Terrace, Charter lead sign-ins

As cow bells sounded through the night, and upperclassmen's chants echoed through quads and arches, the six sign-in eating clubs made their way around campus last night, picking up their new members.

The first-round sign-in process ended last night, marked by many undergraduates gravitating toward one of two clubs — Charter Club or Terrace Club. Charter welcomed 92 students last night, leaving 12 on the wait list, while Terrace added 96, also leaving 12 students still waiting.

Charter's sign-in rolls have been increasing in the past few years, according to club president Lindsay Michelotti '02. "There are many more [students] that we could've let in," she said. "We put a lot of effort into recruiting sophomores."

"I guess we're doing something right," she added.

Terrace has also been a perennial favorite, often filling their rolls in the first round. "We're incredibly psyched," said club president Clay Whitehead '02. "It's a great group of people."

While Charter and Terrace had no shortage of new members, the four other sign-in clubs still have spaces left. Campus Club drew 27 students, while counterparts Cloister Club and Colonial Club had 66 and 54 respectively. Quadrangle Club, which has drawn high numbers of new members in past years, attracted a disappointingly low 17 members, according to lists posted in the residential colleges.

"It was really a difficult process this year because we had a large number of people who just listed Charter or Terrace and did not list a second choice," Interclub Adviser Alice Teti '00 said. Though the club sign-in sheet gave students space to list four clubs that they would like to join, approximately 50 people only listed one choice and thus did not get into a club in the first round, Teti added. Last year, fewer than 10 people did not get into a club of their choice in the first-round of sign-ins.

Teti and ICC President Dan Winn '01 called most of these students last night and offered them the option of naming another club as their second choice. About 20 of them decided over the phone to indicate another club, while others have not yet made up their minds, Teti said.

"Some may want to see what their friends will do," Teti suggested. "I also spoke to some people who said they want to check out what will go on with the clubs this week."

Signing-in, as opposed to bickering, is not in any way "evaluative," Teti said. "Each club would have rather taken everyone. There's just a limit to how many people they can seat and how many people their kitchens can feed."

There are definite advantages to listing as many clubs as possible on the sign-in sheet, said Teti. "People who listed four choices, they would be welcomed by a club tonight."

Students who did not get into a club this round can try again at second-round sign-ins, which will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Frist Campus Center. They also have the option of bickering, as they have only missed one session, said Teti.

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Yesterday afternoon, dodging flying eggs and water-warring members, other sophomore and juniors made their way to the first day of bicker at Prospect's five remaining clubs.

While some bicker clubs won't know how many bickerees they have until later in the week, Cap and Gown Club president Dayna Federici '01 said 163 students turned out for her club's first session. Tiger Inn president Ewen McAlpine '01 said approximately 100 students participated in yesterday's events.

These five bicker clubs — which also include the University Cottage Club, Ivy Club and Tower Club — will pick up their newest members at the end of the week, after two to three more days of bicker sessions.

While all students who want to join a club will eventually be able to find a place at the table through second round sign-ins or belated bicker attempts, the club sign-in process is not intended to be stressful, Teti said. "I hope in the future we can do more to emphasize the advantages of listing more than one club as a choice," she said.