They said it was impossible. They said it would never last. But after a week undercover, Release is here to tell you that the age-old myth has been proven true. You can, in fact, survive only on free food given out by student groups during General Interest Meeting (GIM) week.
At the beginning of every semester at Binghamton University, many student organizations attempt to entice new members and expand their listservs through the three P’s: PowerPoints, presentations and, most importantly, pizza. Yes, the biannual GIM week has just passed, and from the March of Dimes to the Undergraduate Anthropology Organization, GIMs all over campus offer the promise of a free dinner in exchange for only your time. Theoretically, any student willing to sit through 10 minutes of E-Board introductions can skip out on buying Sodexo food for the night. It seems as if there is enough Nirchi’s going around to sustain the average college student, but is it true? To find out, Release decided to put this to the test. The challenge was clear. The rules were in place. Five days. No Sodexo. Only free food given out on campus.
Armed with only a box of cereal from Walmart (unfortunately, there is no such thing as a breakfast GIM), I set out to finish the week as a nomad, traveling from one club to the next to forge for food. I woke up Monday with confidence, waiting for my B-line/menu to arrive in my inbox. For my main course, I’d have pizza at Campus Climate Challenge, followed by dessert at either Peace Action BU, Rainbow Pride Union or the Vietnamese Student Association. As the day wore on, however, I realized a lot more planning would need to go in for the week. It also dawned on me that there is no such thing as a lunch GIM. After waiting it out in a rather cranky manner, I finally found some free cookies in the station lobby of WHRW 90.5 FM, as well as some chips at the Uppergrounds. In a better and more optimistic mood, I made my way to my first GIM. Luckily, there was enough pizza to go around so not only did I fill up, but I slyly took a piece for lunch tomorrow. This would soon become a nightly routine as there was simply no other way but to stock up. I saved cookies from Peace Action BU, more cookies from WHRW and some salad from the Pipe Dream office. I gained some culture at the Vietnamese Student Association that evening, enjoying traditional rainbow dessert, an interesting dish that I can only describe as a colorless bubble tea. Surprisingly good, I was wondering if the rest of my week would follow with such success.
Tuesday morning brought a new bowl of cereal and an abandonment of breakfast norms. Free brownies from the radio station lobby seemed to be a perfect mid-morning snack. My leftover cookies from yesterday and my heated-up Nirchi’s kept me going until 6 p.m., when I was finally able to get some vegetables from Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions (IDEAS), followed by some kale chips from the Food Co-op. My real dinner rolled around at 8 p.m. in the form of more pizza from the Undergraduate Anthropology Organization. Each day I could tell my Nirchi’s tolerance was building, preparing me for the week ahead. Bearcats for Israel broke the monotony with a falafel and shawarma dinner. Now with a newly restored level of protein, I realized that I could not package falafel for the following day, but the Hindu Student Council came to my rescue.
With just two more days left in the square clutches of a Nirchi’s box, I was more than excited for the week to end. On Thursday night, as I stopped by the March of Dimes for a slice, I was suddenly excited by what I thought was tomato and basil pizza. Were there more vegetables in my future? Sadly, no — it was just a slightly overcooked portion of sauce. Feeling dejected, there was nothing more to do than wait for deliverance to come in the form of a Wegmans dinner from the Society of Women Engineers. This was also probably the closest I will ever come to being in Watson.
It was finally the last day of the challenge. The previous night I was unable to find pizza, so to gain lunchtime nourishment I spent my afternoon at “International Coffee Hour,” watching the Olympics with international students. That night, I celebrated my near-achievement by coming full circle with another slice of pizza from the Women’s Student Union. My Nirchi’s cleanse was coming to a close, and I would like to hope that my cholesterol levels will recover one day.
During GIM week, I learned a lot about student life on campus, but mostly about myself. I learned that the human body has a pizza tolerance, and you shouldn’t surpass it. I learned that there are extremely large amounts of welcoming and friendly clubs at BU. Thanks to the Hindu Student Council, I learned that India is the world’s largest democracy. I made new international friends through the “Coffee Hour,” caught Bhangra fever and even got a free button from Peace Action BU. While the whole experience was surely worth it, I was happy that my week as a hunter-gatherer had ended. I was finally ready to rejoin the rest of civilization, knowing that the myth had been proven true — you can live off free food during GIM week.
Free Food Diary
Monday:
Bowl of cereal
Campus Climate Change — two slices of pizza
Peace Action BU — cookies
WHRW 90.5 FM — cookies
Uppergrounds — chips
Pipe Dream — salad
Vietnamese Student Association — rainbow dessert
Tuesday:
Bowl of cereal
WHRW — brownies
Black History Month movie night — popcorn
One slice of pizza left over from Campus Climate Change
IDEAS — chips, salsa, hummus, cherry tomatoes and celery
Food Co-op — kale chips
Undergraduate Anthropology Organization — three slices of pizza
Wednesday:
Bowl of cereal
One slice of pizza left over from Undergraduate Anthropology Organization
Bearcats for Israel — falafel and shawarma
Hindu Student Council — one slice of pizza
Thursday:
Bowl of oatmeal (ran out of milk)
One slice of pizza left over from Hindu Student Council
March of Dimes — one slice of pizza
Society of Women Engineers — pasta
Friday:
Bowl of oatmeal
“International Coffee Hour” — raspberry pastry, cookies, banana bread, a banana and cranberry juice
Women’s Student Union — pizza, guacamole, chips and cheese cubes