Bicker numbers rise by 30 percent

The reintroduction of Cannon Dial Elm Club onto Prospect Avenue this year did not have a particularly significant impact on the numbers of students bickering the other five selective clubs.

Though the number of students that bickered Cottage Club this year dropped significantly, the total number of students who bickered one of the six clubs increased.

This spring, 853 students bickered, a 30 percent increase over the 654 students that bickered last year. The total number of students bickering in the spring has oscillated quite frequently — 742 students bickered in 2010 and 683 in 2009 — but never has the shift been as large as it was this year.

Relative class sizes were not a significant factor; at the beginning of their respective freshman years, the Class of 2014 consisted of 1,313 students and the Class of 2013 consisted of 1,300. Rather, Cannon’s re-emergence has coincided with or contributed to a greater interest in the bicker clubs.

Cannon president Connor Clegg ’14 did not respond to a request for comment. Last year, current Cannon house manager Joe Goss ’14 told The Daily Princetonian that he believed the groups of people that were interested in Cannon were a mix of students that generally spent time at Cottage, Cap & Gown Club or Tiger Inn.

Of those three, Cottage was certainly the most affected by Cannon, which held Bicker in December but so far has not held another one in the spring. While far fewer students bickered Cottage this year — 95 compared to 132 in 2011 — the club maintained a similar membership level to last year, accepting 80. Last year, the club accepted 89 members.

Outgoing Cottage president Rory Wilsey ’12 did not respond to a request for comment.

Last year, Cap attracted a record 204 bickerees, which then-president Rachel Blum ’11 attributed primarily to the completion of the club’s new addition. The excitement surrounding the construction of the new wing likely contributed to the increased interest, and this year’s numbers are more or less a return to normalcy.

Though the 157 students that bickered Cap this year was significantly lower than last year’s total, outgoing president Derek Grego ’12 said he was nonetheless pleased with this year’s numbers. The total number of this year’s bickerees is very similar to 2010, when 160 students bickered Cap. The acceptance rates were similar as well: The club accepted 93 students this year compared to last year’s 95.

“We just finished the renovations, so that generated a lot of excitement about the club, and I think the fact that there are 11 clubs now versus 10 also might have impacted our overall numbers,” Grego told The Daily Princetonian in an interview this weekend.

“The addition of any club was going to affect the numbers a little bit, but overall we still have way more bickerees than spots to fill, so we’re in great shape,” he added.

Additionally, the decline in the number of students bickering Cap may be partly a result of what outgoing Tower Club president Joey Barnett ’12 called the “seesaw” effect between Tower and Cap because of the similarity of their memberships.

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Though Tower had over 50 more bickerees than Cap in 2010, the trend reversed last year. This year, the trend reversed once again, with 207 students bickering Tower. While Cannon’s crossover with Cap likely had some effect, the oscillation in the number of bickerees between Tower and Cap is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

“When one club has a big year, it gets really competitive, so the next year people tend to shift over to the other,” Barnett told the ‘Prince’ in an interview. “Although, I feel that Cap has more of a crossover with Cannon, so they may have been a little more affected.”

TI, on the other hand, saw its Bicker numbers increase significantly over last year, possibly as a result of the completion of its renovations earlier this school year. The club received 126 bickerees this year, up from 92 last year.

The Ivy Club also saw the number of students bickering increase from about 100 students last year to about 130 this year.

In addition to Cottage, Cloister Inn was somewhat affected by Cannon’s pull, according to president Brian Wettach ’13. Wettach attributed the club’s relatively low first-round sign-in total of 32 to the fact that many members of the crew and swim teams that traditionally join Cloister decided to bicker Cannon.

“The lower number comes as a result of new competition on the Street, especially from Cannon,” Wettach said.