Charter Club's new sign-in system attracts widespread support

announced in The Daily Princetonian

“I haven’t heard a negative comment about it yet,” Charter president Justin Knutson ’11 said in an e-mail. “Most people I’ve talked to seem to think the system is the right move for Charter and possibly the sign-in clubs in general.”

Cloister Inn president Barrett LaChance ’11 expressed support for the new policy. “I think that it’s an interesting idea,” LaChance said in an e-mail. “For a club that perennially goes onto a waitlist for members during first round [sign-ins], it makes sense to have a process that selects members that have shown an interest in the club.”

The other eight eating club presidents either declined to comment or did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The new policy comes as Charter has consistently exceeded its capacity during first-round sign-ins in recent years, and as sign-in clubs have experienced fluctuations in membership while bicker club membership has held steady.

University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee ’69, who co-chaired last year’s Task Force on Relationships between the University and the Eating Clubs, said in an e-mail that he does not think the idea of demonstrating interest in a club through attendance would be a negative experience for potential members.

Durkee said that Charter’s system “is consistent with the interest of the task force in finding ways to provide more freshmen and sophomores with a fuller appreciation of the benefits and attractions of the clubs.”

But Durkee added that the implementation of the system should be planned carefully. “I don’t think the task force would have any concerns with [the system] as long as two conditions are met: Charter continues to operate on a sign-in basis (as they intend to do), and the events or activities that are used to measure interest are open to any student who wishes to participate,” he said.

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Some students have raised the question of whether sophomores will find it difficult to attend enough events to gain membership, in the event that the number of interested students exceeds capacity.

“To put a quick answer out there, missing something is no big deal, since you really don’t have to attend everything to be at the top of the list,” Knutson said.

“But even so, a few events, especially the dinners, have no set dates and can be experienced whenever a sophomore so chooses,” he added.

Unlike the one-week Bicker process that opens the spring semester, Charter’s events are scheduled to begin this fall.

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Knutson noted that he has also heard concerns about plans for record-keeping and the risk of favoritism. “Let me just say that we are addressing all of the concerns with care and attention to detail,” he said.

The eating club task force’s report, issued in May, recommended a new Bicker system in which sophomores and clubs would be matched by mutual preference through a computer program.

The task force did not recommend changes to the sign-in system. However, Durkee said that Charter’s new system would be “fully compatible” with the alternative bicker system proposed by the task force.

Task force member Genevieve Ryan ’11 called the change “a great step towards improving the community of the club.” Under the new policy, prospective members will have “an opportunity to see the club on a more regular basis than just a tap night,” she said in an e-mail.

Charter member Zach Slepian ’11 said he approved of the changes.

“The new Charter approach makes a lot of sense, because it maintains the inclusiveness of the sign-in system while ensuring those who value Charter most have the best chance at getting in,” he said in an e-mail.