If a man is able to sell his forehead as advertising space for $37,000, roommates Darren Braun and Shane Goodman thought they could easily sell their dorm room window as well.

"It was a Seinfeld moment. We thought, 'Hey, we can do that!' " Braun (freshmen-science) said.

Unfortunately for the duo, their scheme did not fly with university officials.

Last weekend, Braun and Goodman (freshmen-engineering) posted their window space on eBay, hoping to auction off their dorm room window in Pennypacker Hall as advertising space for a month.

"The location is prime," Braun said. "Our window looks out at the Bryce Jordan Center and Beaver Stadium. [We figured] whatever you want, we'll put up ... as long as it's tasteful."

Braun has since put his car up for advertising space, agreeing to place the ad anywhere on his Saturn that the bidder specifies.

Soon after their post, the roommates received an e-mail message from a man claiming to be the advertising manager of local bar and strip club The End Zone. Braun said the e-mail offered the boys an unspecified but "decent" amount of money for their window space.

Larry Nagle, owner and chief executive of The End Zone, said no such e-mail was sent. He said the message was most likely a hoax, since all advertising contracts must pass through him, and he was unaware of the offer.

Braun said the mystery e-mailer later wrote that he had contacted Penn State University to approve the transaction.

"[He said] the university told him that they do not condone such tasteless practices, and that the bar didn't want to go through with the transaction," Braun said. "I was pretty disappointed. We're just trying to make some money."

Even if a bid had been made, Assistant Housing Director Lynn DuBois said that, upon signing a housing contract, the students had agreed to an advertising policy that states "[t]he use of University facilities and/or property for commercial sales activities by individuals or non-University organizations is prohibited."

Ryan Steinburg, Residence Life area coordinator, was unsure how such a case would be handled by the university since advertising violations are rare.

"We usually get a referral either from the RA or the police department. A staff meeting would be held to discuss the incident," Steinburg said. "Based on how the case affects the larger community and on the students prior violations, we would either take care of it ourselves or send it to Judicial Affairs."

He said students' actions represent Penn State as a whole and ResLife's goal is to "uphold community standards."

Since Braun and Goodman are not permitted to accept any bids due to university policy, Braun said the pair plans to end the auction.