Undergraduate President’s Report – Thacher
When Chris Eisgruber took over as the new president of Princeton, he made it clear that stability and “keeping on the course” were his main ambitions. As the wonderful, indispensable, and at times stern, Betty Rascher would say (I imagine) – stability is a good thing and that’s what has defined the Ivy Club in the past six months. Not to mention, I like to think Ivy could be on Princeton’s trajectory: you know – global prominence, massive endowment, and a place where Woody Allen wants to come and chat.
Ushering in the autumn, as per usual, we held a fall bicker session. This session was one of the most competitive to date, with only five percent of applicants being offered admission. Our bicker chair, Alexander Bayman put together a flawless and incredibly detailed process that all the members were delighted with. The new members have already assimilated brilliantly into the Club. For example: Casilda Aresti, a new member from Madrid is everyone’s favorite sports fan with her complete and at times frenzied love for soccer. Along with bicker, we held our annual Tiger Inn versus Ivy Olympics (a competition that pits both clubs against each other in a variety of events). A particular highlight was Owen Knights ’14 heaving an empty keg into orbit – around 30 feet away, and winning us the event.
As for how the club functions on a daily basis – everything is copasetic. We have held two roundtable sessions, one with Arjun Jain’s ’14 father and another with the energetic and endless conversationalist Professor Jeff Nunokawa. Dinner is as thriving as ever. Chef Paul has done some magical and wondrous things with Brussels sprouts and skirt steak – to name a few. One exciting new endeavor was the first annual Ivy Pumpkin Carving. Susannah Shipton ’14 led, after petitions and lobbying, the day-long event.
Although it’s only a few weeks into the year, Ivy is as stable and proud as ever. So come by and see the new stained glass window in the Great Hall and stay for dinner. As Ronnie Reagan once said: “All great things in America happen at the [Ivy] dinner table.”
In Betty we trust,
Thacher