Eating club presidents and other students have mixed opinions about the special referendum to end the Bicker process at eating clubs.
The referendum called for each eating club to end Bicker no later than the first day of the 2019-20 academic year.
In addition, if the referendum succeeds, the Undergraduate Student Government senate will be required to establish an ad hoc committee to facilitate ending Bicker no more than 45 days after the approval of the referendum. The referendum also requires that an Interclub Council member be appointed a member of that committee.
The text of the referendum cites the allegedly negative impact that the Bicker process hason campus life.
Swetha Doppalapudi ’16, president of Colonial Club, said she thinks the referendum is about starting the conversation about the pros and cons of Bicker within the University community.
“The referendum, if passed, can only serve to advise the clubs to change their systems,” Doppalapudi said. “It doesn’t have any legislative power over these independent entities.”
Ed Walker ’16, president of Cloister Inn, said he is proud to lead a club that does not bicker, but noted that the decision regarding whether to bicker is made by the membership and graduate board of each club.
The presidents of every Bicker clubeither declined to comment or did not respond by press time.
Students’ opinions on the referendum vary.
Many students do not agree with the referendum itself because they view Bicker as just another selective process, similar to the college and job application processes, Jennifer Bu ’17 said.
“I and a lot of people I’ve talked with do have some ethical problems with the Bicker system,” Bu said. “But I think it should be up to every eating club to adjust their own system rather than a collective call to ‘Hose Bicker.’ ”
Bu said she did not vote on the referendum.
One of the reasons Bicker is necessary is that the eating clubs do not have enough space and resources to support every single student who wants to get in, Cristin Shanahan ’16 said.
Hannah Sorkin ’18, who also didn’t vote on the referendum, said she understands why people would be interested in ending Bicker.
“The main reason is that Bicker is a very exclusive process,” she said, "and it makes our community go from inclusive to exclusive, and a lot of people feel left out.”
Alysia DaSilva ’18 said she realizes that Bicker might make some people feel excluded, but that she herself is looking forward to going through the Bicker process.
“I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I think Bicker is one of Princeton’s many traditions, and aside from that, each eating club has its own identity, and if we got rid of Bicker, then the identity of that eating club would probably be destroyed.”
Voting on the referendum took place Monday through Wednesday. The results of the referendum are expected Friday afternoon.
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