Sugar daddies funding uni study

Cash-strapped students seek older men to pay the bills, writes Maddison Northcott.

Young female students are selling their companionship to older men in exchange for luxury gifts, exotic trips and thousands of dollars to cover mounting bills during their study.

But despite the fact large sums of money change hands, there is usually nothing sexual about the meetings.

One Victoria University student said her 47-year-old sugar daddy was ‘‘basically like a boyfriend’’.

The 20-year-old said the man had approached her on SeekingArrangement, a website with millions of young female members.

The couple went out on a series of dates, the man worked in politics and the pair would discuss her studies over secret meals.

‘‘We had what I would call a normal relationship, not a stereotypical sugar daddy and sugar baby relationship.

‘‘He also bought the clothes I wore for our dates. I was given a certain amount, usually $250, for clothes.’’

The woman said her friends were supportive, and if she ever felt uncomfortable she could text her flatmates and they would create a situation for her to leave.

University students are understood to make up a large proportion of those looking for a partner through SeekingArrangement.

Women who registered with their university email address automatically qualified for Students are under enormous financial pressure and they’re being forced to resort to all sorts of means to make ends meet. additional site privileges.

In other cases, money was exchanged online for photographs of girls.

One user of chat site Reddit, an Auckland University student, said after posting an image of herself online, she received many requests for personalised photographs.

‘‘People would pay me to pose however they requested, with a piece of paper that had their username written on it.’’

Labour Party education spokesman Chris Hipkins said a lack of accommodation and loan eligibility had resulted students getting a worse deal than ever before.

‘‘Students are under enormous financial pressure and they’re being forced to resort to all sorts of means to make ends meet.’’

Auckland University student president Will Matthews said he had heard of others taking extreme measures to meet payments, including sugar daddies. ‘‘I can see why many students are turning to more desperate options.’’

Average student rents in Auckland had reached $210, $40 more than StudyLink living costs.