The air in Loker Commons was filled with hoots, bids, and excitement as 20 brave freshmen were auctioned off this past Saturday at the Freshmen Date Auction, an event thrown by the First-Year Social Committee (FYSC).

The proceeds of the event, totalling around $500, went to Globe Santa, a charity run by the Boston Globe which delivers holiday gifts to needy children, according to FYSC Chair Zachary A.Y. Pollinger ’09.

Bidding started at $5 and went up in $5 increments.

Ayla N. Bloomberg ’09—who, according to the night’s emcee, listed “Titanic” as her favorite movie and “Titanic: The Book” as her favorite book—was bought at the highest bid of the night, $60.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Bloomberg, who was bought by her boyfriend, Chris L. McConnell ’08.

“I think people were nervous, especially when they just got up on stage and in the first few seconds there were no bids,” said Drew G. Davis ’09, a member of the FYSC and the night’s emcee. “But the FYSC had people in the crowd trying to help keep the bids up.”

Some contestants dealt with the fear of rejection by coming to the event with friends who already agreed in advance to bid.

“A lot of us came just to buy our friends,” said Lewis E. Bollard ’09, explaining why he attended the event.

Before the bidding began, excitement about the event ran high among both attendees and contestants, many of whom were dressed to the nines.

“I’m a little nervous,” said Patricia Hao ’09, before going on stage. “But we just want to make a lot of money for charity.”

The date auction drew almost 100 attendees.

“We’re very happy about the turnout, especially for a Saturday night the week before break,” said Lauren E. Schwartze ’09, another member of the FYSC and a co-organizer of the event.

“This is a little better than our first event [in terms of attendance],” said Davis.

He said that the previous event, a Halloween party, had about 50 students show up.

Stephen R. Barchick ’09 added some spice to the night when he agreed to take his shirt off for a bid of $40.

After the event was over, students enjoyed a snack of chocolate chip cookies and juice, and many conversed with their new dates.

“It was fun, humiliating, and funny at the same time,” said contestant Meera E. Atreya ’09. “Even though it was humiliating, it was for a good cause and it was amusing so it’s okay.”

Prior to the auction, the FYSC had thrown two major events this year—a Halloween costume gala and a Harvard-Yale pep rally for freshmen right before the school-wide rally.

­—Staff writer Dina Guzovsky can be reached at dguzovsk@fas.harvard.edu.