Here’s an idea for all ye dormers who have seniors graduating this year…. how about throwing a graduation party and an auction party combined?

Think about it. The seniors have a lot of stuff in their dorm rooms lying around waiting for disposal (or shipping home). Are there some items they want to lose before they move on to the next phase of their lives? There may be a plethora of old clothes, computer tables, tv stands, hand-me-down shoes and bags, potted plants that have grown too big for a dorm room, old textbooks, paperbacks, an old CD collection, mobile phone cases, old cellular phone models, printers and many more.

This party is easy enough to set up. Just invite all the seniors to attend a grad party orientation and they can pledge a few items for auction. They get to keep the money or the whole dorm can use the auction as a fund raiser for a project or for donating to charity. Or, the seniors can all pitch in with the money they’re going to make to buy something for the whole dorm to remember them by.

Next comes the creation of banners and party decorations. As the day of the graduation looms in the horizon, there will be more and more people who are willing to pitch in because they feel sentimental about a few friends leaving. A little effort and a tiny piece of their time can make all the difference in making the seniors’ graduation party a success!

Don’t forget to hand out flyers and assign a team to take care of the food. Everyone can pitch in a little something for some refreshments. Maybe you can contact some of the beloved teachers of the senior class to make a speech. Maybe the incumbent dorm president can do a little “passing the baton” ritual for the lower batch.

A graduation party is a sentimental affair, even when there’s something like an auction going on.