204 bicker Cap & Gown

Cap’s low acceptance rate continues a trend of increasing selectivity for the club. Last year, Cap accepted half of its 160 bickerees. In 2009, the club took 90 of its 130 bickerees, or 69 percent. In 2008 it took 76 percent of its bickerees.

The 204 students who bickered Cap also represent the club’s largest Bicker class since 1972, when 205 students bickered. That was also the first class to include women, according to outgoing Cap president Rachel Blum ’11. As the first club to open its doors to women, Cap was also the only option for women in 1972, Blum explained.

She attributed this year’s increase of 44 students over last year’s numbers to a successful and popular social schedule as well as soon-to-be-completed renovations.

“We are about to open up a new part of the club,” Blum explained. “We have a huge addition.”

The renovations include a new dining area, taproom, balcony and outdoor patio that are set to open early this spring.

Cap’s recent social events have also been popular, she said, which supports the rise in numbers.

“We threw a lot of different themes and parties every weekend, and every weekend we’ve had good turnout and a lot of interest,” Blum explained. “We’ve never had numbers like this. It’s a huge increase from last year, and we were able to handle the increase very successfully.”

Meanwhile, Tower, which set a record last year for the most bickerees in University history with 219 students, saw its class of prospective members decrease sharply this year to 169. The club accepted 104 of these, or 62 percent, according to sources within the club who asked to remain anonymous.

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Though this year’s acceptance rate for Tower is significantly higher than last year’s rate of 45 percent, it matches that of 2009.

“Last year was a very competitive year with only about 50 percent of bickerees being accepted,” Tower president Joey Barnett ’12 said. “I think that made potential bickerees consider other clubs to bicker.”

Barnett is also an associate editor for opinion for The Daily Princetonian.

Tower, which is perennially one of the most popular eating clubs in terms of Bicker numbers, also set the previous record for the highest number of bickerees in 2008 with 217 prospective members. Then-president Steve Marcus ’10 also attributed 2009’s reduced Bicker class of 159 to “a backlash from the amount of people that bickered last year,” a trend mirrored in the 2010-11 reduction in numbers.

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After two years of increasing selectivity, Tiger Inn — which accepted 67 percent of its Bicker class last year and 64 percent in 2009 — reverted back to its 2008 and 2007 numbers, when it had one of the highest acceptance percentages of any selective club.

This year, TI accepted 76 of the 92 students who bickered for an acceptance rate of 83 percent, according to sources within the club. It accepted 68 out of 80 students in 2008 and 77 out of 92 students in 2007.

Outgoing TI president Michael Portillo ’11 could not be reached for comment.

Ivy Club’s acceptance rate increased significantly from that of last year, as it took 70 out of around 100 prospective members, according to members who asked not to be named. Last year, the club accepted 65 out of a Bicker class of 130, and its acceptance rate has hovered between 50 and 60 percent over the past few years.

This year’s class of 70 is larger than that of recent years, while its Bicker class of 100 represents a significant drop from the 115 to 130 students who have bickered in recent years.

Outgoing Ivy president John Zacharias ’11 declined to comment.

Cottage Club accepted 89 out of 132 potential members for a 67 percent acceptance rate, lower than last year’s rate of 72 percent and 2009’s rate of 71 percent.

Outgoing Cottage president Chris Della Porta ’11 could not be reached for comment.