<p>" I loved Princeton's campus and teaching philosophy, but the idea of having my social life/living arrangements/ability to eat regulated by another application process (controlled by students?) filled me with dread. It seemed one had to be accepted to an eating club or else risk total isolation and irrelevancy."</p>
<p>There are a lot of misconceptions here about the eating clubs - first of all, they do not own your life. Your living arrangements are not related to your club (though many independents choose to get rooms with kitchens), and many club events are open to ANYONE (even as a freshman, I could get into ~80% of club events). Also, half of the clubs are sign-in so there is little risk of being shut out of the clubs altogether (if you bicker and are not accepted, you still have a chance to sign-in somewhere else).
People tend to forget that the eating clubs WANT members! There is a special program (meal exchange) for letting underclassmen try the clubs, and there are big recruiting programs for the sophomores.</p>
<p>"If anyone wants to read an unbiased view of eating clubs from someone who isnt trying to put his school in the best light without even considering it's faults, you should go to <a href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com%5B/url%5D">www.dailyprincetonian.com</a> and search through dozens of articles written about the eating clubs that elaborate on the social stratification that the eating clubs create, dividing the school among economic, racial, and social lines."</p>
<p>How about this article from the Daily Princetonian? (<a href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2001/02/20/opinion/2401.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2001/02/20/opinion/2401.shtml</a>) Intro to the article:
" I must admit I am somewhat perplexed by the recent controversy about our 'Street.' As an avowed fan of the eating clubs, I cannot understand why anyone would propose bulldozing them, or even weakening their position as Princeton's primary source of entertainment. They are, after all, not so strange or demonic a phenomenon that they require such a negative outcry as has arisen. In casting the eating clubs as bugaboos of all that is wrong with Princeton, such critics commit two fallacies when they fail to actually see the clubs for what they are: big houses."</p>
<p>Or this article? (<a href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/02/16/news/9617.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/02/16/news/9617.shtml</a>)
Excerpts:
" To anyone observing the ordeal of Bicker and pickups, eating clubs would seem essential to every sophomore's spring semester. Yet about a quarter of upperclassmen choose not to join an eating club.... Endresen was drawn to independent life by the flexibility it affords him. He can create his own dining schedule while still taking advantage of the clubs' nightlife...."I will not be eating in an eating club, but that doesn't mean I won't go there in the evenings," he said."</p>
<p>I would especially recommend the first article, which talks about how the eating clubs simply provide a venue for activities and are not artificially created. The administration would like to move this venue to 4-year residential colleges - personally I'm undecided about whether or not that is a good idea, but that's still a couple years away.</p>
<p>The DP articles that ARE negative focus on a couple topics:
1) Cost. This cost of the eating clubs is a real concern, but club financial aid is one of the top items on the agenda for the student government.
2) Alcohol. Yes, binge drinking is a problem for colleges. Yes, eating clubs are lax about age limits. But having people drink watery beer in a public place is NOT causing the problem (people pre-gaming on hard liquor in their dorm is another issue).</p>
<p>"I was admitted to Princeton and these are similar sentiments I had as well. But after talking to non fanboy Princetonians who cared enough to truthfully tell me the positives/negatives of princeton, I believed, for me at least, that the problem with the social scene was more important for me than it may have been for others. Therefore, I'm matriculating to Stanford this fall."
While I have no problem with you posting your opinions here, keep a few things in mind:
1) Almost everyone I know at Princeton is in love with the place - so, in that sense, we're all "fanboy Princetonians." If you were speaking to people who didn't like the school, realize that their opinions may be just as biased (and likely in the minority)
2) It's easy to get the wrong impression of the eating clubs, simply because they are unfamiliar. It reminds me of my grandparents and the internet - since they don't use it themselves, their entire experience with the internet comes from news reports about sex offenders and scams. These problems DO exist online, but few would argue that the internet should be entirely avoided. Without spending a semester at Princeton, you won't be able to get a good feel for the environment.</p>