On my first try to bring free treats to the people of Morningside, I wrote “Free Snacks!” on the box of Barnum’s animal crackers and placed it on a high table in a Roadman lounge. Then, I observed the unfolding events from a safe distance sitting at another table across the room. This method did not lure many students to take a closer look at the box, but it did create a moment of joy for one stranger. The girl was with her two friends as she spotted the Animal Crackers. After a first hesitant glance in its direction, she pulled one of her friends towards the table and excitedly fished out one of the packages. She then asked her companion, “Do you want one too?” to which the friend replied with “No.” Then, as quickly as they had arrived, they disappeared into another hallway. The last thing I could hear one of them say was, “Are those supposed to be the Barnum animals from the Greatest Showman?”

My second attempt consisted of me bringing some of the crackers to class and handing them to my fellow classmates. Their initial responses consisted of a healthy amount of suspiciousness alongside quite a few questioning looks and disbelieving chuckles. However, after explaining the nature of the snacks, as well as jokingly adding that I hadn’t poisoned them, the classmates who wanted a package gladly accepted them. One of the girls even exclaimed, “Oh my god, I love animal crackers!”

During my last attempt, I was having dinner at the cafeteria with a soccer teammate. At the end of a lively conversation about fiction and nonfiction in journalism, I remembered the snacks in my bag and told her I had a weird question for her. Somewhat confused, my teammate looked at me with curious eyes, expecting me to continue. Without any further warning, I produced a package of animal crackers from my soccer bag and presented them across the table to my teammate along with the question, “Might I interest you in some animal crackers?” My teammate’s eyes lit up with happiness and surprise almost like it was Christmas and I hadn’t pulled the package out of my old smelly soccer bag but Santa Clause’s sack of presents itself. “Yes, actually!” was her enthusiastic answer and so my last package of animal crackers found its way into the hands of a hungry college student.