What is an eating club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's such an absurd thing to call it. "Eating club"?

Wait until you find out what the process of joining an eating club is called.

[Anonymous]

It is/was called bicker.
There are eating clubs you can just join and clubs where you have to be selected, I think.

We need a current Princeton student to comment. I went to Princeton, but many years ago.

[Anonymous]

Some private, prestigious universities have traditions that may have lasted too long: eating clubs; final clubs; secret societies.

And terminology that befuddles and excludes: bursar comes to mind.

I wish all this would change. I was not first gen or a URM but I still disliked it. My undergrad and grad degrees are exclusively HYP and I still think this is precious and pretentious.

Thanks to the OP for raising this.

[Anonymous]

It's the kind of traditional institution that some love and some hate, and which signals "don't apply here if you didn't already know what this was." It's a pecking order within a microcosm of the already privileged descendants of "somebodies." But now they also have some that "anyone" can join.

https://observer.com/2007/02/undercover-at-princetons-eating-clubs/

There are many options for college. Choose wisely where and with whom you want to spend these foundational years.

[Anonymous]

They're essentially co-ed fraternities and sororities in these big houses on Prospect St. You eat there and you party there, but you don't live there. Some are selective (bicker) and others are not (sign-in). You choose them at the start of your second semester during your sophomore year.

Each one tends to have its own character/brand, some of which may shift over the years. For instance, Terrace has consistently been the cool, arty club with great food, while Ivy has been the ultra-selective snooty club, with great food.

[Anonymous]

The food at Terrace was WAY better than the food at Ivy. The drugs, too. But Ivy had table service and candlebra on white tablecloths. Breakfast was a winner, and burger day (Friday lunch) was choice.

[Anonymous]

https://princetoneatingclubs.org/whats-an-eating-club/

[Anonymous]

A rose by any other name

[Anonymous]

It’s just a fraternity. Coed but it’s a mechanism for organizing parties that also offers meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just a fraternity. Coed but it’s a mechanism for organizing parties that also offers meals.

Most fraternities don't serve meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just a fraternity. Coed but it’s a mechanism for organizing parties that also offers meals.

Most fraternities don't serve meals.

Maybe at your college but it’s pretty standard at most fraternities and sororities at any largish school.

[Anonymous]

I find this less obnoxious than the quasi-secret but not secret clubs at Yale. And I think Harvard has them too. It seems like there are eating clubs for all types. I'm sure some people get their hearts broken when they aren't accepted to their top choice, but such is life.

I knew people at state schools (I think UGA) that had the "Gridiron Secret Society" on their resume. So is it secret or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find this less obnoxious than the quasi-secret but not secret clubs at Yale. And I think Harvard has them too. It seems like there are eating clubs for all types. I'm sure some people get their hearts broken when they aren't accepted to their top choice, but such is life.

I knew people at state schools (I think UGA) that had the "Gridiron Secret Society" on their resume. So is it secret or not?

UVA had secret societies too that you were “tapped into” years ago. Not sure if those still exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find this less obnoxious than the quasi-secret but not secret clubs at Yale. And I think Harvard has them too. It seems like there are eating clubs for all types. I'm sure some people get their hearts broken when they aren't accepted to their top choice, but such is life.

I knew people at state schools (I think UGA) that had the "Gridiron Secret Society" on their resume. So is it secret or not?

I know of a fraternity that was on double secret probation at Faber College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it the only option for eating at Princeton? Or are there regular cafeterias too?

There are cafeterias and dorms with kitchens.

Thanks! What percentage of students join eating clubs?

About 75% of Princeton juniors and seniors. Freshmen and sophomores live in residential colleges that have their own dining halls.

Does this mean juniors and seniors cannot live in a residential college?

For us, the obvious thing would be to spend all 4 years in the same residential college. I gather that is not how it works.