Seventeen college students were sold to benefit charity.
The Loyola Asian Student Organization, along with organizations from four other Louisiana universities, auctioned off their members for dates to the highest bidder at the Tulane McAllister Auditorium on Feb. 27 to benefit VietHope Charity.
According to the VietHope’s organization leaders, their mission is to provide access to good education to financially disadvantaged students in Vietnam. Their goal for every child is to have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.
“Those children do not have the same opportunities that we have in America and all the proceeds go to them,” said Mary Thao Tran, president of University of New Orleans’ Vietnamese American Student Association.
Over 400 people attended the charity date auction, which raised over $3000. Loyola auctioned off three LASO members.
Biology freshman Yen Nguyen received the highest bid of the night with $440. Biology freshman Carol Kim Huynh and accounting and finance freshmen Elizabeth Dao each raised over $300.
“The date auction was a success,” said Jackie Nguyen, biology junior and LASO member. “Loyola got the highest bids in the auction for the third year in the row.”
Aside from the auctioning portion, each school presented a “comedic” video segment.
The event started with a video, starring John Nguyen and Neilson Tran, biology juniors.
The two guys played self-proclaimed nerds attempting to dance to different music genres, including rap, R&B and boy-band music.
“Seeing Neilson and John ‘make it rain’ (a dance) was priceless,” said Anna Tien, Tulane student.
While Loyola’s video and a few other videos brought on laughs, Xavier University’s video drew on a different reaction from the crowd.
The crowd grew silent as Xavier dedicated their video to Jessica Vy Nguyen, a Xavier student who was killed in a car accident.
In the video, her classmates remembered her as a beloved cousin, devoted student and a friend.
“The Xavier video dedication made the event something different,” said Maria Rossi, English literature junior and LASO e-board member. “It made it special.”
Aside from the video segments, each university presented a dance presentation.
LASO members rallied the crowd with a dance segment to Chris Brown’s “Run It.”
Tulane had an Indian inspired dance. UNO, Xavier and Louisiana State University each had a break-dance style, each dance consisting of a unique spin.
“This year there were many great videos and dances,” said Tien. “However, the video and dance that I enjoyed the most was LASO.”
According to Rossi, the event was a big success and we managed to raise a lot of money.
“We’re happy to support VietHope, along with other schools,” Rossi said. “Five schools were able to come together and bond for a good cause.”
After the event, the attendees were invited to a Date Auction after-party held at Café East. Seven local restaurants sponsored the event.
In addition to the date auction, LASO also hosts an Iron Chef function on April 2. Students from different universities and organizations will be preparing different cuisines. A few local chefs, including renowned Chef John Besh, are expected to judge the food.
Kieu Tran can be reached at [email protected].
