“This club is filled with good-looking people and girls who eat salads,” said the athletically built brunette, who was not a member of Cottage. “This year, they let in one black girl—because she was pretty.”</p>
<p>How could she be so sure that looks were the deciding factor? “She had no affiliations,” the brunette replied firmly. “This club cares about affiliations.”</p>
<p>Indeed, the scantily clad female revelers inside the white-trimmed brick mansion—a New Jersey historic landmark with a library, billiards room and dance floor—were by and large Caucasian and “salad-eater” thin. And the skinnier they were, the more skin they were showing. “There’s gonna be a contest in their minds, believe me,” said a Cottage member, a varsity-baseball player, limning the psyches of the ladies in lingerie. “They’re going to come out swingin’.”
<p>It's pretty easy to get passes to clubs you don't belong to for parties. Meals you have to be invited to. Ivy is the most "clubby". Others are way less so. It's odd, but because the parties are so easy to find, vs. campuses where parties are in bars and clubs in the nearby cities, it's hard to be lonely at Princeton. You may not be able to go to one party, but there will be another one you can go to. But, if you hate any kind of formal organization and membership, Princeton may not be your happy place...</p>
<p>overall, eating clubs sound very umm... cruel to me. If one is not into this kind of thing and opt not to join an eating club, would he/she be ostracized?</p>
<p>How difficult is it to get into one of the more "clubby" eating clubs? Do you have to be extremely wealthy and well-known, or, if enough people "like you" and if you show enough interest, do you have a chance at them even though your dad might not have invented Google or you don't have an fifteen-figure trust fund?</p>
<p>There's a big difference between being a member at a club and spending alot of time at one.</p>
<p>Underclassmen don't join clubs until late sophmore year so for all those who are not part of any one club, you can just get passes to go to all their events and all. To be a member at some of clubs you really need connections/rich/football captain but being in another club or an independent doesn't mean you can't go to the parties and all- just know a member who can get you passes.</p>
<p>On a lighter note- Lingerie night was awesome.</p>
<p>no, you won't be ostracized if you choose not to go to/join an eating club. as the article said, only 5 of the clubs are have a bicker process - the rest are sign-in by lottery. from what i've heard - i'm only a frosh - a lot of people try to join the eating clubs that their friends are joining, because they do perform a social function, i.e. you get to eat with your friends as an upperclassman. if you opt not to join an eating club, you now have the option of joining a 4-year college and getting your meals at the dining hall for four years, or you can go independent or join a coop. and you'll still have friends, no matter what you do =).</p>
<p>p.s. you have to keep in mind that for upperclassmen, dining options are different from housing options. some housing - such as spelman, which has apartment-style suites with kitchens - is exclusively for independents. but there are several buildings with kitchens in the basement for both independents and people who join eating clubs. the point is, even if you don't eat at the eating clubs and your friends do, you can still live in the same dorm as them and see them all the time.</p>
<p>The guys suffer from serious vitamin D deficiency.</p>
<p>They need to get a tan. That whiteness just scarred me for life. I'm gonna sue that website now for burning my eyes. If his box is only that big with all the lingerie girls walking around, you know why he's mad and elitist.</p>
<p>Just putting it out there, that this article is probably more than a little skewed and sensationalist. During pick-ups for bicker a photographer trailed groups without the university's or the clubs' permission, trying to get material. The New York Times had already decided ahead of time that they were going to run an "undercover" article on Princeton eating clubs. The agenda was decided before the article was written.</p>
<p>And no, I'm not a big fan of eating clubs- I'm not planning on joining one, at least by bicker- but I definitely do not feel like my social life suffers because of this at all.</p>
<p>Bickering is akin to rushing a frat. Instead of signing up to be part of an eating club you have to apply (or bicker), which entails interviews, some degree of hazing, etc. I believe only five clubs are bicker. The remaining half are simply sign-ups.</p>
<p>you guys shouldnt be so swayed by something thats written for what are obviously sensationalistic purposes (plus, its the new york observer). The scene thats described in the article is definitely there for those that want it or like it, but that's not what eating clubs are like in general. Especially considering that half of them are sign-in. Besides, that article is terrible journalism. First it says that no one can get into these clubs without money, connections, or some sort of jock popularity, but then it goes on to talk about that type of student getting rejected.</p>
<p>Take it with a grain of salt. It's an article with an agenda, it's supposed to get you "scared and a bit miffed"</p>
<p>As a junior at Princeton with quite a bit of knowledge about the Princeton scene, I have to say everything described in the article is certainly true. Nearly all the clubs, bicker or sign-in, have certain cliques that feed into them. In the case of a club like Ivy, it's often wealth and looks.</p>
<p>That said, the article certainly only highlights the negative aspects of the Princeton social scene and doesn't really look at how relatively open it really is. Getting passes is easier than getting candy, and while obtaining membership may be difficult in some clubs, it's never too hard to go there on weekends to hang out if you want. Then there are the sign-in clubs - always open, always welcoming.</p>
<p>It also doesn't draw a comparison with greek scenes at other schools, where such organizations function on connections and affilitations as well.</p>
<p>Yes. Four-year residential colleges, independents with kitchens in their rooms, cooking co-ops, and now even those who belong to an eating club can eat 2 free meals/week in the dining halls.</p>
<p>The main thing the article about eating clubs proves is that there is too much drinking at Princeton. Every year we graduate too many alcoholics this is hardly something to be proud of and I do not believe this excessive drinking is necessary. It remains a huge disappointment to me- it seems to get worse every year because everyone is in denial over it. Especially the parents of the kids!</p>