More than just a friendly auction

I had a lot of informal discussions with students Wednesday about the upcoming Valentine's Day Auction where about 80 students will be sold to the highest bidder for what I am sure is a good cause. The event is sponsored by the Panteras Unidas club, a club designed to promote understanding among different cultures. A number of elements Wednesday kept this as a hot topic among students in various classes. The newspaper staff has a commentary in the works as well as news coverage for a paper Wednesday.

Some of my background regarding this situation:
My own high school sponsored an annual "Slave Sale" where members of the newspaper and yearbook staffs were sold to bidders. The "slaves" would do simple tasks for their "owners" -- open doors, carry books, get lunch in the cafeteria, sing "I'm a Little Teapot" -- innocent stuff, really. This sale was changed to a "Buddy Sale" when I was a senior because attitudes changed (political correctness swept the country); one student had actually dressed in black face and chains one year. I was a participant twice. I'm pretty sure the school doesn't sponsor this event anymore.

That said, I think a simple auction of personal services is no big deal -- we see it all the time in society where eligible bachelors or members of the city council or whatever are auctioned off for a good cause.

It's when the "good, clean fun" turns into something more subtly sinister that I think a problem arises. The morning announcements proclaimed this event as an opportunity to "date someone out of your league," which equates the auction with some sort of warped prostitution (a term several students used Wednesday to describe this event). Later, I saw one of this school's only black students wearing a paper sign around his neck that read: "Can you afford me?" What messages does this send not only about the nature of relationships -- that some people must buy their affection -- but about the differences in races and how we treat people of color? If we had selected a black student in class to be an example of slaves or a Latino student to be an example of migrant workers or undocumented immigrants, or an effeminate student as an example of being gay -- what is the message? The message comes across as "It's OK to perpetuate stereotypes." I don't think that is the message that WHS or Panteras Unidas intends to promote, especially since the club is designed to break down the walls of stereotype and culture.

I think we have the responsibility as educators to at least help students see these concerns. Surely I can't be the only one who has concerns with how this event is being promoted to the student body. It seems to me that one way to bring this event back to the good, clean fun that was intended is to monitor more closely the announcements over the PA system in the remaining mornings of promotion. Then, pass the word to participants to tone down the sexual references and downplay the ownership/dominance aspect. Maybe it can still be a fun event after all -- I hope so.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.