Steve Glykokokalos

Senior Copy Editor

The Western Connecticut State University (WestConn) Anthropology Club gets it: college kids like free stuff.

Tomorrow, April 21, the WestConn Anthropology Club will team up with the WestConn Socialist Club and the Student Government Association (SGA) Environmental Committee to host the Really, Really Free Market on the Midtown Quad at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  All members of the WestConn community are encouraged to participate.

The event can be best described as a potluck of anything you can think of – food, books, clothes, toys, art, games – and everything is free.

According to Wikipedia, “The Really, Really Free Market (RRFM) movement is a non-hierarchical collective of individuals who form a temporary market based on an alternative gift economy.  The RRFM movement aims to counteract capitalism in a non-reactionary way.  It holds as a major goal to build a community based on sharing resources, caring for one another and improving the collective lives of all.”

“It’s an event operating on a barter-trade mentality,” says WestConn Anthropology Club President Mercedes DeMasi.  “People worldwide rely on goods and services exchanged informally, without the transfer of currency.”

“We want to promote awareness of our dependence on the informal economy and the availability of goods and services on the non-financial market,” says DeMasi.  “We also want to promote environmental awareness and show how much stuff people have, in usable condition, that they can exchange for other stuff they need.”

It may sound a little as if the Midtown Quad will be transforming to a hippie commune for five hours, but DeMasi insists that there’s more to the event.

“Barter and trade and gifting are as old as time,” she says.  “In places that operate below the poverty line, even in the United States, the informal economy helps people survive.”

According to DeMasi, material items aren’t the only things that should be given away for free at the event.  Those with musical or other talents are invited to share their gifts with the community.

“The free market isn’t just about stuff either,” DeMasi explains,  “It’s about services and anything anyone wants to do to help others out, like sharing skills and knowledge, like free haircuts or something.”

DeMasi also stresses the significance of the event’s location, which will be held out in the open on the Midtown Quad.

“Most mercantile spaces in our country are indoors, in private spaces that are restricted from public eyes,” she says.  “We want to encourage people to socialize and meet other people while getting new stuff.”

At its core, though, the event promotes an oft-forgotten virtue of community and giving.

“The Really, Really Free market is about the spirit of sharing,” says DeMasi. “But we encourage people to stop by and talk to us, because there is plenty to go around.  That is our message.”