An illustration of Aiden's profile. He has light skin, short brown hair and is wearing a blue shirt.

SUCH a fruity guy by Aiden H. '28

in which I prevent scurvy

As of last fall, I officially moved out of Maseeh and into 3W (Floorpi) in East Campus! With East Campus having been closed for two years of renovations, the current population is a mix of seniors who lived in EC during their freshman year, and then everyone else who never had the opportunity to live here prior. Floorpi is unique in that it is the only floor without any returning seniors, so the entire floor had to opportunity to “reinvent” our defining culture. To my very limited knowledge, we have started leaning more traditionally EC, while in prior years it was more isolated and less affiliated with mass EC culture.

Not entirely determined to overwrite history, though, we caught wind of an ancient Floorpi tradition: “fruitbowl”, in which everyone puts fruit in a bowl and eats it together (intense, I know). To signal that time for fruitbowl has arrived, someone bangs together two pots and pans outside of everyone’s door to annoy them into stopping psets and coming out to eat fruit.

Does this sound weird? Yes. It is actually that deep or just casual? Yes. Have floorpi baddies⁠01 This is just how we refer to ourselves. I dont remember who chose this name but it wasn't me lol grown slowly attached to the idea of us having fruitbowl every week? Yes. The rationale for such an event is two-fold:

  1. It’s a good excuse to just hang out and not work
  2. Scurvy? We all say that fruitbowl prevents scurvy and that scruvy is prohibited on floorpi, because we heard from alumni that fruitbowl prevents scurvy and that scurvy is prohibited on floorpi. Don’t ask me! It seems wholesome enough of a goal to go along with lol. I do not know if scurvy was ever contracted, if it’s just meme-adjacent, or some combination, but it is taken very seriously as a piece of pre-renovation floorpi history.

We had to nominate someone to take over this tradition, and for some reason that person was me. Now, about once a week, I put fruit in a bowl and serve it semi-professionally!

Sometimes, I send off-putting emails for slightly larger fruitbowl events, like this one from December 4th:

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
🥧🥧🥧
Citizens of Floorpi—a royal decree has arrived!
~
A little birdie 🕊️ flew to me, 
and told me of his misery!
It was dark and cold, ❄️
And the frosh were growing old. 👴
The end of semester is near,
And not one single pie has appeared!
In the spirit of ~accurate branding~
A leader came forth (me) 🏳️
Declaring that “pie must be eaten,
And scurvy must be beaten! 🍊
But why wallow in our sadness
From exams and classes
         When we can channel all our anger, 😡
Into artistic danger? 🖌️
And why choose what pies are right
To deserve our bite?
When indeed,
a pizza pie 🍕 is a pie, you see!”
So tomorrow night,
Long after the sun goes down,
You are all called,
To the greatest fruit bowl of all!
~
Tomorrow (12/04/2025) night @ 7:30 PM, there will be a bunch of free pizza (and good pizza! Not Cambridge Pizza!), a fruit bowl, and everyone should paint that mural they’ve been talking about! Or just come grab free pizza and eat fruit! Nonetheless be there! Or come late and finish off the leftovers!
yfn fruity guy,
Aiden”
Most of the time, though, I just send a text to the group chat the day of (which also when I typically decide on hosting it). I then run to Brother’s Marketplace, buy $40 of fruit,⁠02 don't worry I get reimbursed by our GRA, who gets reimbursed by MIT cut it up, and put it in the bowl while blasting music on our floor speakers:
Bowl of sliced apples and grapes on a small round table. A person stands nearby on a wooden floor next to a gray couch. Casual and relaxed setting.
A bowl of mixed fruit, including apples and grapes, sits on a red cushioned chair with silver armrests. A gray sofa is partially visible behind it.
A cozy room with a round stool displaying a bowl of mixed fruit, green grapes, and bagged oranges. Casual, relaxed atmosphere with a person standing nearby.
A person in jeans is preparing fruit salad on a wooden surface, with a large bowl of mixed fruit and a plate of neatly arranged orange slices. The setting is casual and relaxed.

Last fall, having found out that I only spent ~1/2 of the semester budget, I decided to host a floor brunch, in which we combined our only remaining brain cells the Sunday before finals started. We made: french toast, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs/breakfast tacos, salad, smoothies, coffee, tea, and of course, fruit!

A group of people gather around a table with dishes and drinks, sharing a meal in a bright kitchen. The mood is casual and social.
A bright kitchen with wooden cabinets and a long black table laden with food items like eggs, vegetables, and bread. A person cooks at the stove. Cozy, lively atmosphere.
Two trays of baked bread slices topped with a creamy custard mixture, dotted with raisins and bits of fruit. The setting is a kitchen with a cozy and homemade feel.

It was super cute and served as a nice cherry on top of the fall semester. But now that we’re back it in the spring, I’m very proud to report that 3 fruit bowls have already occurred, and zero confirmed cases of scurvy or other vitamin-C related illnesses!

Here’s to many more bowls, and even more fruit!

  1. This is just how we refer to ourselves. I dont remember who chose this name but it wasn't me lol⁠ ↑
  2. don't worry I get reimbursed by our GRA, who gets reimbursed by MIT⁠ ↑