Dear Ethicist,
I want to attend an event for a club on campus because there will be free food, but I don’t really have any interest in the organization. Apart from the free food, I know I will gain nothing intellectually or recreationally from going. I am almost out of flex dollars and Cowan upsets my stomach, so I am always looking for cheap ways to change up my meals. I know clubs use the food to get people to come to their events, but I feel weird going to get the food and then leaving right after because I feel like I’m taking advantage of it. What is the ethical thing to do in this situation?
Providing food to bribe students into attending club events is a timeless classic. Many students just like yourself would also jump at this opportunity, regardless of what club they would be compelled to attend. Like you mentioned, there are many structural barriers that get in the way of a satisfactory diet. Students with dietary restrictions often have a hard time finding a range of options at the dining locations on campus. If they want to shop for groceries, this presents an economic barrier. If a student wanted to cook all their own meals, they would still be required to pay for a meal plan if they were living on campus, so it would be an extra financial burden. On-campus jobs hardly pay students enough for a month’s worth of groceries, and off-campus jobs are incredibly difficult to work into one’s class schedule, especially if they have additional commitments outside of class. If a club is offering free food to anyone who shows up, they are likely prepared for students like yourself who are desperate for an alternative to the food options currently offered on campus and are at peace with the fact that those students might not necessarily be enthused about the club itself. That said, I do think that the club reserves the right to require those who partake in the free food to stay for any planned presentation or activity, and you should be prepared for this outcome. If a club is offering free food to attendees, they may be trying to get a large number of people in the door to raise awareness for their organization. The more people they can get to their events, the more SGA funding they can potentially get for more free food! It’s a win-win. Additionally, while taking the food alone is not technically unethical, you would be toeing the line if you took an exorbitant amount or more than your share. Another factor to keep in mind is the size of the club and its event. If an event is well advertised, then it is probably safe to assume that there is enough food to feed the general public. If a club is smaller and the event was only lightly advertised to people outside of the club, then taking the food is likely to waste the resources they used to acquire it. I acknowledge your motive for taking advantage of an organization’s food resources, but/yet there are situations in which doing so is inappropriate, and you must analyze the effects of your actions on a case by case basis. And who knows: you might accidentally discover a club or organization that sparks your interest and gets you more involved on campus.
Other readers respond:
- As a club president, I think that this is shameful. Clubs work very hard on their events, and I know from experience how discouraging it is when you put time and effort into planning an event only for everyone to leave after getting food. We try and advertise to the general public not only for the benefit of the club, but to give people something fun and interesting to do in their free time. It makes me sad how people don’t even want to take an hour out of their day to learn something or socialize. Do better.
- I will admit, I have done this, but I always feel bad about it. While the club I attended didn’t require people to stay, they did make me feel guilty about leaving, which is almost just as effective. They started a presentation right after I put my food on my plate, so once I had finished eating I felt like I couldn’t get up and leave in the middle of the presentation. In my defense, I did legitimately have somewhere I needed to be and there was nothing on the flier about a presentation.
- I’m vice president of a club on campus and we don’t really care if people come and take the food. We have a decent amount of funding, so it’s not a huge strain on our budget and we usually have leftovers anyways. Our events are usually pretty casual and are just meant for people to show face and socialize with people they may not know. We have a ton of people in the GroupMe who aren’t always super active in the club because of academic or athletic commitments, so events are also a chill way for those people to stay involved and socialize. People always show up who aren’t in the Groupme just for the free food, and I would say about half the time they’ll stay and talk to people and get to know the club a little bit. If they want to stay, great. If they don’t, I’m happy to be the provider of free food for the student body.