Cloister Inn, one of Princeton’s eating clubs, will pause operations for the next two to three years, citing “hefty renovations” to the club’s house as the reason for the abrupt change. The move, which was announced to undergraduate members on Friday, came as a shock to officers and members alike and follows just 18 months after the club had to resort to an aggressive alumni fundraising campaign to keep its doors open.
An official statement from the club’s Board of Trustees to alumni said that upgrading the facility is necessary to remain competitive on Prospect Street, especially as more students express interest in taking part in Street Week.
“As Board members, we have heard consistent feedback from alumni and students — Cloister must upgrade its facilities and image to provide an experience that is attractive to today’s Princeton students,” the statement read.
In the email to current members, the club’s undergraduate officers expressed disappointment.
“We understand (and are just as shocked as you all are) that this will cause considerable chaos as you sort out your dining plan for next year,” they wrote, hinting that the decision may have come as suddenly to them as it did to the wider membership. They added that they themselves were still figuring out where to live for the coming year.
“I really didn’t see it coming, and I thought it was a really extreme measure,” said Cloister member Aidan Wang ’27.
Wang hopes to join another club in the fall, and while he is optimistic about how the other clubs will accommodate Cloister members, he wished the club had given members more advanced warning.
“If a shutdown was indeed necessary, give us at least a semester’s warning first before shutting down, so we could have time to figure out and plan what our next move is going to be,” Wang said.
Quadrangle Club and Colonial Club have officially pledged to accept any Cloister member who wishes to join, according to a separate statement sent out by the board to student members Friday night. Apart from Cloister, these were the only clubs without a waitlist to join at the end of Street Week in the spring.
Mike Jackman ’92, Chairman of the Board of Trustees told The Daily Princetonian in an interview that there are ongoing conversations with other clubs to make space for Cloister members, but he did not explicitly mention which additional clubs.
When asked why the club chose to pause operations entirely, unlike Charter Club and Cannon Dial Elm, which have undergone or are undergoing renovations while remaining open, Jackman explained that the club has not had a major renovation since the 1980s. He noted that major infrastructure work, especially in the kitchen, library, and dining spaces, would be too disruptive to continue normal activities.
Jackman said that the renovations would include changes to the kitchen, library, and dining spaces, but it appears that many details still need to be sorted out. In a message to the club’s alumni on Friday, Jackman said a team of alums would “develop the vision as well as the execution plan and investment required” over the next six months.
Still, Jackman said that the temporary closure is necessary due to the disruptions it would bring to members.
“The resulting disruption to undergraduate activity would be too severe to be able to provide student members the experience they deserve if we were to operate during the renovation,” Jackman said.
“Once that construction starts, the only alternative would have been to spread it out over multiple summers, and we didn’t want to wait that long,” he added.
In addition to the call for renovations, Jackman also cited the club’s low membership in recent years.
“Since COVID, the annual membership of the club has been under 50 students, and we expect this trend to continue,” the Board of Trustees said in a statement to alumni.
“[Low membership is] a sign, at least to me, that what we're offering at Cloister is not meeting the needs of enough kids on the campus,” Jackman added in an interview.
During the 2023–24 school year, Cloister’s membership was split between the Classes of 2024 and 2025, with 20 members in the former and 21 members in the latter. Three members were graduate students or associate research scholars.
Cloister has a long history of near-closures. In 1972, Cloister temporarily closed due to lack of membership and became an alternate dining facility for undergraduates and an alumni center until 1977. In 1985, Cloister recruited only 11 new members during its sign-in period, causing it to nearly close. In 1994, Cloister undertook a “takeover” by sophomores which helped rescue its declining membership. In 2023, Cloister asked alumni to raise $250,000 in order to avoid closure. Club leadership hoped to pursue another “takeover” that ultimately did not take place.
In the absence of member dues, Cloister has secured baseline funding for the renovations from an “entity friendly to the club” that Jackman was unwilling to disclose. Alumni have also been called upon to help fundraise.
Jackman confirmed to the ‘Prince’ that this decision was made at the club’s Board of Trustees meeting on June 4 and student members and alumni were all notified on Friday.
While Jackman acknowledged the disappointment felt by students, he expressed optimism about the opportunity to rebuild from the ground up. With no returning members when the club reopens, he sees a chance to reimagine the club’s identity.
“I think we'll see some other members of other clubs probably get involved, because a strong club system helps all the clubs, and helps Princeton students, and really helps Princeton,” he said.
“We have to think about how students want to join a club, what kind of environment they’re looking for, and how to create that vibe. This is a very exciting project, and one that’s going to pay off for future Cloister members,” Jackman added.
Justus Wilhoit is a head Audience editor and senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Kenosha, Wis. and typically covers Princeton’s eating clubs and co-ops, identity and student life, and the Trump administration.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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