Helen Lennon (left) and Chris Daley both third-year law students assist in auctioning an item. Elizabeth Fall photo.

18 October 00 | A campy, unconventional auction at the law school last week raised more than $45,000 dollars for minority student fellowships.

Among the items auctioned were a sing-a-long with feminist law scholars, haiku poems written by a lecturer, and an afternoon at the racetrack with a former dean. Another bid item was a martial arts demonstration by a law student, in which he chopped a watermelon in half while it rested upon Dean John Dwyer's stomach.

"It was a scream," said third-year law student and event co-chair Helen Lennon, calling the auction "a dazzling, eclectic experience." The auction has become more popular, and quirkier, since it began five years ago.

Held in Pauley Ballroom, the event drew more than 800 people, many dressed in wild costumes, wigs and body glitter. "The auction is the biggest social event at the law school," Lennon said. "The second it is over, students are looking forward to the next year's auction."

Students get decked out, Lennon said, to have fun and as an expression of style.

"Boalt Hall students have a hell of a lot of style and they aren't always able to express that in the halls of the law school," she said.

While the campy event is fun, the auction addresses an issue many law students take seriously.

"The student members of the Berkeley Law Foundation consider it crucial that we find creative ways to attract a diverse student body to Boalt Hall and produce lawyers who will serve all of California's communities," said Lennon.

Donations went to the foundation's Phoenix Fellowship, designed to encourage underrepresented minority students to apply to Boalt Hall and pursue public interest work. The fellowship program is funded entirely by the auction.