Proceeds from the auction went to Educate!, the student-run organization, founded by Amherst senior Eric Glustrom, that provides money to fund education for African refugees in Uganda and Rwanda. Now in its third year of existence on the Amherst campus, Educate! is one of the College's most popular student groups.
According to Carolyn Shea '08, an Educate! member and the organizer of the second annual Date Auction, one of the organization's mottos is "students giving to students." "It was really cool to see Amherst students giving money to help our Educate! students in Uganda," she said. Over 300 Amherst students attended the event and a grand total of $1,733 was raised to support Educate!'s sponsored refugees.
Mohamed Zeidan '07 and Glustrom presided over the crowd of students that squeezed into Valentine Dining Hall's Annex and those that peered over onto the floor from the mezzanine's balcony. Making use of the popular Borat impression he introduced to the campus at last year's RC Show, Zeidan hosted the event with great poise and wit. "We have many prostitutes here," said Zeidan, welcoming the crowd to the auction.
Bidding began with Jay Hepburn '07, a rugby player whose British accent was advertised by the emcees. The crowd urged Hepburn to take off his shirt, but only his sports jacket came off his back. A date with Hepburn went for a solid $47. After a few dates went for prices in the $20-range, Jeff Wan '08 sold for $30 as the emcees described his hidden talent as being his "superhuman strength that's actually hidden" and the fact that he can "bench press three times whatever Chris Gillyard '08 can." Next, Romulo Cabeza '08 went for $105 after Zeidan said Cabeza would show the crowd his happy trail if prices went that high. $105 represented a new date auction record.
Cross-country runners Meg Ray '08 and Laura Mortimer '08 were auctioned as a pair with the slogan, "They'll whip you into shape, anytime, anywhere." Zeidan said Mortimer loves to spend her Friday nights with a romantic cowtipping under the stars. The duo went for $75.
Leigh Rivlin '07, the "bombshell brunette" that graced many of the ubiquitous Date Auction advertisements, went for $45 after being introduced as "majoring in charm and seduction." After claiming an interest in underclassmen, she literally managed to charm the crowd with her impressive hidden talent – her ability to make a realistic dolphin call.
With an attitude that said, "Who cares? It's only fashion," junior Taylor Downs' company was bought for $30 and popular Resident Counselor Anne-Claire Roesch '08, nicknamed "Ace," was purchased for the same amount. The emcees, joking of her role as Bagels from "Flavor of Love" in the RC show, said, "[Ace is] most likely to be getting her bagels cream-cheesed by freshmen [on any given Friday night]."
Piper Petterson '07, co-captain of the women's swim team, then went for a whopping $200, in spite of being tagged with having "disappointing BO problems." The winning bid was reportedly split between members of her team.
Rob Denious '10 was the lone first-year to walk the runway. The emcees said Denious is leaning towards a major in "Women and Gender Studies, with a particular interest in you." They added, "His ideal date starts with a smile and ends in a kiss." A date with Denious sold for $45.
As the night wore on, more heavy sellers hit the runway. Grabowski danced down the runway and earned Educate! $95. Gillyard, after receiving a thunderous applause, raked in $65 and Katina Hubbard '07 and Simone Burke '08 went for $55 and $80 respectively. A dramatic bidding war for Andrew Rubenstein '07 broke out between Enis Moran '07 and Chelsea Draper '09 and Eve Turow '09, who bid as a team. The girls prevailed, dispensing $120 for Rubenstein.
"He's a runner and he's crazy," said the emcees of John Babbott '07, who sold for $75. Zeidan took in $65 dollars himself and as the grand finale, Glustrom went for an incredible $275, split among friends.
A former member of Educate!, Rivlin said she agreed to be auctioned off because she wanted to come out and support the group. She also wanted to participate because the idea reminded her of the date auction in one of her favorite episodes of "Saved by the Bell." "[The Educate! auction] was awesome. It was so well done. Everyone had a really great time," said Rivlin. However, she cited the wobbly runway as her only reservation. "All I was thinking about was not falling and having an extremely embarrassing moment."
On Sunday night, Educate! club members transformed Valentine's mezzanine into a romantic "faux restaurant" for the dates. An Educate! member made a menu of Valentine's dinner meal and volunteers served the dating groups a made-up version of that night's Valentine meal. At the end of the evening, Educate! served ice cream sundaes to all its guests. "He was so nice, so friendly," said Rivlin of her date. Zumbye Gillyard reportedly sang to his date.
Shea explained this year's auction completely exceeded her expectations. "I'm really glad so many people on campus came out on Friday," she said. "It was really cool to have everyone there." She added that she would like to thank the 28 students who agreed to auction themselves off and earn Educate! $1733. "They made it really funny. They put themselves out there. They're what made the show great. Only next year we'll try to make the tables less wobbly."