“I’m going to have some fun now,” said JJ McEachern, director of the First-Year Center, as he left the Student Loan Fund Auction with a new pair of golf clubs.McEachern joined approximately 80 faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters in filling Bryan Auditorium last Friday night.
Under the leadership of senior Community Senate president Cynthia McKay and president-elect Megan Page, Senate organized the 18th annual Student Loan Fund Auction, raising a total of $8,210 ($5,032 in bids and $3,178 in monetary donations).
Senate made two distinct changes in the auction this year. First, they moved it back to campus and, second, they added a small students-only section. Here, the bidding was limited to students so they would not have to compete with bidders having bigger budgets.
“[The students’ only section] is a real neat concept and I hope it’s something we continue,” Page said. “But we need more students in attendance to really make it work.”
A silent auction occupied the first hour, followed by the live auction. Auctioneer Billy Ragsdale flavored the evening with many fast-paced quips, matched by one-liners from those in attendance.
When a basketball signed by Bill Bradley was brought up for auction, vice president of enrollment Randy Doss shouted, “Go Princeton!”
All items up for auction were donated, many by faculty and staff. Library director Mary Ellen Chijioke donated a home- cooked West African meal for eight, which sold for $240. A stool made by John Watkins (husband of associate dean of student life Dawn Watkins) went for $170.
Gertude Beal of the Correspondence Center put together a “survivor pack” in mimicry of the popular television show, stuffed with everything from munchies to nature books. President Don McNemar won the pack with a bid of $100.
Some items were donated by students, such as the Food for Peace vegetarian cookbook written by CCE student Robin Brinkmann, won by administrative assistant Debbie Bowman in the silent auction.
Other items were gifts from campus visitors, such as signed copies of two of poet Nikki Giovanni’s books and a signed copy of playwright Tony Kushner’s Angels in America script.
The highest bid of the evening was $370 for a table carved out of the Guilford College oak, the tree that served as a model for the school’s logo and that formerly stood by New Garden hall.
From soliciting, to sending out invitations, to securing a space, Senate had a year’s worth of work to do before hosting the event. However, Page and McKay’s detail-oriented approach kept everyone on task.
“I can’t think of one stone that was left unturned,” Steering Committee member Andrea Dodson said.