The senior auction was not a slave trade, but seniors were sold. Some students even spent $30 on a servant, but it was all for a good cause.
Thirty seniors were auctioned off, and their serve date was Oct. 29 when they followed around their winning bidder and did anything that the bidder asked of them. $440 was raised at the SGA (Student Government Association) hosted auction and donated to the United Way to promote projects improving education, financial stability, and health.
“[I participated because] I wanted to help United Way raise money and because I wanted to participate since freshman year,” said senior Claude Joseph. “It was really fun to watch [as a freshman] because no matter who went up, the auctioneer usually made it fun.”
Most people who bought a senior used them to do their work, to have somebody to talk to throughout the day, or to take notes for them. Some people even bid on a senior just because they are friends. An interesting occurrence that happened this year is that some of the bidders were servants themselves and vice versa.
“I bid on Brandon Munoz for four dollars,” said junior Josue Gonzalez, “because he has been my friend since the ninth grade, is in Interact with me, and because he’s smart.”
Servant and bidder senior Watraie Jones bid on Joshua Rodriguez for two dollars also because they are friends. “I tried to help raise his price but it didn’t work,” Watraie said. “I also participated as a servant for Chelsea Collado.”
Senior bidder Chelsea Collado had a fun experience with the auction because she did not have to do her work and also had somebody to talk to in her classes especially because her servant, Watraie Jones, had his own servant with him.
Sophomore Catherine Gonzalez bid on Oney Pino for $10 and used him to help her with math, English and reading as well. Gonzalez’s servant, Oney, also helped some of her teachers.