Entering the second half of my Princeton career is a scary prospect. It seems like just yesterday I was jumping on the couch with my family, screaming at the top of our lungs just seconds after spotting the ‘Congratulations!’ at the top of my Princeton admission decision. 

Being an upperclassman at Princeton is different in a couple key ways from the first and second year experiences. Perhaps most obvious is the change in the dining scene. First-year and sophomores eat all of their meals in the residential college dining halls, while juniors and seniors can get their meals in a number of different ways. Students can opt to continue on a partial or full dining hall plan, join a co-op (a small group of students who rotate cooking often-themed meals), or become fully independent (cooking meals on your own).

However, the most common dining option (and the one I’ve chosen) is joining one of the 11 eating clubs. Joining the eating clubs can sometimes be a source of anxiety for students as they struggle to pick the right one and coordinate choices with their friends. However, students are welcome to eat at clubs other than their own through the Meal Exchange program, and maintain strong friendships outside of their own clubs (I know many of my best friends aren’t in my eating club!) 

Another key change in upperclass life is its residential aspect. Students live in their assigned residential college their first two years at Princeton. Before junior year, however, students have the choice to move out of their colleges and into upperclass housing, which is not affiliated with any of the residential colleges. While most of these buildings share the same Gothic architecture as the underclass dorms, it was definitely jarring for me to see people from colleges other than my home Mathey in the hallways of my new building. Moving off campus is also an option for juniors and seniors, however majority of the student remains on campus since housing is guaranteed all four years.

One final big change going into junior year is the new research focus in coursework. Most of Princeton’s 37 undergraduate concentrations (or majors) require students to begin independent research in their chosen field of study. This begins with the junior paper, a ‘mini-thesis’ which is often a 20-30 page exploration of an original topic within your major. Don’t worry if this sounds intimidating (I’d think you’re crazy if you weren’t a little bit scared) – students within many departments are automatically enrolled in research methods classes that are invaluable in guiding individual projects. 

The end of my college career is perhaps a little closer than I’d like. However, I’m excited for the challenges that lie ahead and am optimistic that the second half of college will be even more fulfilling than the first!

Growing up I always loved baking. I loved to help my mom measure, whisk and sift. I loved when I was old enough to pick my own recipes and create my own dishes. Most of all, I loved the opportunity to enjoy the delicious sweet treats when they were finished.

As I got older, I had fewer and fewer opportunities to bake. Life got busy and baking simply wasn’t a priority. That said, I never lost my love for it. I assumed that when I got to Princeton, I would have even less time to bake or at the very least, no one to bake with — I was very wrong!

While I dabbled in some cooking and baking, it wasn’t until this past year that I really began to fully embrace my baking passion. I found a group of friends who were just as willing to crack open a good cookbook as I was.

We began by baking casually, some cookies here, some bread there. Before we knew it, we were baking multiple nights a week. As such, we decided to found our own baking club, dubbed “Thursday Night Home-Baking Group” funded by Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life (CJL) and open to all Princeton Students. We bake fully kosher (and mostly vegan) baked goods Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. in the basement of the CJL. Past delicacies include everything from challah bread and bagels to three layer brownies and vegan cheesecake. After we bake, we distribute the goodies to our friends, in Frist Campus Center, around the CJL and of course to ourselves!

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Our efforts to create delicious treats that are kosher is an important part of the club and its values. For students at Princeton who keep strict-kosher, it is almost impossible to bake or cook in a social setting because there is no public Princeton kitchen with kosher cooking equipment. Noticing this lack and sharing a desire to be able to bake or cook with my friends, was one of the key factors that led me to acquire the supplies needed to make a baking club accessible to all.

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While students at Princeton are involved in a variety of different activities, helping to run this baking club has been one of the most rewarding leadership opportunities. It is a good reminder to take some time every week from the stresses of being a college student and make time for my friends while also doing something that I love. While in high school, I definitely struggled to find the balance between work and fun, my baking experience at Princeton has been another example of how college gives you so much more space to find balance.

