Gettin’ Down with Giving at the 2025 PILA Silent Auction

Last Friday, the premier event of the Fall semester arrived with style at the Forum Hotel. The 2025 PILA Silent Auction provided students with some necessary relief from the pre-Thanksgiving stress by breaking up Never-Ending-November with a fleeting moment where they could tear up the dance floor just like they did in high school. Through both the annual Silent and Live Auctions (the latter of which was held on Tuesday), members of the Law School community came out to support the Public Interest Law Association and all of their peers pursuing work in the public sector. Each year, ticket, drink, and auction proceeds go toward PILA’s Public Service Summer Grants, which support students working in low or unpaid positions between school years. [1]

Friday’s bidding was conducted in the classic silent auction style—bidders peruse the sheets spread out along the long tables in the front area of the event. All one need do to place a bid is write a name and a dollar amount on the page. The highest bid on the page by the event’s conclusion wins. With such a passive, amiable structure to the event, one would think that it would lend itself to serenity, decorum, grace, and perhaps a healthy dose of boredom. One would be wrong.

Evoking the image of a reverse Black Tuesday, bidders swarmed the tables seeking—nay, begging—to give just a little more money away for the slightest chance to take home one of the items. For much of the event, it seemed that there were more guests jammed into the auction area than there were on the dance floor, at the food table, and at the bar combined.

From a pack of five (5) pens to a jersey signed by superstar footballer Lionel Messi, the auction table featured a varied spread of items catering to an equally diverse array of interests, budgets, and tastes. Many student organizations chose to donate auction items, and through them, found a unique way to show their distinct personalities. Some real standouts included Shenandoah National Park passes from the Virginia Environmental Law Forum and Outdoors at UVA Law, a Throwback Snack Basket from Older Wiser Law Students, and this writer’s personal favorite: West Coast Wahoos’ Performative Male Gift Basket, complete with matcha set and polaroid camera.

Friday’s festivities also offered students the opportunity to bid on experiences. Several members of the Law School’s faculty and staff, including many fan-favorite career counselors and professors, offered the chance to dine with them and their families. Some, like Dean Natalie Blazer and Professor George Cohen, included fun activities in the deal such as winery visits and pickleball games. These items tended to be in particularly high demand.

One disgruntled guest reportedly felt “hornswoggled,” having lost out on the chance to dine with Professor Mitu Gulati after a last-minute winning bid was placed. When asked how he was holding up following the event, he could only respond with one word: “heartbroken.”

Though a limited number of bidders could ultimately win, the competition provided plenty of enrichment for each and every future gambling addict in the building. For instance, attendee Zan Haq ’28 bid on two items and said of the auction, “I bid hoping I would lose both, but I wanted the thrill of participating.”

Once attendees managed to squeeze past the table into the ballroom, they were greeted with a positively cavernous event space complete with a DJ booth blasting wedding-style bops, two bars, and a catering table. As the night progressed, the room became increasingly populated with finely dressed bundles of anxiety (none could possibly hope to outdo the sheer magnitude of style displayed by Professor Greg Mitchell at Wednesday’s Live Auction, but students certainly provided some close competition) seeking a stiff drink and a dance. Though the mammoth event space may not have been completely filled with people, it was nonetheless jam-packed with good vibes and the spirit of giving.

[1] https://www.law.virginia.edu/public-service/public-service-summer-grants

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Staff Editor — Emma Lawson ’28

hzk2ny@virginia.edu