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Good morning!
Cloister Inn, one of Princeton’s 11 eating clubs, has recently requested donations from alumni to reach a $250,000 fundraising goal by the end of the school year. The email suggests that absent significant fundraising, Cloister may have to close. The club’s request results from declining membership post-pandemic and the club having burned through “90 percent of its reserve savings.”
The graduate board of Cloister is seeking a ‘takeover,’ which involves recruiting sophomores and potentially changing the identity of the club. Cloister’s potential ‘takeover’ is not without precedent. In 2019, Charter Club successfully staged a takeover in response to a decline in membership. Different dining options, new social events, and a proposal to reinstate Bicker were topics of discussion during the takeover.
The prospect of an Eating Club closing comes as class sizes continue to expand, with the Class of 2026 which will join eating clubs in the spring being the largest class in University history. Nonetheless, even though class sizes have expanded in recent years, the number of eating clubs has not expanded significantly. Campus Club closed its doors in the 2000s, and while Cannon Club reopened in the 2010s, one less eating club may strain the remaining clubs in terms of capacity.
As the University looks ahead to Street Week 2024 when roughly 1,600 sophomores will potentially join an eating club, Cloister stands at the precipice of a unique opportunity to redefine its identity
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Analysis by Owen Yu
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