Coming back from the summer is always an adjustment, but an exciting time nonetheless. One of the more fun parts of returning to Old Nassau is hearing about all the incredible things friends have done during the summer months. It is also a great chance to hear more about the experiences offered to undergraduates here. In fact, that is what led me to how I spent my summer.

After hearing about some of my upperclassmen friends discuss their experiences, I ended up pursuing the Martin A. Dale ’53 Summer Award. Every year, the Office of the Dean of the College selects 12-15 sophomore applicants to spend the summer working on their proposed projects. The unique aspect of the award is that all of the proposed projects must be non-academic and focused on self-growth. By accepting the award, students are encouraged to take at least eight weeks away from the rigorous sphere of academia and structured internships to interact with the world in various ways and make space for self-reflection.

Some of the successful projects this year include a friend of mine working to gain his family’s citizenship of the Cherokee nation, reaching the summit of Mt. Denali in Alaska and exploring what queer parenting looks like around the globe. My project was focused on exploring the cuisine of the French-African diaspora. Coming from an African American background, food has long been a way for me to understand my family’s history. With my six years of French education, I went off to explore how other groups relate their food to their cultural cuisine.

I learned that the Martiniquais cuisine carried heavily elements of traditional French cooking such as the use of creams and meats. However, some key differences I noticed was the heavy reliance upon seafood, use of seasonings and incorporating side dishes. Moroccan food had similar differences, but with a greater usage of non-bovine livestock as opposed to seafood. Meanwhile, traditional French food capitalizes on France's plentiful grazing space to embrace cuts of beef and foul in the cuisine. 

The project took me to Martinique, the South of France and Morocco. All throughout, I ate some incredible foods- learning a multitude of family recipes, spoke with a variety of individuals about identity and engaged in some incredible personal reflection. At the end of my summer, I was left grappling with questions on patriotism and racial identity and a plethora of memories.

Princeton offers an inordinate amount of summer opportunities to us undergraduates, often with opportunities for funding to reduce financial hardship. But, this awards embodies a special part of the Princeton community, an emphasis on growing together and encouragement to have new experiences.

An iconic part of the Princeton experience is the illustrious eating club, or rather, 11 eating clubs. Usually, if someone outside of the "Orange Bubble" is asking me about Princeton, they’ll mention an eating club. However, what many people tend to forget is that there are other systems in place so students can eat: staying on the dining hall plan, joining a co-op or being independent (currently the system I am using). Choosing the independent dining option at Princeton means that you have the ability to arrange your own dining. This means that you can cook on your own, eat at other campus dining places or eat at local resaturants.

Before starting my junior year, I was nervous about being independent. I never had to cook for myself, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for such a big step. My sister teased me and said I would starve, so it wasn’t looking great on the homefront in regards to support, either. Nevertheless, I packed the car with the bare minimum of kitchen supplies I thought I would need; I knew I would be using a hall kitchen, so I couldn’t bring everything I was using at home.

My parents brought me to the grocery store on move-in day, and I stocked up for the week. Very quickly, I realized I was going to have a hard time; I had never even been to the grocery store by myself, and now I had to become celebrity chef Rachael Ray overnight! I knew I had to learn, and fast. Here are a few things I have found useful during my short time dining as an independent student thus far:

1. If you have a friend with a car on campus, bribe them with snacks and see if they will drive you to the store. If not...
2. The Weekend Shopper, a campus shuttle, that runs every Saturday and Sunday takes you to a variety of places, including Whole Foods, Wegmans, Walmart and Trader Joe’s. It’s free and easy to figure out!
3. Join the Free Food listserv. Princeton has free food everywhere, all the time. Sometimes you can even find full meals through it! Other times, you can find a nice snack. Either way, it’s definitely something to make use of!
4. Independent students get two dining hall meal swipes per week, so make use of them!
5. There are a few quick, relatively affordable options on Nassau Street if you’re looking to treat yourself (i.e., Tacoria, Jammin’ Crepes, Olives, Panera, Qdoba and more). Use this option sparingly; the costs add up!
6. If you have friends in eating clubs, they get a few guest swipes per semester!

