09 August 2009
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!
The University of the Philippines Association of Biology Majors (ABM) held its annual Buddy Bidding activity last July 20, Monday. Members and applicants alike flocked to the Vinzon’s Hall Activity Center located on the 4th floor of the building. The activity was set to start at 1:00 PM and last for three hours, culminating at 4:00 PM.
Applicants were tasked to line up in the narrow space right outside of the Activity Center for registration. Once the members had everything set-up inside, applicants were signing in and receiving their Buddy Points Logs, which doubled as their numbers for the bidding procedure. Those who were done logging in were lead inside and asked to be quietly seated. Shortly after everyone settled down, the Membership Committee officially initiated the year’s Buddy Bidding activity.
Hands holding numbered papers shot up into the air as the descriptions and schedules of ABM members flashed on the wall. Each applicant, upon raising his/her paper and stating whether he/she was proxy-ing for a fellow applicant, was given a chance to bid for the anonymous member using Buddy Points as currency, beginning with a minimum of 2000 points.
The highest bidder would be awarded the privilege of becoming the member’s buddy for the next month, which would serve as the time allotment for garnering the number of points he/she bid. There were also special cases wherein a single member or a pair of members generously took up the two highest bidders as buddies.
Bids generally started low but rose gradually as the activity went on. Numbers reached as low as 6,000 buddy points and peaked at 80,000, with the title of this year’s highest bidder was given to Leif Tan and his bid for member Lisa Corpuz. Members then decided to set the cap at this amount, permitting any applicant the desired buddy by bidding the roof value.
The activity closed at around 3:30 PM, ending half an hour earlier than anticipated. Applicants met up with their member counterparts and planned out their activities before evacuating the room.
ABM’s Buddy Bidding activity is a yearly tradition which lays the grounds for existing members and new applicants to bond and get to know each other. Through the buddy point system, the applicant-member duo engages in various activities designated by the Membership Committee as a way of breaking the ice and closing the gap between them.
Originally scheduled for the afternoon of July 17, the Buddy Bidding activity was postponed due to heavy rain showers and the subsequent suspension of classes.