The Hawk

Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: News

Matt Magnifico, '07, struts his stuff to raise money for the AHA.

Several St. Joe's students chose to pay for love this Valentine's Day. Some refused to spend more than $15, others shelled out more than $50.

Brittany Raffa, '08, guessed how much she would sell for. "I'm hoping to go in the $30-35 range," Raffa said. Later that evening she sold for $40.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) held their First Annual Date Auction in the Hawk Rock Feb. 12. The auction was a fundraiser with the proceeds going to the American Heart Association.

"You don't actually go on your own date," said AMA President Erin Larsen, '08. "We're paying for you to go to our date party, which is open to everyone in the University." Winning a date with a contestant entitled the bidder to a night at Lucky Strike Lanes, a bowling alley with a club setting in Philadelphia, for the AMA date party on Feb. 27.

"We [the AMA] don't actually have a philanthropy, we're not required to, so we do different things," Larsen added. "We try to use our marketing skills…and do events that we can actually use our skills for. We choose different charities, and we thought for Valentine's Day the American Heart Association would be a good one."

The participants, who walked down the pink runway that zigzagged across the Hawk Rock, were representatives from a variety of different campus organizations. The masters of ceremonies were AMA members Shannon Quaile, '08, and Jamie Rij, '08, who presided over a crowd that filled the Hawk Rock from wall to wall.

A total of 21 dates were auctioned off in the course of the evening. Bids opened at $15. The dates sold for an average of $30, and a total of over $600 was raised from the auction alone. An additional $450 dollars was gained from door fees, donations, and a raffle that accompanied the auction.

The auction started off slowly, with the first few dates selling for the minimum $15. Rij said, "The baseball team really stepped it up…those guys went first and although it was awkward, they took it well."

However, as the event continued, placards were raised more frequently and the bidding amounts grew larger. The most expensive date of the evening was Kenny Pustizzi, '08, who sold for $70.

"I thought it was wildly entertaining," said Colleen McGrath, '08. "It was a lot of fun even though I didn't have any money to bid on people with, but I would definitely come again."

Rij, who expressed hopes that the auction will become an annual event for the AMA, said, "We've set a high bar for next year."

The next AMA event will be an Internship Fair to be held Thursday, Feb. 22 in the North Lounge from 5:30-7:30.

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