Night journey for fruit tests persuasion skills of exec members

An oft-repeated saying among dancers during the 30-hour marathon is "sleep is overrated." For DM executive committee members, that motto includes the night before DM.

At about 2 a.m. Friday morning, about 20 members of DM exec piled into five cars and drove to Chicago's South Side - to a warehouse known as the "Water Market." It's a tradition that extends back at least three years, according to DM Food Committee Co-Chair Ruby Sheikh, a Weinberg senior.

At the market, members of the exec team solicits donations of fruits and vegetables for use during the event. This year's haul, according to Medill senior Zach Samson, the other food committee co-chair, had less celery than usual but also included papaya and canteloupe.

Sheikh and Samson disagreed on how the produce was collected. According to Samson, the girls were sent out to ask for donations while the male members of exec waited inside the cars.

"The girls go out and beg for food," Samson said.

This approach is more effective, according to Samson, because the vendors are more likely to respond to requests for donations from females. Another exec member referred to the trip as "flirting for fruit."

Sheikh laughed when asked about the nickname.

"They're a little more perceptive to women," Sheikh said. "But last year, the guys did much better."

The trick to being successful at the Water Market, Sheikh said, is just to be nice.

"If you ask nicely, they'll give it to you," Sheikh said.

Exec didn't make it back to campus until about 6 a.m. Friday, Samson said, and both he and Sheikh were awake by 9:30 a.m.

Despite their different accounts of the trip, both Sheikh and Samson agreed it was successful. Inside the kitchen attached to the Louis Room sat boxes of bananas, apples, cantaloupes and oranges, ready to be consumed by DM participants.

"I really like bringing out trays of food," said food committee member Joanne Kim, a Weinberg senior. "It feels really good."

"This year, it feels good to be serving," said another committee member, Medill sophomore Grace Bahk. "It boosts my self confidence when everyone runs at me smiling."

Text: Nomaan Merchant/The Daily Northwestern
Photo: Tommy Giglio/The Daily Northwestern