Review of Admissions Reform
By Jason Ramirez ’13, Undergraduate President 2012-2013
The 2012-2013 academic year witnessed the implementation of street-wide club admissions reform. These efforts date back to the spring of 2010 when the Task Force on the relationship between the University and Eating Clubs released a report providing a number of observations and recommendations. In the winter of 2012, the Eating Club Steering Committee issued an overview with more detailed information and proposals. Throughout the spring and fall of 2012, the Inter Club Council (the council of all club presidents) worked on implementing the recommendations from the Steering Committee. The overall goals were to create a more transparent and equitable admissions process. In its final iteration, the reform consisted of three components: (i) outreach efforts to provide prospective members with the opportunity to learn about each club, (ii) a synchronized timeline for admissions among all clubs, including a new website for applying to the clubs, and (iii) a dual-club bicker option for the current bicker clubs.
Ivy spent a substantial amount of time reviewing the reform proposal and working with the other clubs and the University. Ultimately, Ivy participated in the admissions reform by adopting the first two components of the reform but abstaining from the dual-club bicker option. To adjust to the new bicker approach that many of the other clubs were embracing, Ivy held a number of open house and special dinner events for prospective members in the spring and fall of 2012. These efforts helped the club draw interest from a diverse cross section of the student body. The decision to abstain from the dual-club bicker option was rooted in the club’s commitment to its trusted 10-interview bicker process. The Undergraduate officers and Graduate Board are continuing to consider ways to accommodate the new bicker option while protecting the integrity of Ivy’s bicker process.
The Scribner Desk at The Ivy Club Gift of Charles Scribner III, Section of 1973
By Corbin Miller ’71
Few families have a closer relationship with The Ivy Club than the Scribners. The Pynes, of course, as noted in John Davies’s The Legend of Hobey Baker, considered the Club “a kind of minor church.” But the Scribners too were present at the creation. Arthur H. Scribner 1881 was the first president of Ivy, and his brother Charles 1875 was (along with Moses Taylor Pyne 1877) an Associate Graduate Member, a class of membership composed of distinguished men who were graduated prior to the formation of the Club. Both Arthur and Charles were sons of the first Charles Scribner, Princeton 1840, who founded in 1846 the publishing firm that would become renowned as Charles Scribner’s Sons.
The next Charles Scribner was a member of Ivy’s famous Section of 1913, which had eight members (the Princetonian exclaimed “Even Jesus took 12!”). He was president of Scribners from 1932 until his death in 1952. His son, who was known as Charles Scribner, Jr., graduated from Princeton in 1943 summa cum laude, and succeeded his father as president of the firm. But for his participation in an “ironbound” with some friends from St. Paul’s School, he would surely have been an undergraduate member of Ivy. In the event, he remained loyal to his roommate, who did not receive a bid to Ivy, and joined Cloister Inn. Charles Scribner, Jr. later served as a Trustee of the University, and was elected posthumously to the Section of 1943 in 2012.
Earlier this year, his son Charles Scribner III 1973 (actually the fifth Charles to graduate from Princeton) gave to the Club the oak desk his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had used. It is now in an alcove of the new undercroft exactly as it was used by Charlie’s father, with a glass top under which is a National Geographic map of the ancient world. Pull-out shelves allowed any number of manuscripts to be stacked in easy reach, and among the Scribner authors whose pages passed over this desk are Edith Wharton, Sir Winston Churchill, Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, Alan Paton, and P.D. James.
A Memorial Toast for Mike “Sta-Puft” McCoy ’88/’89
On December 2, 2012, Michael Anthony “Sta-Puft” McCoy passed away suddenly at his home in Appomattox, VA. Puft enriched our lives at the Ivy Club and beyond with his ebullience, good nature, and camaraderie. Many of us remember his legendary performances with the Tigertones under the arches and even Carnegie Hall, or on the McCarter stage with the Triangle Club. But it was the many impromptu performances of “Burger Day” and late night jam sessions on the Ivy grand piano that have left an indelible mark on our Princeton experience. Certainly, Puft’s music and spirit are forever interwoven into our memories. As a tribute to Puft, we would like to raise $15,000 to replace the Ivy grand piano, and rededicate it to Puft’s memory.
Please join us by the piano in Ivy’s front hall on the Friday evening of Reunions weekend for a toast and remembrances in Puft’s honor. We will raise a glass to our friend and begin our efforts to properly honor his memory.
Friday, May 31, 2013 from 5:30-7 p.m. Front Hall, The Ivy Club
Lewis Flinn ’89, Steve Stechschulte ’88, Chat Reynders ’88, Dan Peck ’89, George Knight ’89, David Huntington ’89
Invitations to this reception have been sent over email to Sections ’87-’90. Responses can be made through the on-line invitation or by emailing ivy.club.board@gmail.com.
Donations to the Ivy 1879 Foundation for the McCoy Memorial Fund can be made online at theivyclub.net or by contacting Molly Jones at (609) 423-8136 or at ivy. club.board@gmail.com.