Hundreds turn out for date auction

For a typical IU student who goes to Kilroy's Sports Bar on a Thursday night, the main goals of the evening generally include having some drinks while socializing with friends, followed by what many people consider dancing and maybe even the possibility to meet the one they want to take back to their place.\nBut last Thursday was not a typical night at Sports. Students might still have been participating in these activities, but they were not throwing around money and trying to find "the one" just anywhere. IU students were not partying for themselves -- they were partying to benefit the kids at the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.\nWhat was important was how much cash everyone was willing to cough up to win a date with one of the many guys and girls who were auctioned off for the IU Dance Marathon's annual date auction.\nThis year's goal for the date auction was to make about $4,000, said Dance Marathon President senior Ryan Bulan. In the end, Bulan said the auction was able to raise about $2,600 on the date auction, and about $1,000 from the cover charge fee ($1 per person went to the Riley Hospital for Children).\n"We have done the auction for the past three years," Bulan said. "It has become somewhat of a fund-raiser for us to make money for Riley's."\nThis time around, the date auction drew hundreds of students into Sports. The opportunity to meet and throw back a few drinks with "Real World San Diego's" Brad Fiorenza was an added perk to the evening.\nFiorenza kicked off the date auction by mingling around the jam-packed bar with eager students, while posing for hundreds of cameras. \nWhile he often visits college campuses across the country, this time Fiorenza said he did not know what he was getting into until he got to IU. He said the idea that he was here to support and help raise money for the Children's Hospital made the trip even more worthwhile.\n"When I found out the cause, it made me feel really good that I was here and able to help out a good cause," Fiorenza said. "Tonight, it's all about the children."\nFiorenza took his position onstage where he was the enthusiastic emcee voice of the night. He made it a priority that the theme "Tonight it's all about the kids" remained strong throughout the evening.\nThe auction carried on late into the night. Guys and girls shook their stuff onstage to upbeat hip-hop music, and in return were auctioned off to an assortment of generous bidders anywhere from $50 to $300. All of the proceeds will go directly to Riley's Hospital for the Children.\nMember of Dance Marathon junior Kyle Dietz said the thrill of being onstage and having people bid on him was fairly awkward. Dietz said everyone was a bit nervous, because everyone wants someone to bid on him or her and raise a large amount of money for the hospital.\n"It was all about the kids," Dietz said. "That was the main cause, and I am proud of what we were able to accomplish."\n-- Contact staff writer Kristin Huett at khuett@indiana.edu.