Class of 2010 gets a Taste of Prospect

Avoiding dining hall dinners for a night, some members of the Class of 2010 hit the Street on Tuesday for "A Taste of Prospect," an event that allowed them to sample the cuisine at one of the clubs usually reserved for upperclassmen.

First conceived in spring 2004, the initiative is meant to demystify the clubs' stereotypes and let freshmen get a flavor of the upperclass dining experience. This year's program proved popular among the Class of 2010. Participants were chosen through an online lottery, which was capped at 234 students and filled up within three hours, coordinator and U-Councilor Sarah Langberg '09 said.

All but two clubs — Colonial and Cottage — participated in the event. Colonial was unable to accommodate freshmen because it is still repairing damage caused by flooding that occurred over Intersession, and Cottage officers did not respond to requests to be a part of the program. "We attempted to contact Cottage many times to no avail," Langberg explained.

Though the program's slots filled quickly, not all freshmen selected to participate were informed they had been chosen, since a computer glitch caused some of the notification e-mails to go unsent. Phoebe Jin '10 missed her meal at Tower Club due to the malfunction. "It was a missed opportunity," she said. "I would have liked to go, but I'm not upset at all."

Langberg said she regrets the error but stressed that since another batch of freshmen will get to eat at the clubs next week, those who were left out will still have a chance to dine on Prospect Avenue. "They will get to go for sure," she said.

This is the third year freshmen were invited to Prospect Avenue dining. The clubs are each reimbursed separately for the meals they provide, with the money coming from President Tilghman's discretionary fund, Langberg said. The idea for the program originally came about from a meeting between Tilghman and the Interclub Council (ICC).

"It's a friendly way to have [freshmen] here," said Marco Fossati-Bellani '07, the outgoing ICC chair. "Everybody wins at having the freshmen see the eating clubs."

Langberg said she wanted to help with the program because she remembers that when she was a freshman, she wondered what it would be like to eat at one of the clubs. "At the end of the night, it was supposed to be a normal club experience — a regular slice of life at the club," she said.

Some eating club presidents said the program also helped them make a favorable early impression on prospective future members of their clubs. "It gave us a chance to show ourselves off to freshmen," Charter president Will Scharf '08 said.

Though Ivy was the only club that did not participate last year, it hosted seven freshmen this year. The club's outgoing president, Wyatt Rockefeller '07, added that Ivy is interested in continuing to host freshmen in the future.

"I e-mailed the club and asked whether anyone wanted to help, and I was pretty impressed by how many people wanted to be involved," Rockefeller said.

Freshmen who participated in the program gave positive feedback, Langberg said.

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"I enjoyed it," Kaitlyn Golden '10, who ate a meal at Tower, said in an e-mail. "I think it's a great idea so freshmen can see the club."

Nevertheless, she added that she felt slightly uncomfortable in the midst of upperclassmen. She and three freshmen friends stuck together during dinner, though they did meet three Tower members during the evening.

"It was a little awkward going in there and not really knowing anyone, especially during a really busy dinner hour," she said.