McKenzie Fleeman
mdf001@marietta.edu
The issue of fruit bowling, a trend at Marietta College where students roll fruit down into the sewer on Butler St., has worsened due to the installation of the Hermann fire pit. Rather than rolling fruit into the sewer, students are now attempting to throw the fruit into the fire pit in a new custom called fruit launching.
Dr. Richard Danford, vice president for student life, mentions that the new trend presents new hazards.
“Fruit launching presents a lot more risks for local foot and automobile traffic because you don’t know the level of control of the person launching the fruit,” he said.
This trend is probably not exclusive to Marietta College.
“I think you would find it historically on many campuses,” Dr. Lisa Phillips, dean of students at Marietta College, said.
The activity takes place on the outer border of campus, and the fruit has to cross Butler Street to reach its final destination. This means that the community members can see what is going on.
“I think when we think about our community, we have a lot of people in our community that have food insecurities. I think it is really hard if you are walking and you see all of this wasted food. It doesn’t reflect well on the campus community,” Philips said.
Several measures have been considered to stop fruit launching. One such measure is moving the fruit away from the exit in Gilman. The problem is that the students appreciate the grab and go option. It has also been discussed to serve fruit that is already cut up. However, there are problems with keeping the fruit fresh, convenience for students, and extra waste.
At this time there is no punishment in place for the students participating in the activity, however, Dr. Danford suggested community service at a local food pantry with a reflective element included to ensure the students appreciate their access to fresh fruit.
“I think it could be an eye opener for some of these students,” he said.
Danford says that security cameras could be installed to identify those participating, but it seems a little extreme and he thinks a student-driven campaign will be more successful than something implemented by staff.
Savannah Yoho, a sophomore and Parliamentarian of the Student Government Association (SGA) believes that other students could help put a stop to the food waste. She mentioned that the majority of the participants are usually freshmen, because the freshmen housing is right beside Hermann Bowl. Also, a lot off freshmen hear about fruit bowling from upperclassmen.
“I think a lot of it has to do with positive peer pressure, meaning we should encourage the freshmen not to engage in the activity,” she said.
According to Danford, “Conversations have been happening with the Student Government Association Culinary Committee regarding food waste and food security on campus.”
Jim Couts and his company Jubilee Soils is collaborating with Parkhurst Dining Services to collect food waste and produce compost without carbon dioxide emission. The soil produced then comes back on campus for the grounds crew to use where needed.
“His [Couts’] vision is to have the entire city of Marietta become a zero food waste community, starting with Marietta College,” Dr. Danford said.
Through the program, there will be compost buckets available for fraternities, sororities, and residence halls to recycle their waste according to Yoho. Students interested in getting a compost bucket, you can contact Fred Smith from the Physical Plant at smithf@marietta.edu.
There will also be an event held at Gilman Dining Hall in the near future. This event will raise awareness and create a visual to show students how much food is being wasted. The event will be a collaboration between SGA and Students for Environmental Awareness group.