I am sure I will learn more as the days go by!

As you may or may not already know, Princeton has a bit of a different system for dining once you become an upperclassman. The one that probably draws the most intrigue from prospective students is what is known as an "eating club." There are 11 of these clubs, and each one serves as a form of social and dining scenes for upperclassmen, should they choose to be in one. Certain clubs are "sign-in," where one simply has to write their name down in order to join. Others require students to go through a process called "bicker," where students are chosen by current club members to be a part of a club.

Sophomores go through the bicker and sign-in process for the various clubs in the spring semester. The bicker process usually involves playing games and doing mini interviews with various members of the club for a few hours in the evening. This allows you to get a feel for if the club is right for you and provides an opportunity to learn more about the club as a whole. It lasts two days and on "pickup day," students who bickered are notified of their status in the club; if accepted, they proceed to their new club and are warmly welcomed by other club members. Because sophomores aren't upperclassmen, they are allowed to have a couple of meals at the club per week and will then have full member privileges once their junior year starts.

Eating clubs are a great way not only to eat and socialize with your current friends but also provide a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. It's just one of the upperclassmen dining plan options, but worth giving it a shot if you're even the slightest bit curious.

“Want to grab a meal?” I can’t tell you how many times a week I hear this question. It is probably one of the most common questions thrown around here at Princeton. Since everyone needs to eat, grabbing a meal is one of the easiest ways to chat with people. Whether you recently met someone and want to get to know them better, or you want to catch up with an old friend, a meal is always a good option.

If you were to ask a Princeton student on average how long he or she spends in a dining hall in a given week, I bet the number would surprise you. This is largely because the conversations in a dining hall are special. Time tends to stop and one becomes immersed in the conversation.  Sure, there are those days that you have to grab a quick meal in between class, but on average, Princeton students tend to spend their mealtime enjoying the company of others and having intellectual conversations.

I think this is because students enjoy engaging with one another. You never know what interesting thing someone is going to mention that launches into a long discussion. It could be politics, something one just learned in class, an interesting tidbit about one’s past or even what food is being served that day. It doesn’t really matter what the conversation starts with. It just matters where it goes.

Additionally, there are many lectures and conversations with faculty that occur over meal times that further add to the opportunities for interesting discussion over food. For example, over the past two weeks, I have attended a lecture about zebras in Kenya, a pre-vet guidance session, a Spanish table (where students in Spanish classes get together to practice their Spanish), a Hebrew learning session, as well as meetings for various clubs and departments I am part of.

When I was looking at colleges, it was my dinner conversation with my host at Princeton that made me realize Princeton was the school for me. We must have sat in the dining hall for almost two hours going through everything from research opportunities to campus sport culture. My conversation with my host made me realize how incredible people are at Princeton, and how much I wanted to engage with them all. I wanted more meaningful discussions, and I can honestly say now after being on campus for three years, that is exactly what I have gotten. I am still friends with my host today (I actually just got a meal with her last week), and I am constantly making new friends over meals.

So next time you’re looking to make some new friends or catch up with old ones, you know you can always rely on the handy phrase “want to get a meal?”

Every year in April the Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton undergraduates and the local Princeton community come together to host Communiversity ArtsFest. This event features more than 200 booths in which artists showcase their original artwork and crafts, local businesses sell fun and unique merchandise and chefs prepare delicious culinary treats. There are also six stages of continuous live entertainment highlighting local, as well as student, performers. Communiversity draws more than 40,000 people and is one of Central New Jersey’s largest and longest running cultural events.

