'Fruitless Thought' takes hold

For 30 minutes every other week, absurdity reigns on the fifth floor of English House. Fruitless Thought, a discussion group started by College freshman Harris Romanoff, meets every even-numbered Thursday at 7:47 p.m. to ponder such mysteries as, "Pomegranates -- Friend or Foe?", "Duct Tape -- The Ultimate Healer," and "Play-Doh -- Why Does it Smell so Much Better Than it Tastes?" And now, the University is paying for these flights of fancy, as Kings Court/English House has allocated $100 to $150 for the year to Romanoff's group. Fruitless Thought, which attracts up to 40 students a meeting, began on Oct. 6, Romanoff said. An avid V-8 drinker, Romanoff was constantly explaining to his hallmates why he loved the beverage. "So we held a V-8 seminar," Romanoff said. Romanoff gathered his floor together, passed out cans of V-8 to everyone in attendance, and spent twenty minutes extolling its virtues. "It took off from there," he said. "The V-8 seminar was a lot of fun. There's a lot of everyday things that people don't think about." Fruitless Thought evolved to provide a forum for discussion of these everyday things. Romanoff said there are two aspects to every meeting of the group -- the discussion theme and a "Fruit of the Even-Numbered Thursday." At every meeting of Fruitless Thought, Romanoff gives out an unusual fruit for the group to eat. These have included pomegranates, ugli fruit and starfruit. Engineering and Wharton freshman Lauren Arbittier, a charter member of Fruitless Thought, said of the fruit, "It's a good way to expand your horizons towards strange and unusual fruit." Arbittier said Fruitless Thought gives students a chance to unwind for a moment in the middle of the week. "It barely takes any time, but it completely takes your mind off whatever stressful thing you're doing," she said. Fruitless Thought can afford to provide the "Fruit of the Even-Numbered Thursday," because Kings Court/English House subsidizes the group, Romanoff said. The University funding came about in typical bizarre fashion, he added. "I was hanging posters in the elevator and I was summoned because it was a $50 fine [to hang posters without authorization]," he said. But rather than punishing Romanoff, Assistant Dean for Residence of Kings Court/English House Krimo Bokreta ended up giving Fruitless Thought money out of a discretionary fund maintained by the dormitory. "It's a small fund, nothing big, just to encourage that type of activity," Bokreta said. "That's the whole idea of what our house is about -- to find residents who can initiate programs." Romanoff characterized Fruitless Thought as a fun, but bizarre, way to relax. "It's sort of Seinfeld taken to a group level, with lots of random ideas," he said. "It's a time to just chill out." The group's next meeting will be on Tuesday Nov. 22 at 7:47 p.m. due to Thanksgiving. The topic is "Chapstick -- The Life Long Crutch."

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