After two weeks of attending informational meetings for student organizations with meals and snacks provided, I realized I was the victim of bribery. It’s probably odd to complain about free food and I never thought I’d do it, but Northwestern needs to know that food isn't a motivation to work. If it were, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.
This all began at the Student Activities Fair, where organizations campaigned hard for members of the freshmen class (and transfers!) to join their ranks. As I joined the influx of new students at information booths, I found myself thinking that this fair was a war and all the groups were armed. Among the traditional weapons like posters and brochures lay unorthodox instruments not frequently used in warfare: candies and chocolate. It’s possible that some armies banked on the basic tenet of social psychology, reciprocity – I scratch your back, you scratch mine – to fill their lists. I mean, unless you’re completely shameless, saying “No, but thank you for this cookie,” is pretty awkward.
As the initial emails flooded my inboxes with dates, times and locations – I learned swiftly that Swift is not the same as Annie May Swift – students began to assemble their schedules for the coming weeks. For most clubs, “general interest meeting” was synonymous with (more) free food. It’s likely if I played my cards right, or had gotten my too-long-name onto more listservs, I wouldn’t even have needed to see the inside of Allison until this week.
Through dutifully attending meetings, I got to try pizza from three different establishments in a single week – something that awes and horrifies me in equal measure. I’ve had early dinners and late night snacks, the mid-day cookie-out of sheer gluttony and ice cream for lunch. Looking back, I’m disgusted not only by the amount of food I consumed, but by why I thought it was necessary in the first place.
I understand that signing up for a listserv is several ranks below attending an actual meeting, which requires leaving your dorm on the commitment scale. I acknowledge that food can make the difference between Netflix and NUCHR or sleeping and SAC. However, I feel like at Northwestern, genuine interest, general over-achieving and an inability to say no to “Do you like helping people?” are more effective at bridging that motivation gap for prospective, organization members.
Please don’t get me wrong, I like food as much as the next person. Ask my suitemates, I probably like it more than the next person. But as a freshman, I feel that in addition to being unnecessary, the avalanche of food added to the overwhelming nature of Wildcat Welcome as a whole.
The first few weeks of school were filled with too many people, too many activities, too much swag and– yes it’s possible – too much food. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach – but freshmen, especially Northwestern freshmen, don’t need incentives to get involved with student organizations. I would rather gorge myself on the opportunities that Northwestern provides me than on food that I could get anywhere else.