Tower Club dues highest on the Street

Tower was followed by Tiger Inn, which charged members $7,850 this year, and Ivy Club, which cost $7,800.

Cloister Inn ranked fourth, at $7,680, for this year’s dues, followed by Colonial Club, which charged members $7,595.

Both Cottage Club and Quadrangle Club dues totaled $7,500, while Cap & Gown Club charged $7,490, and Charter Club charged $7,325. Terrace Club was the least expensive club, with dues totaling $6,800.

Demonstrating the wide range of dining costs on the Street, there is a $1,460 difference between Tower’s dues and Terrace’s.

Colonial president Alex Man ’10, TI president Douglas Wigley ’10, Ivy president Jonathan Shifke ’10 and Terrace president Alex Brady ’10 all confirmed their club’s dues.

Tower president Steve Marcus ’10, Quad president Zackory Burns ’10, Cottage president Ben Bologna ’10, Charter president Andrew Gordon ’10, Cloister president Aran Clair ’10 and Cap president Andres Perez ’10 did not respond to requests for confirmation.

The University currently provides up to $6,960 for upperclassmen on financial aid to cover their eating choices, though the largest upperclass meal plan in a residential college dining hall only costs $5,340 this year. The average eating club membership cost $7,580 this year, $640 more than the maximum University grant.

In November 2006, the University announced a plan to make club membership more financially accessible and allow upperclassmen to affiliate with both eating clubs and residential colleges. While eating clubs have long been more expensive than University-provided eating options, aid was increased by $1,500 in the 2007-08 academic year for all upperclassmen on financial aid, bringing the board allotment to $6,500. The University reported that the allotment was determined by averaging the costs of the 10 clubs’ dues. The $1,500 increase added $2 million to the University’s annual financial aid expenditures at the time it was instituted. The allotment has since risen to $6,960.

Though the University says it currently provides upperclassmen on financial aid a board allowance equal to the average cost of an eating club, this allowance only considers the cost of food and not social or other membership fees, which themselves typically cost hundreds of dollars.

“For some, the board allowance in the student budget is more than they’ll spend on meals. This is usually true for students eating independently or food co-op members,” the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid states on its website. “For those who choose to join eating clubs, the higher allowance will significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the financial barriers to club membership. Keep in mind that social fees and house fees are not considered.”

Yet some students now receiving financial assistance have cited insufficient aid as the primary deterrent against joining a club.

“If financial aid would cover all the fees of a club, I would join a club,” Minh Do ’10 told the ‘Prince’ in September 2007. “But otherwise I would stay with a meal plan, because currently I have all of my residential meal plan covered.”