Tear down this wall

History buffs will recall the story of the Hatfields and McCoys. These were the American South's version of the Capulets and Montagues, two families that feuded for generations until neither had any idea how the feud began. The town of Princeton is living its own version of such a feud: Princeton Borough versus the eating clubs.

The latest iteration of the feud involves former Charter president Will Scharf '08 suing Princeton Borough for false arrest. Whether Scharf should sue - and whether the Borough should have charged him in the first place - is beside the point; I'll leave that to the lawyers. What's most compelling is the way the reaction toward the event reflects the tensions between the eating clubs and Princeton Borough.

Since the Borough first charged Scharf with serving alcohol to minors and maintaining a nuisance, discussion on this subject has exhibited an "us versus them" mentality. Judging from the comments posted in response to the news articles on dailyprincetonian.com, few people discussed the legality of the case. Instead, students expressed their anger against the Borough and their unequivocal support for Scharf. "Finally, one of the club presidents has the balls to challenge the ridiculous transfer of responsibility that the Borough's been imposing on clubs," a poster named "Go Scharf" snarkily posted after the Borough first charged Scharf. In response to a recent news article announcing Scharf's decision to file suit, "Dr '81" wrote, "Mr. Scharf has earned his grade in ‘Standing up to Government Bullying 401' ...Will has made me extremely proud to be a Charter Alum." This alum employed a team mentality, as if Princeton had just won the Ivy League football title. As an undergraduate, I think it's nice to band together under the "us" umbrella - I'm not even in an eating club - but failure to consider the Borough's perspective may hurt future eating club presidents and students.

The Borough's latest charge against Scharf is one in a series of charges against other eating club presidents, all of which were eventually dropped or transferred. This is less an indication of Borough Police incompetence than a sign of the political will in Princeton Borough; many officials and townies have a negative view of the eating clubs. These negative feelings have been especially potent since Cottage Club began to seek tax-exempt status in 2003. Then-Borough Mayor Marvin Reed told The New York Times, "Basically to us, Cottage and the rest are fancy taverns, especially on Thursday and Saturday nights." Borough Councilman Andrew Koontz put the fact that he opposed Cottage Club's quest for tax exemption on his platform for the Mercer County Board of Freeholders earlier this month. Koontz repeated the same sentiments in an e-mail to me this week. "I have yet to meet a Princeton resident that believes that the Cottage Club is deserving of tax exempt status," he said.

As a townie who went to Princeton High School, I got my first introduction to the eating clubs through a friend's sister who was in Tiger Inn, and she gave me different information from our guidance counselors. While I had nothing against mansions for partying, the message that most adults sent was that the eating clubs bred underage drinking. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that the town will repeatedly fine clubs where privileged kids drink if it believes there's money to be made from doing so.

Even if townies' beliefs about the eating clubs are false, it doesn't help for Princeton students to so adamantly demonize the Borough prosecutor and police. For Princeton students who know that eating clubs do more than enable underage drinking, it's frustrating to feel like targets. As students who are here for four years, however, we would do well to step outside the "us versus them" mentality and try to participate in open dialogue with the Borough. The first step toward a solution is to recognize a problem. Eating clubs are not automatically in the right to want to be left alone. They need to recognize a public relations problem. Students can show that we don't feel entitled by attending Borough Council meetings and actively participating in local government. Perhaps the club presidents could even engage in additional discussion with town officials to reach a truce. There's evidence that coordinated efforts will be rewarded. Koontz said, "In a recent public session of Borough Council, I applauded the eating clubs for really stepping up to their responsibility to control underage and binge drinking on their premises." After we're gone, the residents in the Borough stay the same. Grudges only build over time. To make the situation better for future Princeton students, maybe it's time to trade resentment for cooperation.

 

Cindy Hong is a Wilson School major from Princeton, N.J. She can be reached at cindyh@princeton.edu.