The Orangemen of SJI

UPDATE (Thursday, June 3; 9:41am): After spending one day in the Poynter refrigerator, SJI Class of 2010 member Tariq Lee returned the orange to its spot in between seats two and three. The chilling environment appears to have had an effect on the frut, as it looks significantly less weathered and rotten.

UPDATE (Wednesday, June 2; 8:40am): Upon entering the classroom, the orange was removed from the table in front of seat three. Sources close to the situation were unable to confirm whether or not it was eaten or moved, though an orange of similar size, shape and texture was found in the refrigerator in the Poynter kitchen adjacent to the classroom.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orange is the only color that is also a fruit. And orange is the only fruit that has been sitting in the classroom of the Sports Journalism Institute (SJI) Class of 2010 for the past two days.

The Vitamin C-laced sphere, now marked with brown patches throughout and a green portion toward the bottom of the skin, was originally brought into the classroom at the Poynter Institute for journalism in St. Petersburg, Fla. by David Squires, a freelance writer for the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., on Sunday morning. Squires confirmed this report yesterday. As of Tuesday morning, the orange has been sitting on the desk, completely uneaten, in front of seat two in the classroom for over 36 hours.

According to Squires, he acquired two oranges from the lobby of the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront hotel before departing for a day of classes at Poynter. After returning from the Tampa Bay Rays game that the SJI Class of 2010 covered at Tropicana Field that afternoon, Squires then consumed one orange.

Squires gave the other fruit to Leon Carter, a co-Executive Director of SJI and the Editor-in-Chief of ESPNNewYork.com. At the time, Carter commented that the orange was too hot to eat. He said that he planned to put it in the fridge to make the fruit’s temperature more suitable for consumption. However, after tossing the orange in the air for a few minutes, Carter left the orange on the table.

On Sunday night, according to Carter and Squires, Carter walked out of the Poynter Institute and entered the kitchen across the hallway from the Poynter library. He then found a fresh orange and ate it, forgetting about the old one still sitting in the classroom.

Ed Encina, a sports writer for the St. Petersburg Times and a 1997 alum of SJI, sat at seat two in front of the orange throughout Monday’s class session. “These tables are messy enough that they don’t really notice it,” he said, “but something has to happen soon.” Shemar Woods, a member of the SJI Class of 2010 who has sat at seat four every day this week, also confirmed the orange's presence throughout Monday's session, further noting that he noticed the orange but was unaware who it belonged to.

While as of early Tuesday morning, the fruit remained unmoved, it could get eaten within the next day. For the first time in SJI history, Carter said that he is feeling strain in his vocal cords and needs to heal them on Tuesday. This cure could come from the rejuvenating powers of the Vitamin C found in oranges. Yet, when Carter departed Poynter on Monday night, one day after Squires introduced the specimen into the classroom, Carter again left the orange on the table, despite saying that he would put it in the refrigerator.

“My booming voice needs to heal,” Carter said after Monday’s session.