This event is something Princeton students look forward to every year. It’s a great way for students to interact with and support the local community. It is also a way in which certain clubs on campus are able to highlight their work to a broader audience. For example, the Rocketry Club for the past few years has demonstrated rocket launches for visitors. Plus, there is always at least one club sponsoring a pie-in-your-face competition, which is always hilarious.

Another fun event that occurs in spring is TruckFest. The University brings in ten to twenty different food trucks for students to try. From gourmet hot dogs to cheesecake on a stick, TruckFest seems to have it all. Though the dining hall food here is delicious, there is nothing quite like trying fried mac and cheese or a nutella infused waffle. 

Lastly, the annual dodgeball tournament is a campus favorite. From 8 p.m. until whenever the last man standing is hit, student groups compete against one another in epic dodgeball games. There is pizza, music and lots of camaraderie as students try to win games for their team. Games are divided into large, medium and small groups, with a winner in each category. Residential colleges, eating clubs, sports teams and other student groups compete to assert their dominance in the grand game of dodgeball. Since most students are involved in many clubs and organizations, it is not uncommon to see someone running from one side of the gym to go play for another group he or she is a part of. It's a really fun event that most students look forward to each year. 

Princeton University boasts nearly 300 student organizations, meaning that there is something for everyone. If poetry was your thing in high school, there’s a poetry and spoken word club waiting you. If you preferred singing or dancing, there are dozens of a cappella and dance groups that will suit your need. We even have clubs you never thought you needed to be a part of until now. One of those clubs is the Cheese and Bad Movie Club.

This club arose when the Cheese Club was looking for a way to bring in more members. What could possibly be better at attracting new members than bad movies? Soon enough, the Cheese and Bad Movie Club was born. Although the club might sound a little crazy at first, growing their numbers is exactly what they did.

The premise of the club is exactly as the name suggests: you eat cheese while watching bad movies. However, this cheese is no ordinary cheese. The club serves only the finest of cheeses. From Gouda to bleu to sheep to Brie, the cheese and bad movie club serves it all. The movies don’t disappoint either. Some highlights from this past semester include "Repo Man: The Genetic Opera," "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," "Battlefield Earth" and "Sharknado." If you haven’t heard of any of these movies before, I promise you, they are some of the best-of-the-worst bad movies you will find. Plus, the films are screened in the classroom where Albert Einstein used to guest lecture, which makes everything even more exciting.

Co-presidents of the club Brigid Ehrmantraut and Zach Feig comment, “CaBaM may be the least orthodox student organization at Princeton, but we're certainly one of the most down to earth. Come for the cheese; stay for the movies!”

Cheese and Bad Movies is one of the many fun clubs and organizations Princeton has to offer. Click here to see a list of other clubs.

At college, life often revolves around books, friends, coffee and our favorite treats! The good news is that Princeton has the perfect eclectic café that meets all of these needs in one place. If you're a fan of fair trade coffees, specialty beverages and homemade treats--and you're wondering where you will find that favorite study spot--I think that we have just the place for you. Chances are that you will fit right in with Princeton students' collective love of Small World Coffee, a hip coffee shop just outside of Princeton’s gates on Witherspoon Street!

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Small World is where so many of us students go to study, chat and write. I love that it lets us get into the “real world” without going very far from campus; there’s something so refreshing about getting off campus and doing homework in a place that’s full of not only students, but also families, businesspersons and friends. Small World also has neat events like open mic nights on Mondays and periodic art shows.

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And let’s not neglect the fact that their menu is great too. They sell not only all of the warm and cold beverages to fuel you through any season, but there’s also delicious oatmeal bowls, fresh-baked granola, cookies and the like! You'll likely find yourself as excited about Small World as most of us students are. If so, Witherspoon Café in the Frist Campus Center on campus also sells Small World coffee. So, on those mornings that you are craving your favorite drink on your way to class but don’t have time to get to Nassau Street, you don’t have to miss out!

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One important thing to know about Small World is that they only take cash, so plan accordingly if you are visiting campus this spring and want to enjoy a treat at one of my favorite cafés!