<p>Thanks, Zant. I trust you are a fast typist!</p>
<p>Pretty funny how they defend the eating club tradition. ;)</p>
<p>The problem i have with eatings clubs is that they are commonly known to discriminate against minorities. Several students there have told me that the minority presence at the clubs is noticeably lower than in the school as a whole. There have been Dailyprincetonian articles that have said that many minorities feel unwelcome/uncomfortable in the mainstream social life of the clubs, therefore many of them feeling like outsiders. Thats probably the biggest reason why many minorities are turned off by Princeton and I guess why their yield rate hovers around 50% while the white yield rate hovers around 80%.</p>
<p>Princeton doesnt have its white/preppy/rich image for nothing.</p>
<p>Simba: Nah, it only took five minutes.
aparent: Yea, I hover around 100 WPM. And I noticed the defense/promtion of eating clubs too.</p>
<p>DiamonT: I think a big part of why minorities aren't part of the eating club scene may be because some of them are quite expensive, costing thousands of dollars more than a dining hall contract. However, the Prince mentioned something about Princeton giving more finaid expressly for footing the eating club bill so that poorer students can afford it, but I don't know if this has been implemented. I don't think eating clubs necessarily discourage minorities from joining, it's probably more self-selective, though it might be a vicious cycle where you don't see minorities in these clubs so you don't join, and on and on...</p>
<p>Zant, from all I hear you are right about that vicious cycle, although some of the so called elitist clubs named on these boards have more minority members than some others. Financial aid does not give grants to help with eating club membership, only loans.</p>
<p>I'll have to look into that more when it comes time to think about joining an eating club. I've been thinking about signing in to Colonial or Quadrangle, but if they're very expensive I'll have to reconsider. Though typically, aren't the bicker clubs (especially Ivy and Cottage) more expensive? Though you also have to consider that pricier ones have better food and entertainment, though I really doubt I need to eat lobster. :p</p>
<p>Zant: 100 WPM? Not what I remember when you took that typing test :)</p>
<p>Hey hey be nice.
I type faster when I'm just typing a document versus when I have to follow random splattering of words on a typing test.</p>
<p>I read that eating clubs do have financial aid...anyways, I have to disagree with DT's Princeton-doesn't-have-its-white/preppy/rich-image-for-nothing comment. The stereotypes about Princeton are way overblown, and as you can see by this comment, the stereotypes are only being perpetuated.</p>
<p>Anyways, since eating clubs aren't a mandatory dining plan, there's no reason to be all that concerned about it. Besides, reforms are underway for the eating clubs since the current USG president is investigating accusations of discrimination and working with club presidents to reform their policies involving finances. We'll see where it goes.</p>
<p>Some clubs may offer aid themselves; I don't know. What I do know is that if you combine the fact that Princeton is very generous with aid in the first place and that it is, as far as I know, the least expensive Ivy, even when you are paying for an eating club (roughly $2,000 more than the regular board fee, depending on the club), you are paying no more than you would to eat in the ordinary dining hall at many other schools. And in many ways your social life overall is much less expensive than elsewhere, because most of the parties there are free and the University offers all sorts of free or cheap cultural events on campus, at the McCarter Theatre, and on Broadway.</p>