“The Bachelor” with a Salve twist

By: Erica Johnson
Posted In: Club News

You’ve watched all those reality-dating competitions and finally there is one that doesn’t require any gimmicks or backstabbing, just a little pocket money and a sense of humor.

Salve will again feature a bachelor auction to raise money for a worthy cause, StarKids Foundation. This Rhode Island based program raises scholarship money for low-income families to use toward sending their children to private schools.

In Ochre Court on Saturday evening, seven bachelors and seven bachelorettes will walk the catwalk and try to get their classmates to make the highest bid to take them on a date. Each couple will receive a pass for either dinner in town or to see a movie. There will also be a raffle for the audience featuring a free “dress by design” for women and surfing lessons for men.

Last spring was the premiere of this event with approximately 50 students attending the auctioning of male volunteers. The average bid to win a date was $25-30 with the exception of a bidding war that drew in $120 for one bachelor.

The event is being coordinated by Salve’s chapter of Sigma Phi Sigma, a national mercy honor society. This is the second year that Sigma has held the event and they hope to have it grow as an annual event. According to president Kate Iovieno, the group devotes themselves to raising money for other causes. A fact that many students on campus are unaware of about the organization.

“Last year it was just an idea someone had, inspired by an episode of Saved By The Bell,” said auction committee member, Betsy Dulik. “We decided it would be a good way to raise money for AIDS research (last year’s cause).”

A new modification for this year’s auction is the addition of women. “Immediately after last year’s event, people were inquiring why we didn’t include girls,” said Iovieno. After someone offered to make dresses for the bachelorettes, the planning committee decided to incorporate girls into the auction and hoped that more males would come watch this year’s event.

Tickets for the event are on sale this week in the O’Hare lobby for $1 or can be purchased at the door for $2 on the day of the event.

For questions or more information contact Kate Iovieno at (401) 619-0000 or email her at iovienok@salve.edu.