Word: bicker
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...although the system has evolved, one important aspect has not changed: Eating clubs still dominate the social life at Princeton. "Since the clubs are all together on Prospect St., that is pretty much the center of activity, especially since we don't have much of a city," Cathy Chute, Bicker chairman at Cap and Gown says. While freshmen and sophomores must eat at a facility resembling Harvard's freshman union, about 60 per cent of juniors and seniors belong to clubs. And most of those in the minority are "independents" who use the cooking facilities provided in many...
Upperclassmen interested in Bickering for the selective clubs--about 400 this year (out of about 2300 juniors and seniors)--sign up to receive a schedule of interview appointments at the clubs. Buck is quick to point out that although Bicker retains some elite vestiges, the process is not discriminatory: Even without an affirmative action policy. Ivy has about the same percentage of minority students as Princeton itself does. Buck defends his club's all-male status, saying. "It's one of the few places left for all-male camaraderie. We pride ourselves on a certain gentility: but, more importantly...
...clubs are not discriminatory. Finnie admits that achieving racial integration is a problem. The clubs "represent a tradition that is WASP and elite, which most Blacks are averse to." Finnie says, adding that many Blacks feel pressure from other Blacks not to join clubs. Anti-Semitism in the Bicker system seems, however to have disappeared, Finnie says...
...selective clubs, something akin to the "100-per-cent rule" of 1958 still exists. If, during Bicker week, a male student completes all his interviews, at all the clubs, he is assured a "hat bid"--one of the clubs must offer him membership. But this rule does not apply to women, who are eligible for only two of the selective clubs...
...establishing a room-and-board system akin to Harvard's Houses or Yale's colleges have been and will continue to be discussed. But, at least for the time being, the basis of Princeton's social system intact. A voice from the past. Buck should have the final word. "Bicker," he says of Ivy. "is almost the life's blood of the place...