At 7:00pm on a Thursday night, the dining hall is completely empty— except for Table 42, which still has a tablecloth. It’s the Slow Eaters’ Society, founded by HD Lee ’24, finishing their sit-down meals.
During a sit-down lunch in mid-September, Lee found that his table ate too fast for him. “I just got my food and [the second waiter] was already clearing it!” he said.
After Lee voiced his discontent, Associate Director of Admissions and Lee’s then-tablehead Raymond DeMartino suggested, “Maybe you should do something about it!”
Following Mr. DeMartino’s encouragement, Lee made a sit-down announcement declaring the creation of his Slow Eaters’ Society, meeting at Table 42 (Lee’s table) after food had been cleared by second waiters.
However, the next day, Lee himself did not show up. “The first meeting — it’s my bad — I didn’t go to sitdown because I had to do work,” he said. “And [Mr. DeMartino] got really mad at me. No shade to DeMo. It was my bad.”
Another problem: second waiters. Lee said, “A big complaint from my last table was that people would come before the announcements, and it would make the second waiter’s job a lot harder. Also, we just didn’t have enough seats.”
At one meeting of the Slow Eaters’ Society, after dinner on October 5, 2023, almost every seat at the table was taken. Lee said that there are almost always five to ten people present.
Daniel Wareham ’24 stressed that the society is extremely important to its constituent members. “For far too long, the Deerfield sit-down meal program has oppressed us by forcing everyone to somehow shove down all the food in 40 minutes…and you only really only have 15 minutes,” he said. “The people here, we eat two plates of food, three plates of food, a plate of dessert, we slowly drink water—there’s not enough time. Previously, you had to rush, eat alone, and be looked down upon by the entire rest of the school, but now, as a society, we feel brotherhood.”
However, the Slow Eaters’ Society was not met with enthusiasm across the community, according to Lee. “There was a lot of skepticism in the beginning, and a lot of the fast eaters were trying to attack me, which I didn’t appreciate,” he said.
To solve this problem, when Lee moved to Table 31 next rotation, he changed the system so that the society meets after, not during, announcements.
Lee explained that the Slow Eaters’ Society fosters a healthy culture around eating. “I actually read somewhere that in India they find eating to be a very important ritual, in which you have to be very present, enjoying the food,” he said. “You should be fully present and slowly eating so you digest properly.”
Will Van Nice ’24 echoed Lee’s philosophy when it comes to eating: “I think eating is a sacred part of the day,” he said. “It’s important not to rush, take your time to appreciate each bite, and get the food that you need so that you can attack the next day.”
Moreover, Lee said that the Slow Eaters’ Society builds a community among students with a common interest: more time to eat. “I’ve noticed that there are some people who still eat after sit-down ends, but they’re alone, where [they] can feel social anxiety from that,” he said. “I wanted to bring them all together so [they] don’t feel that anxiety and eat with other people who have the same problem as [them].”
According to Max Peh ’24, Lee’s project is a major success. “I really appreciate this institution providing me with the space and time I need to fully fuel up for all the work I do at Deerfield, and in the process, I’ve also found a new community,” Peh said.
The Slow Eaters’ Society will continue to operate, moving each rotation to whichever table Lee sits at. “When I leave Deerfield, I hope it continues to go on,” he said.