Financial aid, Bicker and better info

The members of Nassau Hall, West College and Prospect Avenue responsible for increasing University financial aid to cover the cost of eating club meal contracts deserve both praise and genuine thanks from Princeton students past, present and future. This formidable initiative will prove monumental, as it will be directly responsible for securing one of Princeton's most unique and rich traditions while making that tradition accessible to all students.

The importance of including all clubs — both selective and non-selective — in this decision should not be understated. Knowing the negative sentiments held by members of the administration toward eating clubs in general and the Bicker process specifically — some merited, some not — in addition to the enormous logistical difficulties coordinating with 10 autonomous institutions, I would like to personally recognize the successful efforts of President Tilghman (of whom I have been extremely critical on this issue, perhaps to some degree unfairly) and Executive Vice President Mark Burstein for leading the way on this difficult but correct policy. Their recent decision shows an immense amount of faith in the students, respecting both student autonomy and ability. This is exactly what was needed from Nassau Hall to build the trust with Prospect Avenue that will be necessary to improve the club system.

With the positive momentum of the recent financial aid decision and the realization that the University's rhetoric is genuine, I believe now is an appropriate time for the undergraduate club officers to begin looking for solutions to some of the problems institutionally entrenched in the club system. At the end of my tenure as Interclub Council (ICC) president, I attempted to move the clubs to 100 percent multi-club bicker. This type of system, while respecting a club's right to select its members if it wishes to do so, could potentially eliminate the existing and divisive two-tier system and create a more welcoming environment by giving more power to the students. Enacting such a massive institutional change, however, presents huge organizational and political challenges. I failed in my attempt, among other reasons, because I understood the problem too late and didn't seek the input of my fellow officers early enough. I sincerely regret that we left this task uncompleted.

To this day, I maintain that with a certain amount of vision, cooperation, ability and willingness on the part of current students, implementing a better system is possible. Because the tenure of club officership is limited to one year, now, as new officers are being elected, is the right time to begin discussions with club officers, fellow students and alumni who have experience with previous selection systems — perhaps even in public forum, including the pages of this newspaper. If you begin now, you may be able to build interest and consensus with the time necessary to make a lasting impact on this University.

If Prospect Avenue is to reform, however, the administration must hold its end of this bargain. Improving the public presentation of the clubs is one important contribution it could make. Negative attitudes held against the eating clubs is allegedly the number one reason students give for not matriculating at Princeton after being accepted. This is unacceptable. If we had provided these students with better information about the clubs, allowing them to fairly judge the value eating clubs add to the University, I believe many of them would be donning orange and black today. With better information, more new students might be interested in joining clubs or at the very least much less intimidated by them.

In a laudable first step to solve this information problem, former ICC president Jamal Motlagh '06, Howard Helms '56, Princeton Prospect Foundation member and ICC advisor Brian McKenna '04 and the ICC Classes of 2005 and 2006 compiled and completed a brochure describing the eating clubs in great depth, including their long histories, community outreach programs and social activities. I hope that the current ICC officers will be able to work with Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye to refine this material into a form that is acceptable for distribution in the admission office. Done correctly, this would be one of the most exciting, popular and valuable brochures about Princeton available in that office.

Now that student financial aid has been adequately augmented, all students who are impressed by what they see in those brochures will know that when the time comes, if they want to, they too can participate in one of Princeton's great traditions. J.W. Victor '05 is a former president of Quadrangle Club and the Interclub Council. He was a philosophy major and may be reached at jvictor@alumni.princeton.edu.