A future for Campus Club

After weeks of uncertainty, Campus Club is expected to announce its decision not to reopen as an eating club today. This follows what seemed to be a concrete plan for the club to reestablish itself on the Street relatively soon, in the form of an alcohol-free club.

As a board, we were not in favor of this plan because we believed it would create an unnecessary separation between students who drink and those who do not. It would imply that the presence or absence of alcohol is a defining factor in club preference, when in reality for most sophomores the bicker or sign-in decision has far more to do with food quality than with how often "good beer" is served in place of Beast. Additionally, there were some dubious loopholes in Campus' "dry" code: Members would be able to provide their own alcohol, though no kegs would be allowed. This could have opened the possibility of hard alcohol use, prohibited at many other clubs because of potential health hazards. For students who do not drink and prefer not to socialize in the company of alcohol, it could have been an unwelcome surprise to find that their "dry" club was more like a BYOB establishment.

Now, though, Campus' future is once again marked by uncertainty. Since reopening seems to be off the agenda, the obvious assumption is that the University will purchase the building. Instead of turning it into offices for some obscure chapter of University bureaucracy, however, we believe that it would be in the school's best interest to keep the plan of turning it into an additional social outlet — but not an eating club. Since the food gallery in the Frist Campus Center is no longer offering late-night dining options (to the chagrin of many students), why not turn Campus' spacious taproom into a pizzeria? What about pool tables upstairs, or group study rooms? Even a small bar where students 21 or over could grab a beer with friends would be a nice addition to campus.

Fortunately, the administration appears open to such ideas. In Thursday's Trenton Times, Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee '69 suggested the club could be used as a student social space if the University took over the property.

Indeed, the success of such alternative hangouts as the Wilson BlackBox and the Murray Dodge cafe show that students are eager for spaces that complement, rather than challenge, existing social options. Frist is certainly a valuable social outlet, but with the University planning to expand by 500 students in the next few years, it only makes sense for Princeton to invest in more common spaces for students. The four-year residential colleges will undoubtedly add to the campus social scene, but that doesn't change the fact that we need more spaces that will bring us together as a campus, not just as residential colleges. A transformed Campus could provide additional social options for students and, with its great location on the Street, bridge the physical divide between students in eating clubs, independent students and underclassmen.

Together, students and administrators have a prime opportunity to shape at least a small part of the Princeton social scene. The students who wish to open Campus as a dry club mean well, but they're missing the bigger picture. Instead of using this space to serve a small number of people with an inconsistent drinking policy, let's use it to serve the broader University community — drinkers and nondrinkers alike.