Last Tuesday Maxey Auditorium turned into an auction house to host the first ever Whitman Date Auction. The date auction, sponsored by Whitman Direct Action (WDA) in conjunction with Kappa Kappa Gamma and Phi Delta Theta, was a fund-raiser for WDA’s Safe and Sustainable Clean Water Conference being held in Mumbai, India over spring break.
“Overall the date auction went smoothly and was a really creative, interactive Whitman event!” said WDA member Aisha Fukushima.
Thirty-two students from all classes volunteered themselves to perform talents and be auctioned off for a dessert date which was held on the following evening; collectively, $568 was made. Local businesses including Starbucks, Super One Foods and Albertsons donated food and drinks that were served at the dessert and members of Phi Delta Theta donated their time as servers. Kappa Kappa Gamma members managed the event’s advertising.
“This event was particularly exciting and unique because we were able to do a lot of coalition building between greek systems, local businesses, community members and independent students among others,” said Fukushima. “The people involved were really diverse and were able to work together cohesively to make such a positive outcome.”
First-year and Kappa auction participant Jenna Dumpit echoed Fukushima’s sentiments, saying, “I thought it was a really good way to get the campus involved in the clean water initiative and make it fun.”
The top bid for an individual was $31; both Meghan Young and Alan Waxman received the maximum bid.
“I viewed the auction as an easy and entertaining way to help,” said Young.
Despite the genuine attempts of many community members to help WDA’s initiative, some saw the date auction as an inappropriate historical parallel.
“Some professors did not support the idea of auctioning people for the event due to its historical connections to oppression,” said Fukushima. “With that said, I would hope that this critique doesn’t overshadow the positive aspects of the event and its success.”
Originally, the event was advertised as auctioning off students and professors; however, after hearing resistance from professors, that part of the auction was dropped.
“Certainly it is important to be sensitive to the dark historical roots and oppressive practices that are historically associated with the auction of human beings,” said Meghan Young. “However, I find it equally important to move beyond those associations and consider the nature and intent of the current event and evaluate it with regard to those characteristics.”
Despite some negative response from faculty, many faculty had a positive impression of the fund-raiser.
The outcome of the fund-raiser suggests that many community members were able to move past the connections and contribute to the positive goals of WDA.
“Everyone who attended: dates, MCs and the audience: seemed to have a lot of fun,” said senior Kappa Joscelyn Barden.
