October 19, 2001

Going Once. Going Twice. Gone.

By THOMAS BARTLETT

Was it an elegant solution to a real dilemma or a case of political correctness run amok?

Students in a dormitory at Wesleyan University in Connecticut decided last month to hold a "date auction" to benefit the families of World Trade Center victims. In an event dubbed "sell yourself for a cause," participants were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, who would then be entitled to one dance at the auction and, if the "purchase" agreed, a coffee date, courtesy of a local