Princeton Tower Club

Princeton Tower Club is one of the ten eating clubs at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, and one of five clubs (along with The Ivy Club, University Cottage Club, Cap and Gown Club, and the Tiger Inn) to choose its members through a selective process called bicker. Tower is located at 13 Prospect Avenue between the now-defunct Campus and Cannon Clubs, and currently has a membership of approximately 190 undergraduates.

History

In the spring of 1902, based on the idea of four sophomores, John Lee '04, Henry Pogue '04, Otto Wolff '04, Conway Shearer '04, and Frank "Pop" Little '03 led the formation of a new upperclass eating club. In April, a stake of $400 was placed to ensure the secure formation of the club the following year.

In September of the same year the Princeton Tower Club was formed in the old Monastery Club on University Place, across the university from its current location. It was composed of 13 members of the senior class and 13 juniors. During that year, the club hoped to move to a much coveted plot on Prospect Avenue, but settled for the Gulick House on Olden Street. Gulick was also known as the "Incubator" because it had served as a first home for a number of the infant eating clubs. After one term in the Incubator, Tower purchased a plot of land from the Cottage Club and, in September of 1904, moved to a new home at 89 Prospect Avenue. Seven years later, Tower moved to its current location at 13 Prospect Avenue.

Under the leadership of Tower, an Inter-Club Council was formed to address issues involving all of the Princeton eating clubs. Tower also led the formation of the Princeton Prospect Foundation, which enables educational opportunities on "The Street." In 1972, Tower became one of the first clubs to accept women.

Alumni

Famous alumni include:

*Brooks Bowman '35 - composer of jazz standard "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)"
*Roger Berlind '52 - theatrical producer/Citigroup co-founder
*Ed Zschau '61, former California congressman
*Charles Gibson '65 - anchor of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson
*John Stossel '69 - ABC News investigative reporter
*John B. Bellinger III '82 - State Department Legal Advisor
*Michael E. Brown '87 - noted astronomer who discovered Eris, the so-called "tenth planet"
*Molly Ephraim '08 - actress (credits include "Into the Woods", "College Road Trip")

Membership

Only currently-enrolled Princeton students can be members of Tower Club; the majority of the membership is composed of juniors and seniors, with new sophomore members admitted each spring during "bicker". Spring bicker is held during the first two to three days of the second semester. Student bickerees are informed of their membership status on the Friday of the first week of second semester classes. There is also a smaller bicker process held each October and open exclusively to students in their junior and senior years. The details of bicker and pickups are kept secret to preserve club tradition. Traditionally known to attract artistic and politically-engaged students on campus, Tower has diversified in recent years. In 2007 and 2008, Tower was the most bickered eating club. [http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/02/11/20033/]

References

* Club Life at Princeton, 1994. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Prospect Foundation. ISBN 0-9634444-4-1
* http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/text_Tower.html

External links

* [http://www.princeton.edu/~tower/ Princeton Tower Club]
* [http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/02/11/20033/ Daily Princetonian Article]