Students strutted down a catwalk as fast-talking auctioneer Thomas Boyd read their biographies, asking for higher bids. Each of the 35 participants in Love-a-Bull, a Student Government sponsored charity auction, did all they could to garner the highest bid.
Those in the crowd yelled their bids and threw their bidding cards in the air as they competed to win their dream date, who they’d get to accompany to other Valentine’s Day-themed events throughout the week.
The eligible students posed, danced and even twerked. Some students dressed to impress, while others made the crowd go wild by taking off their shirts. Sam Farnan dressed in a full lifeguard getup, complete with a red bathing suit and a whistle. Dan Nguyen sang his own rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” while the audience clapped and stomped along.
Most audience members kept it light by bidding on friends. The students being auctioned also had the opportunity to bid on each other, resulting in eight large group dates, the largest containing nine people.
Thomas Hamby received the highest bid at $110 by his sailing teammates. Other students with high bids included Solange Gorleku for $100 and Jozef Gherman and Sophia Constantine, each for $76.
While not many students had the courage to bid on strangers, a few, like Patrick Logan and Mallory Koay, took a leap of faith. Logan won Alexa Albright, and Koay won Taylor Adams.
Logan and Albright have been texting and plan to go on a date sometime soon. Koay and Adams decided to spend time together at an on-campus event on Valentine’s Day, where they drank Shirley Temples, ate chocolate and watched ‘90s cartoons.
The event raised a total of $1,317 for the Edible Peace Patch Project. The project pairs college students and adult volunteers with elementary school students, who work together to plant a garden at the younger students’ school.
The Edible Peace Patch currently has gardens at seven schools in south St. Petersburg. The gardens help students and volunteers learn about locally grown food and address the health-related issues of poverty. Learn more at facebook.com/peacepatch.
