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Eating clubs prepare for partially in-person Street Week

Eating clubs
Eating clubs line Prospect Avenue.
Jon Ort / The Daily Princetonian

Princeton’s eating clubs will offer bickerees a variety of in-person and virtual options for this spring’s Street Week amid a return to campus marked by developing regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recruitment events are set to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 25, even as the University’s 20-person capacity restriction has been extended until at least Feb. 15. 

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“In light of current circumstances, we will be taking a hybrid approach to Street Week,” Interclub Council (ICC) President Schuyler Kean ’22 wrote in an email to the Class of 2023 on Thursday, Jan. 20. “By offering a combination of in-person and virtual components, we aim to provide an experience that everyone can participate in equitably given the current guidelines and personal comfort levels around COVID-19.”

Kean’s email also referred students to the ICC website for further event-specific details.

“We are currently working to plan a hybrid Bicker,” Tower Club President Savannah Hampton ’22, who also serves as ICC Vice President, wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian. “Our plans work to follow University COVID guidance with an emphasis on community health while also prioritizing the importance of an in-person Bicker for bickeree/member experience.”

In an email to club officers seen by the ‘Prince,’ Tiger Inn (TI) Vice President and Bicker Chair Demetra Yancopoulos ’22 also emphasized the importance of in-person Bicker both for prospective members looking to gain an understanding of the club environment and for club members hoping to determine which bickerees are the best fit for the club.

Potential bickeree Dariya Brann ’24 said she’s grateful for the opportunity to participate in Bicker in person.

“I’m glad we’re getting even a part of it in person,“ she said. “I would have been really disappointed if it was all virtual and I know my friends feel the same way. But I’ve also heard from some juniors that bickered last year that virtual bicker wasn’t too bad, so I guess it would have been okay either way.”

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TI plans to host in-person Bicker with a maximum of 20 people in a room at a time, in accordance with University guidelines, though Yancopoulos noted in the email the club’s commitment to accommodating those “who would prefer to be outdoors, off the TI premises, or fully remote during bicker.”

Presidents of Bicker clubs Cap and Gown Club, Cottage Club, and Ivy Club did not respond to requests for comment. Cannon Dial Elm Club President David Hoffman ’22 responded to a ‘Prince’ comment request with a partial transcript of the film Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. 

Charter Club Vice President Caroline Kirby ’23 laid out a plan for in-person events in an email to undergraduates on Friday, Jan. 21, including outdoor events and masked, small-group indoor gatherings with virtual options available. The email also noted that outdoor events require a negative COVID-19 test within the last 48 hours. Charter utilizes “selective sign-in,” according to its recruitment website.

The remainder of the sign-in clubs — Cloister Inn, Colonial Club, Quadrangle Club (Quad), and Terrace Club — will each host a range of events throughout Street Week for potential members. Presidents of all four clubs did not respond to requests for comment from the ‘Prince.’

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Cloister Vice President Hadley Clayton ’23 shared in an email to undergraduates on Thursday, Jan. 20 that Cloister will offer a combination of outdoor events, Zoom events, and indoor events in small pods.

“Space is limited due to COVID restrictions so sign up as soon as you can,” she wrote.

Colonial’s Activities Chair Ryan Cho ’23 sent an email to undergraduates on Sunday, Jan. 23 with sign-up links to their upcoming events, which include some that are in person with limited capacity.

Quad will host events in a variety of formats as well, according to an email sent to undergraduates by President Juan Nova ’23 on Wednesday, Jan. 19. One event in particular requires prior registration, while another offers both in-person and virtual options.

An email sent to undergraduates on Saturday, Jan. 22 by Brendan Zelikman ’23, Terrace’s social chair, advertised the start of Terrace’s Street Week, with the first event on Sunday, Jan. 23 requiring a negative COVID-19 test “per University protocol.” The club’s following five events will all be hybrid or virtual, with the exception of in-person house tours.

According to the ICC website, bicker registration will be available from Sunday, Jan. 23 at 12 p.m. through Saturday, Jan. 29 at 11:59 p.m. According to an email to the Class of 2024, prospective members will have the opportunity to rank clubs between Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m., with club placements to be released at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 4.

Annie Rupertus is a first-year from Philadelphia and a News Staff Writer who covers Undergraduate Student Government for the Prince. She can be reached at arupertus@princeton.edu or @annierupertus on Instagram and Twitter.