Bids Roll in for Dates, Meals With Profs

Columbia’s second Faculty Charity Auction was held Thursday night to raise money for the nonprofit organization, Community Impact.

A total of $1002 was raised in support for student-run programs serving disadvantaged people in nearby areas. Faculty House lunches, signed books, and Dining Dollars were among the thirty-six items for sale. More popular auctions included meals with Deans Navratil, Quigley and Yatrakis, and rock climbing with Adam Cannon, who was voted by blog Ivygate as the “Hottest Professor of the Ivy League.”

The two-hour-long silent auction was organized by the Engineering Student Council and Columbia College Student Council, with an estimated 100-150 people in attendance. A steady influx of bidders kept prices rising, pushing “rock climbing with Adam Cannon” to the most expensive item at $70. Heather Lee SEAS ’10 commented that, despite the lack of a big draw this year, the council was quite pleased at the results, which beat expectations of $800.

“This was definitely a success, though we should’ve reconsidered its timing given midterms,” Michelle Tam SEAS ’10 said.

“The organization Community Impact was chosen to better foster engagement between class councils and the surrounding community”, CI representative John Rodriguez CC ’10 said, adding that future events were being planned to continue these efforts. “The funding will help bring change to nearby communities and keep our community service programs running.”

Reactions to the event were positive, with many excited by the offerings involving prominent faculty. “I’m here all because of David Helfand’s home cooked meal”, Eva Gonzalez-Ruskiewicz CC ’10 said. Many saw this as a rare opportunity to meet with administrators and professors in an intimate setting, while others simply enjoyed winning auctions. “I just got back from a tough midterm, so I really just want to win something to get my spirits up,” Mike Wymbs, SEAS ’11 said.

Some were surprised by the silent nature of the auction. Bids were written for each item and collected at the very end. “I keep getting outbid by one dollar on these things”, John Coombs SEAS ’09 said. “But it’s funny that you can see the laws of economics at work,” he added, noting that 50 Dining Dollars were selling for their exact street value.

The charity auction was first held two years ago and was postponed in 2006 due to scheduling issues. “Last time they had a big draw—Gulati offered round-trip tickets to the World Cup, which sold for about $2,000 each”, Tam said. “This time, we were hoping for more than thirty-six items since we don’t have such a big item, but we’re quite happy with our results nonetheless.”

ESC ’11 council members Mike Wymbs and Kamal Yechoor plan to make it an annual tradition by organizing it in 2008. “We’d like to try offering popular items in a live auction format and publicize more to make it an even bigger event,” Yechoor said. “We also would’ve liked to have seen some non-academic items, such as athletic gear and meals with coaches as well, but overall this is a really good way students can meet and network with professors”, he added.

The reporter of this article can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.