Regarding 'Rethinking Bicker from the inside' (Stephanie Greenberg, May 12):
After reading the anti-Bicker sentiments in the last two issues of the 'Prince,' I felt it necessary, as a former officer of a bicker club, to offer some perspective from the other side of the coin.
Yes, bicker is exclusive. There is no debating that. The question then becomes what is the purpose of this exclusivity?
Though some may claim that it is to build a reputation of elitism, I believe that every single Bicker club on the Street has accepted the majority of their Bickerees in each of the past few years. Looking at things realistically, there are a limited number of spots for new members in each club, each year. Unfortunately in some cases, there are often more people interested than there are spots available. This is true even for sign-in clubs. It is my opinion (and I'm pretty sure the opinion of other Bicker supporters) that it seems more logical to have the current members choose the new class rather than have the decision be completely random. We are talking about private social clubs, made up primarily of groups of friends. How many people would argue that getting randomly assigned friends is a good alternative to making the choice for yourself?
When we applied to Princeton, we were all judged on the basis of our potential contributions to the Princeton community. Some of us may simply be brilliant; others have special talents ranging from athletics to theatre and everything in between. In either case, the decision was made on the basis of our academic and extracurricular credentials, because Princeton is an institution built around those foundations. For those of us who have ever tried out for a team — decisions are made based on athletic skill and talent, because a team is built around skilled and talented players. When we consider Bicker, the decision is largely based on social skills and how well you portray yourself during the bicker process. The reason for this is that the eating clubs are a social institution. Go figure.
Selectivity is all around us, regardless of whether we approve or disapprove of it. Luckily enough, Princeton students can choose to bicker or sign-in or not even join a club at all. Bicker works for some people, and for others it doesn't. I firmly believe that Princeton is a better place with a mixture of bicker and sign-in clubs than it possibly could be if either of the two systems was universally implemented.
Jason Bell '04
The writer is a former officer of Tower Club.
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