Thirteen join Colonial in first-round sign-ins

87 members who joined the club in the first round last year

Charter Club was the only sign-in club to fill in the first round. Charter president Justin Knutson ’11 said in an e-mail that some of the 118 students listing Charter as their first choice have been put on a waitlist, though he declined to say how many.

Terrace Club had 86 new members sign in, while Cloister Inn added 58 new members. Quadrangle Club president Eric Salazar ’11 declined to provide specific numbers, though he said in an e-mail to that the number of sign-ins was “comparable” to last year’s class of roughly 50 new members.

Despite Colonial’s low sign-in numbers, club president David Hou ’11 said that he is not worried. Hou is also a former sports writer for The Daily Princetonian.

“The low number of first-round sign-ins is more of a statistical anomaly than anything else,” he said in an e-mail, adding that that he anticipates a “significant” number of sign-ins during the second round.

The number of new members joining Colonial in the first round has fallen over the years, with 115 in 2007, 103 in 2008 and 87 in 2009.

Last year was the first time in six years that Colonial did not reach capacity during first-round sign-ins.

“Colonial, as well as all the other clubs, has experienced dramatic fluctuations in membership in previous years, and it’s something we have come to expect and have prepared ourselves for financially,” Hou explained.

He added that the sign-in clubs are “especially vulnerable to shifts in undergraduate mob psychology, as this year’s numbers prove.”

Knutson cited Charter’s recruitment efforts as the reason for its popularity. “One way we ensure a great class is by trying to take in as many interested members as possible, and we are more than thrilled to have the ability to accept such a large group,” he said. Last year, Charter initiated all members on its waitlist, with the expectation of offering membership to them later.

Though Terrace did not fill to capacity, it saw a small increase in the number of sign-ins from last year, Terrace president Andrew Chong ’11 said in an e-mail. Chong is a former 'Prince' news writer. Last year, Terrace reached its capacity of 115 members in the second round of sign-ins, after accepting roughly 80 members in the first round.

“I am pleased with the number of sophomores who have signed into our club because our sophomores are totally sweet,” Chong said.

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Cloister had an increase of 13 new members compared with last year’s first-round class. “We drew a larger number than we have in the past several years,” Cloister president Barrett LaChance ’11 added in an e-mail.

Salazar explained that Quad’s current sign-ins nearly filled the membership. “We’re very excited because our numbers this year are comparable to last year’s,” he said.

Looking ahead to the second round, LaChance, Salazar and Hou all expressed interest in gaining new members.

“Traditionally, Cloister has gotten as much as half of its new class from the second round,” LaChance noted. “If we were able to achieve that this year, I would be extraordinarily happy.”

Salazar explained that he expects a greater number of second-round sign-ins than last year due to the club’s planned expansion.

“Our grad board has allowed us to take in more than our normal class size as we are anticipating expanding our building and opening it up to larger class sizes in the near future,” he said.

“This year we really put a lot of effort to opening up our club to the sophomore class,” Salazar explained. “We aren’t cliquey, but we’re very inclusive of anyone who wants to be a ‘Drangler.’ ”