E-mail sparks rumor of Campus Club coup

What began as an attempt to find a new dining option resulted in a rumored takeover of Campus Club earlier this week when a series of emails among several minority groups were misinterpreted.

"The term takeover has been misconstrued as a political statement and movement, which is not the goal of the original people joining," said Hassina Outtz '04, who is trying to recruit friends to join Campus.

This fall Campus began a new process for admitting members in response to low sign-in numbers during the past few years. Campus has been actively recruiting new members since the start of the academic year.

Encouraged by Outtz and Gabrielle Ibanez-Vazquez '04, about 25 independent students, who said they are tired of eating at the Frist Campus Center, expressed interest in joining an eating club as a group.

"Our decision to join Campus stemmed from the fact that so many people are sick of eating at Frist but didn't think any of the other clubs are the types of places where they would feel comfortable," Outtz said.

Outtz, Ibanez-Vazquez and Stephen Caldwell '04 met with Dan Hantman '03, Campus president, as "ambassadors" for the group.

The rumor arose Sunday when Caldwell forwarded an email, intended for 25 students, to about 170 students, who were not involved in discussions with Campus.

Students on the email lists of the Black Student Union, Chicano Caucus and Accion Puertorriqueqa y Amigos were forwarded the email.

The emails included a statement signed by Ibanez-Vazquez and Outtz that said minorities have been looking for a place to establish themselves socially for years and that minorities should join a club together this year.

"There has been a lot of talk about 'taking over' the 'Street' and that time has come," it said.

Outtz said they regret referring to it as a "takeover" and using such strong language.

"The reason why the efforts begun as directed at minorities is simply because . . . we just happen to have a primarily minority group of friends," she said.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

In the original email, Hantman gave a timeline for individuals who wished to join the club before Winter Formals and officer elections.

Many emails began circulating on the Chicano Caucus list, some condemning and some applauding the idea.

"An exclusive Latino/Black/ Asian/etc. eating club would be no more than an obvious consequence of the self-segregating tendencies of this university," Fernando Montero '05 wrote in one of the emails. "This [idea] is especially disappointing after the substantial attention given last semester to self-segregation at Princeton."

However, the confusion and debate did not surface among the BSU after the mass email because members had received information about joining Campus as a group, Outtz explained.

"This is really just about a bunch of hungry people looking to join a club where they can eat together — not take it over," Ibanez-Vazquez said. "It's the same thing as when a bunch of friends decide to join a club together in the spring."

An information session was held at Campus last night to give interested students a chance to learn about the club before signing contracts.

While the club announced this fall it would limit its sophomore enrollment to 50 students, Campus is accepting juniors and seniors in addition to that number.

Hantman said he is excited about what the group can bring to the club. "It's great to have a group of friends that want to make the club their own," Hantman said. "New groups of people are what make a club what it is."

Ibanez-Vazquez said she wanted to show minorities that there is more to eating clubs than weekend parties.

Current club memberships reflect a low number of minorities. African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic students compose as little as 3 percent of the membership in some clubs, while others boast of numbers closer to 30 percent, according to information in the upperclassmen facebook. Those percentages are far lower without including Asian-American students, and in the past, the minority population was even smaller.

"I think the big to-do over this mass email isn't so much a reflection of the individuals involved with it, but a reflection over the noticeable lack of diversity on the 'Street,' " Ibanez-Vazquez said.