Need more specifics about eating club stereotypes

ray121988
Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:58:50 +0000

lifelearner, from your description of yourself (or your friend, who is ostensibly like yourself, but perhaps hails from a different religious background?), you should, like one of the posters above, consider Charter, Colonial, and also Quadrangle. All three of these have a fair amount of Christian people. Evangelicals are fairly well-represented in all three, but in addition, (white/Hispanic) Catholics congregate in Charter, Asians go towards Colonial, and blacks gravitate towards Quadrangle.

The most Jewish club is Tower. It is a bicker club, but it is the least party-hard of any bicker club, and is perhaps less party-hard than one of the sign-ins (Cloister). The people here are motivated by performance arts, campus publications, social justice, and their own resumes.

Now to answer some of your other questions:

1) “Can someone PLEASE point me to a site or video that is current, and specific, (the more detailed, the better) to give a prospective student or freshman a better idea?”

There is no such site. The University’s materials on the clubs are totally pasteurized.

2) “what is the ratio or % of guys/girls at most of the clubs?”

If there is an imbalance anywhere, it is virtually unnoticeable.

3) “Would this personality/preferred social life profile make it so such a person would Not be well advised to join an eating club OR as you alluded to - do these “parties” consist of mainly Thurs - Sat. nights”

No, there are definitely clubs for this personality type. As I said above, Charter, Colonial, and Quadrangle would all be good bets. Yes, parties are mostly Thurs-Sat nights.

4) “how do the REST of the activities/people in the various clubs differ?”

All the clubs basically hold the same types of events, i.e., “do” the same things. The main differences lie in a) the kind of people you do these things with, and b) the kind of events that are well-attended at each club.

5) “I mean, if a student sought camaraderie in general (to FIND those friends to go to a show with, or play a game with), and wished to have the convenience of a place to study, to eat at during the day (instead of eating at the dorms) and where there would be little stress on “finding someone to eat WITH” (which yes, can be quite stressful for some, especially those without a set clique of friends), and also COULD have a perpetual invite to parties at the club(s) only if they were a club member, would the clubs be a good thing??”

The things you’re seeking, as listed above, are a very large part of the reason people join eating clubs, so yes, the clubs would be a good thing. Absent a desire for partying hard and/or social status, the list above makes someone an absolutely perfect candidate for a sign-in club. One of the best things about being a club member is the ability to sit down at any table with any group of people without those people looking askance at you.

6) “Or do people drink/party 24/7 at these clubs? I’ve heard people say they didn’t join as they weren’t “partiers” but correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that only one aspect of the clubs? And one which can be easily avoided?”

No, people do not party 24/7 at these clubs. No club is on-tap (open for parties) more than three nights a week, and even then, the alcohol only flows for 3-4 hours. So yes, parties are easily avoided.

7) “IS THERE PRESSURE FROM OTHER CLUB MEMBERS TO “SHOW” AT THESE PARTIES?”

At a bicker club, people just assume you’re going to show up to most (if not all of the events), so the pressure is implicit - that is, people may talk excitedly about such and such an upcoming event and expect you to sound enthusiastic as well. At a sign-in club, there is generally a “core” of dedicated members who organize/show up to all the events, while many other members only show up for special events like formals and winetasting. This core of members tries to verbally persuade other members to show up to more events. However, they’re super-nice about it, and you don’t need to feel bad for turning them down - many other members are sure to demur as well.

8) “Like fraternities often make them, are any club functions Mandatory?”

The only mandatory club functions I know of are [new member] pickups, initiations, and [bickeree] discussions (bicker clubs only).

9) “Lastly, if someone is a member of one club, is it easier to be invited to events at the other clubs than if one were a non-member?”

This is generally untrue, even if it may sometimes appear to be the case. For example, if you’re a member of Ivy, it might seem easier to be invited to events at TI, but this may be due to the fact that members of the same organizations (SAE, Pi Phi, sailing team, etc.) often “split” between Ivy and TI when they’re choosing clubs. Therefore, kids in Ivy are more likely to have friends in TI (and vice versa), and what getting invites to other clubs really comes down to is having friends in those other clubs.

10) “mainly I think someone should focus on selecting a club where the PEOPLE will be the best fit.”

This is absolutely correct, and it is what most students try to do when they pick a club.