Money flies at Martha's Marathon

"Don't be stressed over $4100," Dean of Students Dr. Peter Konwerski said soothingly to several auction bidders.

The comment came from Konwerski towards a group of bidders at the end of an hour-long live auction on the final item up for bid, an Ivory Tour quad, at Martha's Marathon on Wednesday night in Columbia Square inside the Marvin Center.

A moment later Konwerski and fellow auctioneer Courtnay Oddman, a Senior and member of SA President John Richardson's cabinet, were congratulating the bidders on pledging the highest amount of the evening and wishing them well next year in the Ivory Tower quad they had won.

The Ivory-Tower quad was one of nine rooms up during the live-auction portion of Martha's.

Martha's is a GW tradition that was in its 46th year.

Room Auction Raises Thousands, but Fairness Questioned

The Residence Hall Association held its annual room auction, Martha's Marathon, on Wednesday Feb. 2. The auction gave students the opportunity to bid on rooms in Munson Hall, JBKO, Guthridge Hall, The West End, The Dakota, South Hall, Amsterdam Hall, and Ivory Tower. Students could also win choice room assignments through a raffle and through a poker and blackjack tournament that served as the theme of the night.

All proceeds of the auction and the raffle go directly to the University Scholarship Fund. This year, a total of about $26,000 was raised. The same event last year raised $23,385.

Martha’s Marathon began 44 years ago as a small auction used to boost school spirit. The original auction winners received lunch with the Speaker of the House, a curfew extension for freshmen, and a football autographed by the entire football team. $2,084 was raised to buy books for the library.