The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-10-14
PRINCETON CLUBS.
Story of the Uniyersity's
Famous Student AS
sociations.
NO SECRET SOCIETIES
Good Fellowship the Rule Every
where-Why Graduates Love
the College.


body; It isn't a crime to speak to a
man without an introduction. and you
don't nave to address your roommate
as Mr. The state Gazette in a
recent issue, says:-One has only to walk
across the campus any evening to get a
fair sample of this free and easy spirit
A. window in bod Hall is opened and a
head poked out.
Hello, Billy Hayes, Silence follows
for a moment, and then again:-sHello.
Billy Hayes
From a room in Edwards Hall, per-
haps 200 feet away, comes back the an
swer-ssHello, Tommy, whats the row?'
ssay, Billy, what'd he give in physics
for tomorrow
THE. next ten pages, and you'd better
get at It, TOO, for it's no snap.
"All right" and the two windows go
down with a bang. the one in bod Hall
battling with another ten pages about
ergs and dynes and acceleration.
Nobody ever thinks of going UP to a
mans room without first finding out
from the sidewalk whether he is in, and
every man is his own telephone all over
the campus. It may seem strange to
one whose soul is overloaded with for
mality. but it's a typical piece of Prince
ton life.
Princeton has no secret fraterntties,
and 1t will probably always be a mys-
terry to fraternity promoters how she
manages to exist without them. She has,
however, substitutes for the fraternity
which accomplish all that the fraternity
does, and perhaps a little more. Fra
ternities usually nave for their objects
the literary and social advancement of
their Instead of combining
them, Princeton makes each a separate
part of the college life. The two halls,
Wing and Clio, certainly furnish the
literary training. while TO his club a
man looks for the social side of his col
lege life.
The clubs are all of comparatively re-
cent origin, none being over twenty
years old. The social element In their
makeup has developed more or less
with their existence, as they were pri-
rnariiy organized as eating clubs. The
college students are eaters from away
back" and the Princetonian doesn't diff
want plenty of it, good, on time and
well cooked. The average college board
ing-heuse keeper is equally voracious, but
in a different way. She isn't going te
49,
when she can serve the genuine, three
ply, woven wire article at six cents. The
students here decided long ago to obviate
this difficulty and organized clubs. In
which things are run on a cooperative
basis and a man gets somewhere neal
what he a for. The freshman ano
ganizations without any clubhouses, con
stftution or bylaws to speak of are
still nothing more than eating CLUBS
When however, a man becomes a jolly
| {11nfcr he iS alirihla fa mernherShin In Onf
of the larger permanent organizations
There are several In lumber. The IVY
Club is the oldest, followed by the Cot
tage Club, Tiger Inn, Cap and Gown
Colonial. Princeton, Elm and Gamer
clubs. Each of them has its w house
which, in the case of the first four named
structure. Each house contains a dining
room, billiard and smoking rooms, Ii
brary and writing rooms. and In SONS
instances a special dining-room and sleep.
ing apartments for the graduate member
of the club. Fifteen juniors are chosen
each year. SO that the average member
ship in e club at any one time is thirty
/, These clubs are really the centre o.
Princeton student life. and one cannol
see the spirit which pervades them with
the first place on the principle that {
!, man does not thoroughly know his Owl
classmates until his Junior year, and {
man is not asked to join a club until h
has been here two years, and both knows
and is known by the men with whom
he cares to associate. All the members
if there is anything that will bring GU
all congenialty in. a man., it is to ST
I across the table from him three times l
day
get an idea of the life. Breakfast an,
dinner are soon finished, and the mel
, hustle off to chapel, Rotations. foot
) ball practice or something. But go afte
supper on an ordinary day, not on a da.
when somebody's father goes, too. an,
2 all the boys sit around in attempted i'm
: ftation of the model artist, nor ON a da.
: when everybody's best girl is attending
{ a tea or some other social function at tn
club. and all that can be heard is tn
swish OF fans and dresses, and a pratt
oecasions-but go down on an ordinar
. day. Supper IS finished and the boy
seek different parts of the house. Som
, try a game of billiards, others go to tn
I reading room and surround themselve
with a large armchair or sprawl out ON
|. window seat. behind the folds of a conf
= around the large freplace with their fee
. distributed everywhere, from the floor t
s the mantelpiece, pun their pipes an
discuss things. Here in front OF the fire
place is where all the reasons are enumeI
afed why this professor is dead square,
and why that one should forfeit his clair
on existence, why Princeton lost the las
Thanksgiving Day game. and why sh
can't lose this year-in short. all thos
m~onaentous questions which cause tn
carcworn undergraduate to regret his Ii
are all settled in front of the Fireplace
But they are all settled In good tim,
The man who in the midst OF tellin
some heroic adventure With q sunsme
girl remembers that he has an exam
n at 10 next morning, gets up, whacks OF
his pipe against the side OF the hreplac
and starts for his room. One by on
= the Others leave, until finally the hous
is deserted. But the next light and es
I cry night during the long fab and white