Day 3: The Food "Fight"

My MFA program consists of just twenty-three students. Although we are presently working on the same project, we have been split into two writing teams. Although I like all my fellow classmates, I'm particularly fond of my own writing team of twelve for several reasons. One is the thoughtfulness with which we treat each other.

For example, from the first day, instead of each of us fending for ourselves when it comes to breakfast and lunch, we immediately have taken turns bringing things in like bagels, salads, snacks for the entire group. Last week one of my classmates even baked zucchini bread and today another sprung for several pizza pies. At first, it seemed like it would be just for that first long day because we decided to meet two-hours earlier and work through lunch to make a deadline, but it's stuck.

Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding last week because the other writing team thought the food was for the entire class. A few of them saw the food, came over to our side of the room and helped themselves. This ruffled the feathers of a few members of our team. I can see both sides. On the one hand, no one can afford and did not agree to feed an entire class of 23 students. It is kind of presumptuous to assume that the food is communal when you did not contribute. On the other hand, it does feel a little awkward to tell another classmate, "Put down that bagel!" After all, we may not be in the same writing group for now, but we are all still one team. So there was undeniably some tension between members of the two groups over the pilfering/hoarding of food.

There's actually a funny backstory to this. Well, funny depending on who you ask. Our program meets at a NYC studio where shows and films are shot. Earlier in the semester some classmates raided the craft services table of a Big Comedy Star's production. The head of that production saw them and tattled to our program director. We got a talking to, and like I said, it was both funny and not so funny. The tattler from Big Comedy Star's production said it was no big deal, just please don't do it again but then we were told by Mr. Studio Head that if it did happen again, we'd be asked to leave.

I myself am conflicted about it. It really is bad manners to help yourself to food that you KNOW was not meant for you. If you're responsible for your own lunch but then help yourself to someone else's who was expecting to be provided for, what does s/he eat? Then again, this was big-budget production. Even if it was in poor form to take the food, they can't spare a student a sandwich? I don't think it was necessary to go to the guy who runs the premises and complain, especially when you told our program director it wasn't a big deal. I don't know. Maybe the production assistants complained. Sometimes when you're on the low-end of the totem pole on a major picture, you're stingy with whatever few perks you do get.

Anyway, on my way to school this morning I stopped and bought a cake of cinnamon danish. This was expressly for the OTHER group. This way whatever folks brought for my group specifically for us would suffice but the folks on the other side of the divider had something as well. I don't know if it eased any tensions, but at least I tried.