The Soup Can: An Experience in "New"/Immersion Journalism

When asked to give a name to a small social group of friends, one of the members responded, “the soup can. The only types of social labels should be on soup cans.” This quote at the beginning of my social journey epitomized the immersion process. The social group had seemingly simple customs that were in fact quite complex.
One common factor was a yearning for a more just and “fair” world. Out of the group of six, three were vegetarians. All three said they abstained from meat because of the ethical treatment of animals. Hayden Flanery, the person with the longest duration of being a vegetarian, became a vegetarian almost two years ago after reading Fast Food Nation’s slaughterhouse depiction. All five had supported Barack Obama and had liberal political leanings. They were debating feminism versus sexual workers’ role in society at first but switched to international treatment of animals. They all seemed to value equality as the best of all ethical values after not questions, but experiences I witnessed.
This ethic was shown in their end of meal customs. Claire, the oldest and perhaps most dedicated to ideals, was wearing an Amnesty International “Citizen of the World” shirt and was speaking moderately amidst a roaring cafeteria. The group seemed to be the candle of social responsibility, eating no meat, treating all as equally as possible and conserving resources amid the darkness of apathy. She offered to carry everybody’s items on her tray.
“Why should I not carry everyone’s food items when I could do it in one trip?”
This is not the only egalitarian custom they shared. I asked a stranger to the group to test their reaction.
“May I join?” he asked. With no hesitation, they accepted the first year. They didn’t try to convert me or the other carnivore, but preached by example. They believed they played a role for the causes they believed, instead of being hypocritical, like what they believe many celebrities are. They also criticized hippies indirectly.
“How can you spread a message when you’re considered fringe?”
The games they played when they were all gathered and assembled were interesting as well. They were all committed to finding a game to play for all who wanted to join. There was no exclusion during my experiences. It was interesting to find a commune of people truly dedicated to the living of ideals in a world which to them seemed to be a façade of the values they embraced. The lonely Sarah playing Solitaire grew to Sarah and Claire playing War to Mao to ERS (Egyptian Rat Screw).
The formation of this group was two years ago, when most of the members were first-year first-years or second-second years. They had known each other previously but not as well as they did after VAMPY 2007. They became a regular group with a (nearly) identical ethic and a core group of five girls and one guy: Claire (the eldest and seemingly most caring about feminism), Hayden (most caring about animal rights), Emily (nonvegetarian), (Mari)Etta (vegetarian and sexual rights) and Carmen (also nonvegetarian); and Dane. They were all (except for Carmen) from Louisville, Kentucky and that gave them some initial starting ground for the bonding over the years.

The interactions at a social event were also of interest.
“Don’t become the alligator, don’t become the alligator, don’t become the alligator, don’t become the alligator,” said Hayden to me when I told her I was playing PNA for the first time. There was no dancing (in VAMPY, jumping and fist bumping) during the dance for the soup can. They mostly played cards (not Magic, which they detested, but respected). They played community games during the (literally) flashiest event of the year.
V-Con 2009 was a different matter. They were very active in participating at the ‘con. The soup can was basically one and travelled together to various activities. It seemed that they took opportunities of weekend events. The group first did Astronaut training and was the champions of the teamwork contest, which involved directing a blindfolded person to shoot at various targets. The team of Hayden and Emily received a perfect score on the test of collaboration. The other partners did well too. Travelling with them was an experience that would have seemed random with being in the group but was well-explained once the group was infiltrated. The amorphous continually expanding blob of people jostled from activity to activity, from Astronaut training to the RPG wars.
People flew as they hit each other with truncated pool noodles, as people clashed as those older did, but they did not die as their elders would. I got very into it as I ferociously attacked others, causing phony death and faux destruction, clashing with others just because they had a different color face paint than I did. They sat and walked away.
Not even in pretend would they sacrifice their ethics.
The somber look on their faces was enough to get me to see their point of view. No words were necessary to convey that thought.
It was then that I realized the magnificence of their activism. They, without words, could convince me to stop pretending to be a warrior in a fake battle. They could hold to their convictions for years and have the power to persuade people to change their lifestyle. People on the outside ignored them because they weren’t popular, so they became advocates of equality and friendliness.
The ethics they have shown to be livable pervaded me after my time with them. Grabbing bacon or other meat items in food lines inspired me to think about consequences. These weren’t typical teenagers, these were peer role models, rational and knights for ideals they themselves embodied.
They were also solid. With the passing fads at VAMPY from the Rubik’s Cube to the Monocle Game to Duct Tape items, they were always there, ready to inspire and live by what they preach, refreshing in a world driven by trends.
I was walking with members of the Soup Can from breakfast at Downing University Center (DUC) to Cherry Hall, where some of them, in their quest for social fairness, are taking Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Etta was joyful for another day of depressing class. She and Carmen were both fascinated with the mob psychology of the Holocaust.
“How could people in Germany allow this to happen?” I asked.
“Desperation, looking for an excuse.”
I had never seen anything like it before. Passing through noisy, tumultuous DUC’s Fresh Food Company cafeteria I would see them prima facie and would dismiss them as young semi hippies. They seemed like “posers” who would talk the talk of human rights and animal rights and but wouldn’t care to follow through with their beliefs.
What I never would believe though is that they actually could change people by simply being present. Their very existence, without persuading words, could change lifestyles and people’s minds, as a beacon for justice and equality in the dark sea they believe is humanity.