If DEC seemed somewhat empty this week, it was not just an optical illusion. While officers are optimistic that numbers will eventually increase, one Snickeree, James McGinley '00, said "less than twenty" sophomores came to DEC's scavenger hunt Sunday night.
Former DEC president Jen Bello '98 said the low turnout did not upset her. Continuing with Snicker for the rest of the week, DEC will join the other sign-in clubs for the second round on Saturday. While there will be no additional changes in the Snicker process, Bello expects numbers to go up by the weekend.
"You never know what's going to happen," she said. "We're trying to be optimistic. About 80 or 90 people are expected to be hosed from the Bicker clubs and will have the option to come here."
Justin Kuczmarski '99, vice-president of DEC, noted that last year DEC had a significant increase in the number of Snickerees by the end of the first round.
"About 200 people will be out there looking for clubs in the second round," he said. "A lot still haven't decided and are basing their decision on what happened last year when they had the whole week to decide. Even with increased advertising, kids are just clueless about the new system."
Confusion
Kuczmarski noted that some sophomores tried to Snicker after Sunday, obviously unaware that the process had already begun.
"For those students who go away for intersession and come back over the weekend, it's a shock when they have to decide on Sunday," he said. "I knew one guy who basically dropped his bags down immediately before entering the door."
Bello said confusion over the nature of the Snicker process, which is an attempt to bridge the gap between the sign-in and Bicker processes, was a possible factor for the drop in numbers.
"This happens every year – whether to be sign-in or Bicker in order to get away from the confusion," she said. "The new officers may go back to the drawing board. However, people who have gone through the Snicker process said they liked it."
McGinley confirmed Bello's remarks, saying he "liked the process so far. It's been really laid back – not in your face and nothing too outrageous."
Kuczmarski said a mistake in the Sophomore Choice Book, which listed the costs of DEC membership as $1,000 more than the actual price, may have also confused sophomores.
Another factor, Kuczmarski noted, was the "hot club factor" – the ability for certain clubs to capture the attention of a large group of students each year. He said the ability of Tower Club and University Cottage Club to attract such large numbers this year caused a "20 to 30 percent decline" in membership throughout the rest of the clubs.
"One club actually went down from 180 members last year to 100 members this year," he said. "Some clubs are already preparing for fall Bicker."
Canon Club option
As the 'Prince' reported on Sept. 17, DEC currently has the option of purchasing Cannon Club from the University. DEC's graduate board and the University are still in the midst of negotiations, which will conclude on Apr. 15.
"We were originally hoping to tell sophomores about Cannon Club, but we can't promise as long as we are still negotiating with the University," Bello said. "If we could have told them, then we would have been flooded. DEC will be popular again."
In order to increase membership in the future, DEC has many options available. However, when asked if DEC would ever consider switching to the Bicker system, Bello said "there is no way to tell."
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