Call Number:

AC030

Repository:

Princeton University Library: University Archives

Extent:

2 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William K. Selden Collection on Eating Clubs, Box and Folder Number; University Archives, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1906-1994 (inclusive)

Creator:

Selden, William K. (Class of 1934)

Form:

Clippings. and Reports.

Abstract:

The William K. Selden Collection on Eating Clubs contains research materials collected by Selden for the publication, Club Life at Princeton; An Historical Account of the Upper-Class Eating Clubs at Princeton University. Selden donated the material to the Archives in 1994.

William Kirkpatrick Selden (1911-2009) was an American educator.

As Princeton's student population expanded in the middle part of the 19th century, eating clubs were established to provide sufficient dining services. Eating clubs filled a social vacuum created when Greek-letter fraternities were banned in 1855 and became the dominant social influence among undergraduates. Throughout their history, the restricted clubs were criticized for their exclusivity and for creating artificial barriers among the student population. Membership declined in the years following the Second World War, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s when students sought more egalitarian social institutions. In 1969 the admittance of women into the University caused a stir among the clubs, but many embraced the change and opened membership to women. In 1979 Sally Frank, a third-year student, filed a lawsuit with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights when she was denied membership in three of the exclusive clubs. The final verdict, announced in 1992, forced all clubs to admit women to their ranks. There are presently 14 active clubs on campus, the oldest of which is the Ivy Club, established in 1879.

The collection contains primarily clippings, arranged chronologically, from The Daily Princetonian as well as clippings from Princeton Alumni Weekly and Princeton Weekly Bulletin documenting the activities of Princeton University's Eating Clubs. Topics found within this collection include the University's Bicker policy and women's rights in the Eating Club system. Relevant reports, such as the Report on Undergraduate Residential Life, and personal correspondence are also found.