106 sign in to Colonial, Charter down 28 percent from last year

While Terrace Club is asking its new members to consider joining other clubs, Cloister Inn, Colonial Club and Quadrangle Club are still accepting new members after the end of the sign-in period.

In total, 438 students joined sign-in eating clubs, excluding those who joined Quad. Quad has a policy of not discussing specific membership numbers with The Daily Princetonian.

Last week, Terrace president Neal Donnelly ’14 sent an email to the club’s 183 new members asking them to consider joining a different sign-in club.

“If you're not super stoked about Terrace for the mania and open love that created it and you've thought another eating club might be a good fit for you, I urge you to seriously consider getting in touch with [another sign-in club president],” Donnelly’s email read.

The presidents of Quad, Cloister and Colonial said in separate interviews that they were not involved in the decision to send the email to Terrace’s new members.

Donnelly said in the email that the high membership would pose a challenge for the kitchen staff and officers as well as hamper the club’s possibility to create a sense of community.

“It's going to be easy to get lost in here,” he added in the email.

Terrace took no new members in the second round of club sign-ins.

“I sent that email not because I wish we had less numbers but because every year Terrace has a certain amount of attrition,” Donnelly said in an interview. “We thought it would be best to encourage anyone who realized that early on to sign in to another club before the initiations.”

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The presidents of Quad, Colonial and Cloister all said that they would continue to accept new members. Charter Club is still not sure whether it will accept more members.

"If there are any sophomores who did not join a club yet and are interested in joining Cloister Inn, then we are still accepting members," Cloister president Paul Popescu ’14 said.

Cloister has had 77 new members sign in this year so far, only one person fewer than last year. Seventy of the new members are sophomores, five are juniors and two are seniors.

A hundred and six new members signed into Colonial this year, one fewer than last year. Ninety-four new members are sophomores, seven are juniors and five are seniors.

Quad president Branden Lewiston ’14 said the numbers are comparable to last year's sign-in numbers but declined to disclose the specifics, citing the club’s policy. In 2009, the 'Prince' was given an estimate that Quad received 50 new members. In 2010 and 2011, the 'Prince' reported that Quad's numbers were comparable to the previous year, though in 2012 graduate board president Dinesh Maneyapanda said the number of new sign-ins increased by 40 percent.

“We're very happy with where we are, both in terms of quantity and quality,” Lewiston said.

Charter Club is the only sign-in club that took part in the new multi-club Bicker process. Using the club’s points-based sign-in system, students were allowed to rank a bicker club along with Charter and join the highest-ranked club that accepted them.

At the end of the week, Charter reported having 72 new members, all of whom are sophomores. This number is down significantly from last year, when the club filled to capacity in the first round of sign-ins with 100 students.

“Even though we have fewer than last year, we're getting the sophomores who are most interested in our club,” incoming Charter president Samantha Halpern ’14 said.

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Charter Club will no longer be accepting new members. The club is still deciding whether or not it will accept new members. Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the year in which Quad received a 40 percent increase in the number of sign-ins. The increase occurred in 2012. The ‘Prince’ regrets the errors.