls." HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Chicken Ranch Brothel Manager Debbie Rivenburgh, left, and "working girl" Alexis, take some time to speak to 11 students from Randolph College in Virginia who toured the brothel as part of their American Culture program studying consumerism Thursday, April 10. Advertisement

The 11 Randolph College students who visited the Chicken Ranch brothel were surprised to be met by a gaggle of media at the front door.

"This is really intimidating," one student said after walking in last Thursday.

The students, along with four professors and an administrator, trekked across the country from Virginia to visit Nevada as part of the college's highly-selective American Culture program.

Each year the program has a different theme, and this year it's American consumerism. The brothel fit into the portion of the curriculum focusing on body image and the role of sex for American consumers.

"We never expected to be able to come out here," Dan Stiffler, an English professor said.

"This is just one component of the overall consumerism theme."

In addition to visiting the brothel, the group also spent a day in Ely learning about water rights, Stiffler explained.

Stiffler said the students had been prepared for their brothel tour prior to coming by reading "Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf and watching a "20/20" segment with Diane Sawyer during which Wolf was interviewed.

The students also read additional material exploring both legal and illegal prostitution.

When asked about the group's attitudes about legalized prostitution, Stiffler said, "Most of them spoke in favor of it."

He added, "They had a lot of open-mindedness about coming here, but got a little nervous when they found out the media was going to be here."

The students and staff were ushered into the brothel's parlor where they heard several brief lectures about every aspect of the brothel, from the less titillating business side to personal testimony from two of the working girls, Alexis and Alicia.

Debbie Rivenburgh, manager, explained the hiring process and the health tests and background checks required for prospective employees.

The manager explained the most common way she receives requests for employment these days is through e-mail. In fact, the brothel's Web site even has an automated application form to respond to the inquiries.

Rivenburgh also emphasized the brothel's safe sex practices and strict rules that keep the working girls on site for all but one a day week, when they go in town for regular sexually-transmitted disease testing.

The manager was peppered with questions ranging from the orientation process (rather typical, mostly about employee expectations and behavior), whether the brothel is within town boundaries (it isn't), who makes up most of the client base (mostly visiting tourists from Las Vegas), and how many of the girls are foreign (none -- you have to have U.S. citizenship to work at the brothel).

Robert J. Fisher, whose firm Fisher and Associates Inc. handles all the marketing for the Chicken Ranch, gave the students a five-page analysis of the benefits of legal prostitution versus illegal prostitution and briefly spoke about recent state legislation allowing brothels to advertise.

Much of the information he shared, such as the fact there has never been a case of HIV transmission from a brothel, was met with nods or raised eyebrows by the students.

Next, it was time for the students to meet the two working girls.

Alexis, who has worked at the brothel off and on for 13 years, explained to the collegiate audience that when she first began working as a prostitute, "It was very rewarding for me."

She explained she is writing a book about what she learned about people from her vocation. She also earned a degree in college, and enjoys the fact that her job allows her to pursue her writing while earning a good living.

Alicia, who has worked at the brothel for 10 years, also said she enjoys her job, explaining that it allows her to take care of her family and enjoy her other business interests such as real estate investment.

One student asked how important body image was and if there is a certain way the girls are expected to appear in the industry.

"It's all about self-confidence," Alicia answered. "If you project yourself well, then people gravitate towards that."

Another student asked if there is any way for the girls to refuse a client.

The answer is yes, and Alicia went on to explain that they can refuse to serve any client for any reason, whether it was just a lack of chemistry -- "If you can't communicate when walking down the hall with them, then you can't give them a good party" -- to personal hygiene or even price.

One student, after conceding she understood that both girls said they enjoyed what they did and found it rewarding, bluntly asked, "But what about the actual job?"

"I like giving something back that they don't normally get every day, even if it's just a light touch or a laugh, giving them a little pep in their step," Alicia said.

That led to a brief discussion between the students and the girls about what most men really come to the brothel for -- which, according to the working girls, usually has more to do with companionship than sex.

"A lot of men just want the companionship without the complications of having a wife or girlfriend," Alicia said.

"We're not going to call them the next day," Alexis quipped, getting nervous laughter from the students. After the lecture, the students toured the facilities and were given the opportunity to speak with the working girls one to one.

Several of the students asked the media reporters following them around to leave for a bit because they had questions they weren't comfortable asking in front of the media.

Caitlin Clare, a 19-year-old communications major, said during the tour she hadn't formed an opinion yet on legalized prostitution. Still, she enjoyed the experience.

"I was interested to find out about their personal experiences," Clare said. "I was surprised to hear that she liked her job because the way it's presented, you think it's something they're forced into a lot of the time."

She added, "It was good to get a first-hand view, instead of just reading about it."

For Dora Dobrica, a 22-year-old comparative literature major, the most interesting thing about the brothel experience was their tour drew so much media attention.

Aside from that, she said, "It was good see in person how it all works."

"I liked hearing their personal stories, that they really are comfortable working here," Dobrica said.

She also said she is interested in learning more about the legalization process and the facts about the safety concerns in a brothel.

Elizabeth Ann-Rowlinson, experiential learning coordinator, said she was impressed with the presentation given.

"I think the girls view this experience positively," she said. "We try to open their eyes to different sides of an issue and then we let the students decide for themselves what they think of it."

Stiffler said the girls wouldn't be tested on the material covered during the brothel trip but there would be a discussion about topics it touched upon.