On Oct. 28, the Hush Hush Auction was finally back in-person after being virtual last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The auction was located on the third floor of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union in Council Chambers. The room was full of pink decorations and pink-themed pictures for Think Pink Week and breast cancer awareness.
Camille Pino — one of the hosts of the auction — said the turnout for the event exceeded Sigma Theta PSI’s expectations.
“It means so much to us to see so much people coming out to support not only us but our cause as well, our philanthropy,” Pino said.
Philanthropy is where you raise money for an organization other than yourself. Their philanthropy was to make strides against breast cancer and for the American Cancer Society.
“It was just so good to see so many familiar faces. It almost felt the same just before COVID [in 2019],” Pino said.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, in 2021, approximately 43,600 women and 530 men will die from breast cancer in the U.S. One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
The auction started off with introductions, then Greek Life chants, trivia, raffles and auctioning goody baskets.
During the auctioning of the goody baskets, the Drake-themed basket was presented very enthusiastically. When Pino was describing the basket, “Way 2 Sexy,” by Drake was playing in the background.
Alfredo Lezama — an auction attendee and Pino’s boyfriend — won a movie night basket that was sold to him for $180 and said he was glad he attended.
“I told her (Pino) if I get those movie tickets we’re going to watch Dune,” Lezama said. “It is always nice to show support to the sororities and it is for a great cause.”
The Daily Aztec tried to reach out to women attending the auction but they declined to be interviewed.
Caroline Hall — another host of the auction — said her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and recovered.
“It is about seven years cancer-free for her (Hall’s mother) now, that is a huge accomplishment,” Hall said.
Hall was in middle school when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and tried to help her out in many ways.
“I took on the role of being her nurse when she was going through breast cancer and thankfully she caught it early on so she didn’t have to go through chemo (chemotherapy) she just had to get surgeries but it was such a struggle,” Hall said.
Sigma Theta PSI ended up raising about $900 from the goody basket auction and raffle.
