If Princeton students are the "Organization Kids" David Brooks claims they are in his article in this month's Atlantic Monthly, April Fool's Day surely supported Brooks' theory. Not one to "buck the system," protest or pull a prank, the Organization Kid rarely questions authority.
In keeping with this stereotype, April Fool's Day saw very few pranks pulled on campus. One prank, however, did fool some students.
Flyers were delivered to several dorms announcing the "grand opening" of the Beverage Lab at Frist Campus Center.
According to the flyers, which were also posted around Frist, an event was to be held Saturday night to celebrate the Beverage Lab's recent acquisition of its liquor license.
Jessica Williams '01 was working at the Frist Welcome Desk that night and saw first-hand how many students were duped by the practical joke.
"I thought it was really clever," she said. "I got taken. They tricked me." Williams also explained that at midnight, about 20 people had already arrived at Frist for the fake grand opening.
Williams said because the flyers announced that any student wearing an unmatching pair of shoes would get a free drink, many people showed up with odd pairs of shoes. There were some students standing at the doors with bags of shoes ready to hand out shoes to those who had forgotten, she added.
However, Williams also observed that Frist's management was not too pleased with the prank.
"I don't think that the managers were thrilled because [the pranksters] used the Frist logo. "[But] I don't think they will pursue it." Williams also added that "the night manager got a kick out of it."
Tyrone Francis, who works at the beverage lab during the day, saw one such flyer on the lab's door this morning. "I just thought it was an April Fool's joke. That's all," he said.
According to Williams, the mastermind of the prank was Micah Arbisser '01 of Tiger Magazine, who took the pictures.
Arbisser and Tiger Magazine chairman Ed Finn '02 declined to comment on the prank.
This was not the only April Fool's Day joke around campus. Class of 2001 president Justin Browne organized one as well. Browne sent an e-mail to the Class of 2001 announcing the "first of what will be several opportunities to get free tickets for graduation, baccalaureate, and class day."
Browne then proceeded to explain the complicated process by which students would supposedly be picked at random for such free tickets. Seniors were told to e-mail certain class officers at a certain time if they wished to be entered in the free ticket contest.
"I found out very quickly . . . I didn't realize it was going on [at first]" said social chair Stephen Kruse '01, one of the designated e-mail recipients. "I just sort of deleted them."
However, Kruse said he was surprised that he did not receive e-mails from more seniors. "I thought people would be more gullible," he added.
While a few students were duped by these pranks, the campus on the whole remained strangely quiet for April Fool's Day. Students seemed to disregard or not notice the holiday.
"To tell you the truth, I forgot it was April Fool's Day," Rebecca Gifford '03 noted. Stephanie Westcot '03 said in an e-mail, "So far this seems to have been a very serious April Fool's!"
Yet perhaps this inattention to the holiday was due in part to the hour students lost last night from the start of Daylight Savings Time. Perhaps Princeton's so-called "Organization Kids" were all too tired even to celebrate.
Melissa Armstrong '02 remarked, "I think Daylight Savings Time is a cruel [April Fool's] joke."
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