ICC discusses diversity, inclusion in eating clubs

In a Princeton Interclub Council conversation about diversity and inclusion in eating clubs on Sunday, eating club officers and students addressed common stereotypes and discussed ways to increase club accessibility for students from a variety of backgrounds.

The conversation was meant to address how the eating club system can become more welcoming towards all students hoping to join, according to a statement from the ICC. All members of the University community were invited to the event, which took place at Cap & Gown Club from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event was attended mostly by officers of eating clubs and other members of eating clubs.

W. Rochelle Calhoun, Vice President for Campus Life, made opening remarks and stated that she looked forward to what would come out of the day’s discussions.

Calhoun mentioned that her office has been focusing on the student community, which is one of the reasons why the freshman orientation program will have incoming freshmen participating in joint activities.

“Part of that is about trying to, at that very moment, help individuals have a sense of deep belonging in this community. I think the clubs have a pretty good place in that landscape,” she said.

ICC President Jean-Carlos Arenas ’16 led the discussion, which was broken into several topics that attendees discussed in small groups before sharing their ideas with the rest of the group.

Arenas is a former staff writer and chief copy editor for The Daily Princetonian.

According to Arenas, topics of discussion included club demographics, socioeconomics, interclub affairs, admissions processes and attrition. The list of topics was generated from the event’s RSVP form, where attendees wrote what they wanted to discuss and the officers at each table took notes on the discussion so they could debrief the event at the next ICC meeting.

Before breaking into table discussions, attendees looked over a list of rules of engagement for the event, which included practicing empathy and good listening skills, speaking from personal experience, engaging everyone present, staying on topic and being sensitive to trigger topics, which were defined as topics that could potentially make others feel upset or uncomfortable.

Grant Godeke ’17, the social chair of Cap & Gown, shared his table’s thoughts on the eating clubs’ stereotypes with the rest of the group. He noted that his group seemed to feel that the stereotype for somebody in an eating club is a white, typically social and outgoing, financially stable student. He noted that certain groups, such as minority individuals, or those opposed to alcoholic consumption or hook-up culture, might feel excluded by the eating clubs. A potential change they suggested was implementing a buddy system, where new students in a club are paired with current members who have similar interests or characteristics, to help the new student connect with the club.

Sean Poosson ’17, president of Cap & Gown, noted that his table discussed a potential way to broaden students’ perception of eating clubs by having them collaborate with other student groups on campus.

"We talked about how to move away from a party image that could alienate groups of people on campus that aren't necessarily into the whole alcohol or party scene… so a suggestion was to have clubs interact with the community in a non-'night-out' way,” he said.

Another question for discussion asked what barriers might exist for lower-income students that could alienate them from eating clubs. Poosson shared that his group discussed creating a sheet or guide for students containing information on the finances of joining a club, and what their options would be regarding campus dining plans and financial aid adjustments.

Godeke said that his group discussed the potential social isolation low-income students may feel at eating clubs, especially for students coming from neighborhoods or schools that do not have a long tradition of sending students to Princeton.

The groups also discussed how the outward-facing image of the eating clubs might affect who ends up joining. Attendees suggested encouraging an RCA discussion during freshman orientation week to explain the social scene on the Street to freshmen who may not know much about it, or starting a raffle of extra passes through the ICC so that freshman or sophomores have more of an opportunity to visit and experience different clubs.

Miles Hinson ’17, the social chair of Charter Club, noted that his group talked about how clubs may seem inaccessible to freshmen who do not understand much about the bicker process. He also said they discussed having more open events for freshmen and sophomore students.

Hinson is a former sports editor for The Daily Princetonian.