Only half of the money for the Villa Man Auction has been collected
“Lazy Sunday” performed at the Villa Man Auction on Nov. 17 and was bought by a group of six girls. However, the two groups haven’t had their date yet, despite the Valentine’s Day deadline. (Jackie Jeffers | The Beacon)
By Will Lyons, Staff Writer -- lyons14@up.edu
Valentine's Day has come and gone and so has the deadline for date payments for Villa Maria's Man Auction.
Three months after the auction only $4,825 of the $10,000 raised for Holy Cross charities has been collected according to Villa Maria receptionists' running tallies.
Many UP women who vouched to pay for dates and men who performed at the auction for them have yet to fulfill their duties.
On Nov. 17, hundreds of UP women crowded The Commons to bid on dates auctioned by Villa Maria Hall men after each group of men sang and danced on stage. The women were supposed to turn in their donations to the Holy Cross charities by Valentine's Day, but less than half of the money has been turned over to Villa.
Freshman Chelsea Shannon and five friends bought the group "Lazy Sunday" at the auction, but they have not paid.
"The only reason we bought the group is because one of our friends was interested in one of the guys," Shannon said. "Now both our friend and the guy are in relationships with different people."
Shannon says she has tried to contact the group of Villans to schedule a time for the date or to at least have them help defray the cost of their charitable donation with the money they would've spent on the date. However, she has not gotten a response.
"Some of us want them to just give us the money so us girls can go hang out together," Shannon said.
Freshman Michelle Korver, one of Shannon's group mates, would still like everything to go as planned.
"The date is just to have fun and it's for charity," Korver said. "Being in a relationship shouldn't change anything."
Some of the dates have gone off without a hitch. Sophomore Paul Auxier, part of the five-man group "UP Sailing Team," took a group of eight girls out on the town.
"It was a beautiful night," Auxier said. "The VIP Duck from P.F. Chang's and the Winterhawks game were great."
More than anything, the dates allow new people to meet each other, according to Auxier.
"The date started out kind of awkward, but after we had spent some time together we all had fun," Auxier said.
Ben Helms, Villa Maria hall director, agrees that after the charitable aspect of the Man Auction, the event is about seeing some new faces.
"One of the cool things is that Villans get to meet people they otherwise wouldn't get to meet," Helms said.
In terms of the dates that have not happened yet, Helms is confident the Villa men will pull through on the dates and the women will make the donations.
"Usually we have problems on both sides," Helms said. "I'd say most of the dates will happen in March and April. Last year we did have one happen during dead week, though."
The “UP Sailing Team” also performed at the Man Auction and took a group of eight girls out on the town. (Jackie Jeffers | The Beacon)
