Virgins' were all wet!

NZSPA Reporter

Christchurch: Kevin Sinclair strikes again. The result this time was an apology by Canterbury president John Anderson to the Christchurch City Council over Canta—the local student newspaper's "Dial-a-Virgin Service."

First Customer for the scheme was sleuth Sinclair. Three phone numbers were given in Canta, Sinclair rang the first from Wellington and found himself on to the City Council. Sum result was criticism from the Mayor (Mr. George Manning) and the Town Clerk (Mr. C. S. Bowie). Second number was students association. Said Mr. Anderson to Sinclair as quoted in' Truth and confirmed to NZSPA by Mr. Anderson: "This is not my idea of a joke nor the student association's."

Mr. Sinclair couldn't have rung the third number which was the City Council's automatic recording device for water-level in the city reservoirs. Despite the distinctive mechanical sound he would have heard had he rung. Mr. Sinclair quoted the number as that of the Student Health Service.

The offending article, tacked on the end of a longer serious article on sex and students, gave the Council number for girls needing the virgin service and the other two numbers for girls willing to face "a fate worse than death" or "happy to be in distress." Said Sinclair, or fellow sleuth Pat Plunket whose byline also appeared over the story: "One person who was unable to be tracked down for comment was Canta editor David Ritchie."

Said Ritchie: One person unable to be tracked down by me was Kevin Sinclair. He left a message for me to ring him collect. I did so twice. The only person there was Truth's cleaner, who refused to comment."

Mr. Ritchie added: "Anyone anxious enough to ring those three numbers deserved to be disappointed."

Footnote: Canterbury student journalists have some quiet comfort. For on the same page of Canta was an eight - point dissection of Truth-style reporting—called "How we slanted the good news." They think this just might have affected Sinclair's attitude.