During your first two years at Princeton, you are required to be on a campus dining hall plan. As an upperclassman, you have a lot of dining options:
- You can remain on a dining hall plan
- You can go “independent,” meaning you cook for yourself
- You can join a Co-op, meaning you are part of a group of students who cook for themselves in their own space
- You can join an eating club
The eating clubs are a hub of upperclassman social life on campus. The clubs line Prospect Avenue, a street wedged between academic buildings in the center of campus. The clubs throw parties on weekends, and their buildings provide spaces for students to meet and hang out. And, as the name eating club suggests, each one is a mini dining hall, where members take their meals together. About 75% of upperclassmen are in an eating club, and you can read a description of each one on the eating clubs’ website.
About half of the clubs are “bicker clubs,” meaning you must go through an interview process and be selected for entry. That process is different for every bicker club. The other half are “sign-in,” meaning the club admits everyone who wants to join. “Street week”—the hectic week in which sophomores interview (we call the interview process “bicker”) at the clubs, and club members stay up late discussing who they will admit—takes place at the start of February.
Below, Claire and Sebastian share some thoughts about the eating clubs and bicker, and Raquel discusses her experience joining a co-op.
Claire Beeli ’28
This spring semester, I chose to bicker two clubs, Ivy and Tiger Inn (TI). In the end, I ranked Terrace—a sign-in club, for which sophomores do not bicker—second over TI, and Ivy first.
This choice was a little unusual. Most sophomores who bicker two clubs rank those as their top choices, but I found myself drawn more so to Terrace than TI—I liked the people, food, and conversations there more, and I felt like I fit in better. That realization is an example of the bicker/sign in process working as it should. The process should be somewhat mutual—you get to know the clubs as they get to know you, and both evaluations together determine where you end up.
I joined Ivy, my first choice. The bicker process there involved ten conversations with current members, after which they scored me. Ivy also employs a system of “cards,” which are like recommendation letters from current members. A committee uses your cards and your conversation scores to determine whether you’re a good fit for the club.
I’ve found Ivy to be exactly what I wanted out of an eating club: a highly social environment with rich traditions, excellent food, and a beautiful place to socialize and study during the day as much as at night.
Sebastian Martinez ’27
I have now experienced bicker as both a sophomore looking to get into a club, and as a junior interviewing prospective members of my club, Cannon Dial Elm. Both years, I’ve really enjoyed bicker—you get to have a series of speed date-type conversations with a bunch of your peers you wouldn’t otherwise meet. I like how bicker forces everyone out of their shell and usual routine.
My sophomore year, I bickered two clubs, Cannon Dial Elm and Ivy. Cannon, as we call it for short, is home to most of my teammates on the track team, so I ranked it as my first choice. I love being a Cannon member. Dinner at the club is often the highlight of my day. Although I suspected before bicker I would end up in Cannon, I am glad I also bickered Ivy. I had some memorable conversations. One Ivy member had us paint watercolors while we talked, and another one, a native Portuguese speaker, had us have our conversation in Portuguese, the language I was studying at the time.
A lot of my friends have also had meaningful and memorable bicker experiences. My roommate met his girlfriend in a bicker conversation. I’ve heard of ping pong matches being played during bicker conversations and people going on long walks around campus as they get to know one another.
Raquel Rodriguez ’28
An alternative to an eating club or a meal plan are dining co-ops. These cooking co-operatives are spaces for students to cook tasty, homemade food together, creating a tight-knit community. Co-op dues are cheaper than eating club and meal plan dues and they operate on each member participating in one 2-3 hour cookshift per week and completing a 1 hour chore per week. There is no bicker process for co-ops; rather, they each have a membership lottery, resulting in a randomized process.
I entered the membership lottery for the 2 Dickinson (2D) Street Vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) Co-op! I was drawn to 2D because it is the only co-op with its own house, meaning there is 24/7 access to its fully stocked kitchen and cozy common areas. Like the eating club process, co-ops host meals for prospective members, so I was able to try 2D brunch last month. When I stepped into the house, there were lots of cool art pieces hanging on the walls and there was a delicious smell coming from the freshly made cardamom buns.
I’m now done with the lottery process, and I have a spot confirmed for 2D, starting next fall semester. I’m so excited to meet other new members and officially become an Artichoke – an endearing name for all 2D co-op members.