By Gail Waterhouse
Students strutted their stuff in afterHOURS Thursday night not only to get some attention but also to help raise money for a cause.
Fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) and sorority Delta Zeta co-hosted the Zero Proof Date Auction, which was put on in partnership with the Office of Prevention and Education at Northeastern (OPEN), as part of Alcohol Week. The event’s proceeds went to STEP, Inc., a facility in the North End that offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation on a walk-in basis.
In the spirit of Alcohol Week, each person or group auctioned off had planned a date that was alcohol-free.
“Part of Alcohol Week is talking about making smart decisions,” said PIKE’s Vice President for External Affairs Vin Alexis-Laona. “Zero proof dates don’t involve alcohol, and we wanted to show that you can still have fun without alcohol.”
An array of different dates were auctioned, from the more traditional dinner and a movie to “CuddleFest ’08” to enjoying sparkling cider by the Charles River. The atmosphere seemed relaxed and joyous, with participants doing anything they could to raise a few more dollars.
One Pi Kappa Alpha pledge did a backflip, while another serenaded the audience singing the song “L-O-V-E,” by Nat King Cole. One participant even brought a puppy onstage to entice female bidders.
One of the most popular female dates of the evening was a group of five Delta Zeta pledges, whose date included watching a sports event of the bidder’s choice. The date sold for $210. One member of the group, Jacke Lane, a freshman physical therapy major, said she was surprised the bids went so high.
“I thought we’d only go for $20,” Lane said.
Pat Birney, a PIKE member and middler pharmacy major, was the most popular male who was not auctioned off as part of a group. His date sold for $100.
“I felt very exposed [on stage],” said Birney, who said he was “talked into taking [his] shirt off.”
But Birney said every measure taken to get a higher bid was worth it.
“It’s raising money for a good cause,” he said. “It was all a lot of fun.”
Brittany Flynn, a member of Delta Zeta and senior communication studies major, co-hosted the auction and said that she was happy with the event’s turnout.
“We’re excited by the numbers,” she said. “It’s good to see so many different people here.”
Alexis-Laona said the auction has been in the planning stages since the summer.
“[OPEN] contacted us over the summer and asked if we wanted to do the date auction again this year,” he said. “Once school started, we met once a week to plan.”
The planning seems to have paid off, since afterHOURS was filled with students waiting to make bids. PIKE and Delta Zeta were not the only student groups that auctioned off their members.
Other groups included the Resident Student Association, Chess Club, Hammered, Students for Environmental Action, fraternity Kappa Sigma and sororities Kappa Delta and Delta Phi Epsilon.
“We contacted a lot of student groups and asked them to participate,” Alexis-Laona said. “We wanted it to be an event for all groups.”
By the end of the night, Alexis-Laona said the event raised more than $1,280 for STEP, Inc.
