Charter plans for multi-club Bicker system

Charter president Rodrigo Menezes ’13 said in an email to members on Wednesday night that the ICC’s official position is that it has no changes to announce at this time, which is the same position the ICC had in May. He added that “a few clubs” had already accepted the proposal and signed onto the new system.

Current ICC and Cap & Gown Club president Alec Egan ’13 said he was “not at liberty” to confirm whether any clubs had agreed to the new system.

“The ICC’s always looking for ways to better the selection process and make it more transparent,” Egan said. “But at the same time each club is their own entity, so we’re not going to dictate what they can and can’t do. Clubs always have the option to run Bicker as they choose.”

On Wednesday night, bicker club officers did not say whether their clubs had agreed to adopt the new system. ICC adviser Mark Bur ’08 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Egan did not say whether Cap in particular had signed onto the new system. Cannon Dial Elm Club president Connor Clegg ’14 said the club was still having internal discussions about the proposal. Tiger Inn president Ben Barron ’13 said club presidents had been asked not to talk about the proposed new system.

Tower Club president Jamie Joseph ’13 declined to comment, noting that the club would release “plenty of information when we’re ready to.” Ivy Club vice president Mark Linnville ’13 said he was not prepared to say whether Ivy would adopt the policy or not. Cottage Club president William Minshew ’13 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday night.

Last spring, University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee ’69 confirmed that the clubs were in discussions about a system that would allow sophomores to bicker more than one club at once. Durkee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday night.

According to an email Tower officers sent to members in May, sophomores would have the option of bickering up to two clubs during Bicker week. At that point, the proposal for the dual-club system had been submitted to the ICC and individual clubs were considering whether to sign on.

In his message to Charter members, Menezes said sophomores would bicker up to two clubs, rank their preferences and would then be admitted by the highest-ranked club that accepted them.

“Our graduate board and our officers like this idea so much that we will allow sophomores to attempt to join Charter and bicker a club at the same time,” Menezes wrote in the email.

During Bicker week, Charter will now host “last minute” events for students who are bickering a club but are also interested in joining Charter. This would help these students accumulate points under the club’s points-based sign-in system. Students would then be allowed to rank the bicker club along with Charter; they would join the highest-ranked club that accepted them.

In the email, Menezes emphasized that “Charter is not a bicker club” because it has no subjective selection process. He bolded and underlined the word “not.”