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Anthropologists have long argued that mealtimes are a core vehicle for human socialization; nowhere has the connection between food and social activity been more evident than with Princeton University’s storied eating clubs. Featured prominently in popular culture like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise and 2004’s The Rule of Four, Princeton’s eating clubs have historically been the central hubs for campus social activity. Today, they function as both dining halls for university upperclassmen and social houses.

For many of today’s college students, joining a sorority or fraternity is a requisite part of the collegiate experience. However, up until the last thirty years, this was not an option for Princeton students. Barring a few exceptions, sororities and fraternities were banned from the university until the 1980s. Instead, students joined “eating clubs,” which began simply as dining halls for third and fourth-year students. The first eating club opened in 1879, and while the core function remains to provide a place for its members to eat together, the clubs quickly expanded into spaces where university students could participate in other social activities. Most eating clubs now include a living room, a private library, study spaces, game and computer rooms, and athletic facilities for member use. Membership at each club ranges from 120 to 180 members and fees can run upwards of $8,000, not including social fees. The selection process at eating clubs involves either “sign-ins,” in which membership is on a first-come, first-serve basis, or “bickering,” in which prospective members apply for membership and current club members bid, or “bicker,” for the new members.  According to the Princeton University website, eating clubs “provide an array of public service, athletic, leadership and academic extracurricular programs” for campus students.

Prior to the inclusion of fraternal organizations, there were precious few social options for students not interested in joining the campus’ political, debate, and literary clubs. Eating clubs rose up as an alternative social activity, perhaps for students interested in leisure activities of the less academic variety. Activities at various eating clubs have included everything from winter dance formals and movie nights to “Lawnparties,” where bands are hired to perform in outdoor lawn concerts before the start of the fall semester.

Even after fraternal organizations were finally allowed at Princeton, the eating clubs retain the following distinctions from their Greek counterparts: they traditionally admit both genders and unlike fraternity or sorority houses, members do not live in the facilities. Eating clubs continue to draw parallels to sororities and fraternities in other areas – certainly with regards to the hefty member fees. For example, most require member fees that can run up to $7,000 for the dining plan alone; additional social fees can tack on hundreds of dollars more in expenses.

Eating clubs have come under fire by some for being exclusionary and elitist. Students argue that because financial aid packages are insufficient to cover eating club costs, all who rely on financial assistance are effectively barred from joining the clubs. In 2009, Princeton University increased the financial aid offered to upperclassmen to reflect the cost difference between the standard university dining plan and joining an eating club. Some argued that because this aid increase is still not enough to cover social fees, finances continue to be a major consideration for students on whether to join an eating club. The official university policy at this point is to only cover fees related to actual dining costs. This has led to worries that an indirect outcome will be socioeconomic segregation based on which dining options students can afford.

 

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