College students seem to love all things free.
Whether it means standing in line for hot dogs for lunch at Fall Fest or picking up pompoms on their way into Tiger Stadium for a football game, University students do not hesitate to pick up “freebies.”
Joseph Darbonne, a nursing sophomore, said the reason people enjoy getting things for free is a no-brainer.
“People always want stuff, and if you can get it without paying for it – that’s logic,” he said.
Lindsey Martin, a graphic design sophomore, said she likes to receive free gifts because of the people who give them away.
“It’s just nice,” she said. “Nice people make me happy.”
Darbonne said the collegiate atmosphere adds to students’ desires for freebies.
University Director of Special Events Randy Gurie, who oversees Fall Fest, has had plenty of experience with giving things away.
Gurie said the estimated 22,000 people who attended Fall Fest grabbed up the $120,000 worth of available items.
“It was all gone,” Gurie said.
All Fall Fest food and merchandise was donated. Gurie said there were 25,000 soft drinks, 14,000 bags of chips, 12,000 hamburgers, 8,000 bottles of water, 6,000 hot dogs, 7,000 ice cream cups, 5,000 popsicles and 5,000 iced coffees.
Other giveaways included sunglasses, posters, T-shirts, frisbees and school supplies.
Gurie said the purpose of Fall Fest is not just to give away free items but to welcome new and old members of the community to campus. Giveaways are simply a way to attract them.
“Most [students] live on limited means,” he said. “So any time there is free food or items, it’s the attractiveness of the opportunity.”
Yoshinori Kamo, a sociology professor, said students enjoy getting things for free because it is an idea they are not used to. He said from a sociological perspective, giving and receiving is viewed as a transaction.
“It’s an exchange – we pay something to get something back,” Kamo said. “A freebie is a violation of exchange.”
Kamo said receiving cost-free items often is unbelievable for many people.
“[They] expect to have strings attached,” he said. “People are understandably cautious.”
Kamo said just because an item does not cost money does not make it free. At Fall Fest, students and faculties exchange their time for a product.
“For some people, waiting in line for 10 minutes for a hamburger is not justifiable,” he said.
But Darbonne said a 10-minute wait or cross-campus walk is worth a free hamburger.
“We spend all of our time paying for things in college, and finding out that I can get a free hamburger without going to McDonald’s is awesome,” he said. “I’ll walk any distance.”