The Street in flux

Consider a metric of the percentage difference between the number of students who bicker and sign in first round, and the number of students accepted into clubs after signing in second round is complete. Using published articles from this paper to gather the numbers for the somewhat limited time frame of the past three years, the percentage difference was found to be 19.5 percent in 2010. In 2011, that percentage difference dropped significantly to 10.4 percent and increased only slightly to 12.1 percent for this year, if Cannon Dial Elm Club is excluded from the data. That is to say, there was almost a halving of the number of people who chose not to join any club when faced with being unable to join their first-choice club this year as compared with two years ago.

In terms of numbers, most of the bicker clubs had the same number of bickerees in Spring 2012 as they did two years ago, with the exception of Cottage Club, which saw a small decrease. A smaller percentage of bickerees were hosed from bicker clubs than in previous years, thanks to the impact of Cannon. The increased number of second-round sign-ins suggests the sign-ins as a group are more competitive in relation to bicker clubs than in previous years. My data show that, while sign-in clubs as a group were less preferable than bicker clubs as individuals’ first-choices, more people are willing to join a sign-in than before. A significant part of Colonial’s recovery in numbers between 2010 and 2011 ought to be attributed to its increasing attractiveness in second-round sign-ins.

Cannon seems to be, based on the changing numbers, supplying to excess demand for that particular kind of club. The long-term impacts of Cannon taking pre-existing constituencies from other clubs, and how those clubs respond, have yet to be observed and will be difficult to predict. The clearest demonstration of the need for competition to spur improvements is not Cannon, but Quad. Quad dropped its price, resulting in roughly a 40 percent increase in members, which is phenomenal. Clearly there exists unmet demand for a cheaper eating club experience, and Quad is brave enough to attempt to explore that unfilled market.

Between Quad, Cannon and the clear increase in the number of Princetonians to join an eating club this spring, one has to call into question the Eating Club Task Force’s belief that the Princeton community has only enough demand for 10.5 clubs. Even if we fill a lack of published numbers by making some harsh assumptions about how many people were in Quad and Cannon after second-round sign-ins were complete — the former not publishing and the latter holding Bicker so early that some individuals likely bickered or signed-in elsewhere — the total number of people in eating clubs has increased by roughly 70 people relative to last year and roughly 190 people relative to 2010, if not by more.

The student body has been changing, and its needs and desires have changed along with it. Clubs could not stay static well before Cannon opened and certainly must adapt now that Cannon has. We are seeing the same forces at work on the Street as those we see in the real world. MySpace failed to adapt when Facebook appeared and all but died. Facebook adapted — and copied — when Google+ appeared, and now both services are co-existing. Consumers are now better off, thanks to competition.

Whether it’s gradual change or punctuated evolution brought on by Cannon, the now 11 clubs need to change and evolve. The Eating Club Task Force’s assessment of how many clubs the Street could support seems to have been based on a faulty assumption of the status quo continuing. Thanks to the hard work of eating club officers in the pursuit of providing fun for members, that’s certainly not the case. As has been seen this year, the number of people who have joined eating clubs has increased as a result of the Street better catering to the needs and desires of undergraduates. A Street more responsive to students’ needs makes for happier students and, therefore, a better Princeton.

Christopher Troein is an economics major from Windsor, England. He can be reached at ctroein@princeton.edu.