Marshall students participated in a date auction Tuesday to raise money for the Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant.

Members of the audience bid on participants of their choice and the highest bidder won a date with that participant.

Paulan Smith and Pamela Young hosted the auction and will participate in the pageant in April.

The Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant is sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and takes place each Spring semester of the academic year. The participants showcase their talents and are honored for their accomplishments on and off campus.

Participants will demonstrate their talents and beauty through a series of categories and be asked questions about current issues events and political issues. The winner will be crowned and move on to the district level of the competition.

Lillie Bodie said she learned about the auction from the flyers and they drew her attention. Bodie said her favorite part about the auction was seeing everyone that attended.

Smith said she was glad to have the event so that more people on campus could learn about the pageant. Smith said her favorite part of preparing for the pageant is coming together and sharing ideas with the other participants.

Smith said she has learned everyone has different interpretations from preparing for the questions with the participants.

“You would think things so simple would have a straight forward answer but everyone is so different,” Smith said.

Smith said she signed up for the pageant to get more involved on campus and said she is glad because it is “actually very fun.”

“Everyday its something new,” Smith said.

Six girls will compete in the pageant April 2.

Sage Shavers can be contacted at [email protected].