SEXUAL assault has been a source of heated debate and grave concern within the University. However, one twisted form of this phenomenon has been so institutionalized that it has gone largely unnoticed despite its obvious assault on the very foundations of morality. "Dating auctions" which are carried out by various cultural groups at the University need to be reevaluated and condemned for their devastating impacts on self-esteem.
First, it is essential to look at the process of a date auction. In essence, a bunch of good-looking men and women are selected from various cultural organizations and placed on stage. People are invited to then bid on these selected individuals in auction-style, and the highest bidder often gets to go on a date or a Spring Formal dance with his or her newly acquired bride or groom (not unlike selling your body in prostitution). And to legitimize all this -- proceeds either go to charities or some other benevolent cause.
However, this activity is immoral, as it treats individuals as priced items or material goods for sale, parading and flaunting their "stuff" on stage for bids. It equates them with commercial items that are auctioned like paintings and old artifacts. No matter how noble a cause is, nothing justifies the treatment of human beings as objects for financial means, whether they volunteer for it or are asked to because they look good or the organization has a limited membership. It encourages disrespect for peers among students and is fundamentally degrading to the talented men and women we have at this University. The immoral nature of this activity definitely reflects a much needed reevaluation of its existence at the University.
In addition, one must wonder what the direct social implications of this activity might be for individuals participating in these auctions. Most obviously, participants could incur adamage to their self-esteem if they receive a low bid relative to those standing to their left or right. In an interview, Larry Carter, assistant director of Student Health's Counseling and Psychological Department, agreed that "People who are more introverted with lower self esteems may find the process unpleasant." Some individuals who have participated in such auctions also feel that they are an assault on the moral fabric of society. "Placing yourself as merchandize and putting a price on other people, even for charity, hurts individuals no matter what. It's awkward, humiliating, and not modern," says Yumi Hara, who participated in a date auction for the Japanese Club last year. Yumi claims she knows other individuals who have felt humiliated in some way by these auctions from other cultural associations as well.
Perhaps the most disturbing facet of these auctions is the fact that they are being left relatively unchallenged and unknown at the University. For instance, three of four experts I contacted from the Social Norms Institute, the Office of Health Promotion and the Counseling and Psychological Services were unwilling to comment on the issue because they were "unfamiliar with the program." Hopefully this column begins a process of informed dialogue about the immorality of this activity and its disastrous impacts on society in general and the University in particular.
Members of cultural organizations I have spoken to often dismiss the moral and psychological implications of these auctions and choose to emphasize that it is above all a "fun activity." While one would hate to make the University a dull place, it is critical to consider the implications of activities we are engaged in beyond the degree of pleasure they may offer. Plenty of other amoral, psychologically damaging activities are fun as well, and pleasure should not be an impediment in questioning the broader impact of these auctions on student well being and the overall moral fabric of this prestigious university. Others prefer to cloak this immoral act by pointing to its moral purpose in raising funds for charity. However, any money raised for a benevolent cause through an immoral act should not even be raised in the first place. Does prostitution suddenly become moral when one donates the proceeds to charity? Similarly, is the act of degrading individuals by placing money in accordance with their superficial appearance justified when the funds from these immoral acts are diverted to noble causes?
Date auctions should not just remain an institutionalized activity without informed debate on the issue. This is critical because how we view both men and women at the University plays into greater issues that have been in the limelight of late, such as sexual assault. From this perspective, a grassroots effort to eradicate a prevalent problem at the University may lie in studying and debating a much more obscure and unchallenged one. Till then, the culture this University and its organizations promote will be centered on the condescending question -- how much are you worth?
Prashanth Parameswaran's column usually appear Mondays in the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pparameswaran@cavalierdaily.com.
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