A prefrosh look at Prospect

The event, sponsored by the Office of Admission, featured the Colonial, Cottage Club, Terrace Club, Tiger Inn and Quadrangle Club presidents, who discussed student life on Prospect Avenue and fielded questions from the audience.

Though a small amount of information about the clubs is available through the University’s undergraduate admission website, students deciding whether to attend Princeton are often able to learn about the Street only by word of mouth. Consequently, parents and students eager to learn about Princeton’s social scene arrived at Colonial with a variety of preconceived notions about the clubs, and the panel of presidents attempted to dispel any misconceptions.

“It’s like Greek life with no strings attached,” said James Williams, a prefrosh visiting from Pittsburgh.

Alison Beskin, from Atlanta, also compared the clubs to Greek life but said she thought the clubs were a “better alternative” to fraternities and sororities. She added that she believed the clubs “were really exclusive” and that “you had to know somebody” to get into the parties.

Quad president Zackory Burns ’10 explained the distinction between the eating clubs and Greek societies, saying the two are not “parallel.” Cottage president Ben Bologna ’10 echoed Burns’ sentiment, adding that eating clubs don’t carry the same “stigma” as fraternities and sororities.

Prefrosh hoping to acquaint themselves with the clubs through the University website may read that “the clubs serve as intellectual communities where students debate, discuss and explore the ideas they’ve encountered in the classroom.”

“Many clubs regularly invite professor to dine with members, and precepts are often hosted in the clubs,” the site continues.

These descriptions may leave high school students curious about other aspects of club life.

Williams explained that he thought “eating clubs are where people go to party” and that “[they play] into the ‘work hard, play hard’ ” mentality he associated with Princeton.

“I can’t imagine eating there,” Williams added.

Molly Brean, also from Pittsburgh, said she had already been exposed to the clubs because her father, who was a graduate student at the University in the early 1970s, had described the Street to her.

Nevertheless, Brean said she was “interested to hear more,” especially after attending the Sensemaya concert at Terrace the night before.

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During the prefrosh panel, Bologna noted that there are stereotypes associated with each club, explaining that each one “caters to [its] own type of students.”

Bicker club presidents also briefly explained Bicker, emphasizing that each club has a distinct Bicker process. At the end of the panel, the presidents opened the floor to questions, most of which were asked by parents.

One parent noted the lack of females on the panel — all 10 presidents are male this year — and asked if the clubs were coed. The presidents assured the parent that the clubs admit both male and female students.

Several prospective students — both those who attended the the panel and those who didn’t — said their visits to campus helped them redefine their conceptions of Princeton’s social scene.

Reid Knabe, who is from Little Rock, Ark., said that before his visit, the weekend before last, he was concerned about the perceived elitist culture at Princeton. He said his experiences on campus over the weekend made him think that Princeton “students are less pretentious and pompous” than he had imagined and added that his perceptions of the eating clubs are “generally positive.”

The University reinforces this positive image in its online description of the clubs, explaining, “Eating clubs serve the campus community and the greater Princeton community through initiatives such as tutoring underprivileged high-school students for the SAT, running college-application workshops for local students and organizing clothing and canned-food drives.”

The information provided by the University and the panel was not sufficient, however, to assuage Beskin’s concerns of about the exclusivity of the clubs. She noted that she was particularly worried about obtaining passes for weekend parties on Prospect Avenue.

Williams, however, said he left the panel with a new appreciation for the eating clubs. “I didn’t know they were this organized,” he said.