Connect to Cap News from the Board Chair Tom Fleming ’69
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NEWSLETTER | Spring 2018 Cap and Gown Club Connect to Cap News from the Board Chair Tom Fleming ’69 Dear Cap Members, Recent changes at Cap and Gown have essentially made up the difference for many of our most In April, the Graduate Interclub Council (GICC) had deserving members. The problem is that the way our annual meeting with the Princeton Trustees’ the financial aid policy is administered provides Committee on Student Life. Everybody present substantial economic incentive for low income was upbeat not just because the campus was students to choose lower cost alternatives, reducing reawakening from winter on a sunny day, but also the likelihood that they join clubs. While we have not because we were able to outline progress in so yet found an acceptable solution, at least both sides many areas including health and safety, community recognize the problem. involvement of our members, and the publication of the book on the architectural history of the clubs. At Cap, the future is bright. Once again we are the The Vice President of Campus Life, Rochelle Calhoun, presented most popular club on the street as measured by the fact that a high level summary of the vision and recommendations that significantly more students came out to bicker Cap than any are emerging from the work of the 2017-2018 Task Force on the other club. The key to our future success with our undergraduate Relationship of the University and the Clubs, on which I actively membership is to continue improving our value proposition. participated as Chair of the GICC. I am pleased to report that We are gratified that the response from our undergraduate there is unanimous agreement on our joint vision and goals and membership is overwhelmingly positive to the design of the Cox a set of recommendations to meet them. We will include more Wing and its multi-purpose use. The bids are in, and to remain specifics in the next newsletter. on schedule with our commitments to the local fire marshal, we will be awarding a contract by the time you read this. The University has released, for further discussion in the wider community, a set of proposals that were discussed extensively I am pleased to report that we have received pledges of more by the Task Force, and which positively respond to several of than $600,000 with over 85% paid towards our $1.2 million goal. the issues we raised during the year. The plan envisions the This will be the last expansion project for the club, which means decoupling of housing and dining so members of residential the last time highly attractive parts of the club can be named. In colleges can continue to live in their college and eat at their club, addition to the overall naming of the Cox Wing, we will have the paving the way for undergraduates to have a real community 1965 South Pavilion and the 1992 fireplace, listing all members experience in both places. The plan requires that all students of each section. The number of remaining opportunities is who are not in a club have a base meal plan. This eliminates the shrinking although all sections who raise $50,000 or more will be current subsidy for independents who receive two free meals a recognized on a special plaque. week and ensures that all students get a base level of nutrition. There will also be a credit for sophomore club members so they In order to maintain leadership and retain important financial do not have to pay twice for meals eaten in their clubs in the flexibility in this rapidly changing environment at Princeton, we spring. The university has been facing considerable resistance need to reach or preferably exceed our campaign goal. We are from independents to the new plan as those on full financial aid confident are loyal alumni will meet this important challenge. will see a minor reduction in the surplus cash they receive if they do not join a club. We hope the university will stand firm. The Task Force also discussed how the rapidly increasing number of undergraduates from low income families can enjoy Tom Fleming ’69 the club experience. The current generous financial aid policy Graduate Board Chair provides these students with most of the necessary funding. The Club Scene President’s Letter Dear Cap Alumni, Hello! My name is RJ Hernandez, and I’m thrilled to be taking over for Jade Williams ’18 as President of the Illustrious! We have had a great start to the semester, which opened with the flurry and excitement of Spring Bicker. There were 267 bickerees, a slight increase from last year and the highest total of any bicker club on the street. After several days of discussions, which were facilitated by Bicker Chair Jarryd Osborne ’18 and assisted by Technology Chair Maya Phillips ’18, we energetically welcomed 97 Sophomores and 6 Juniors into the Cap Family. We held sign-ins in the days following Bicker, officially expanding the current Cap membership to 285 members. Our new officer corps was elected the following week, and we immediately hit the ground running. The officers organized a Valentine’s themed semi-formal to welcome all our new members, spearheaded by the combined efforts of new Vice President Josephine Pinnock ’19, Social Chair Esteban Aguas ’19, and Bicker Chair Jacob Schwartz ’19. Esteban has also been planning creatively themed Member’s Mondays every week, which have included a “Cap Family” event and a Paint & Sip evening. Jacob lent a hand arranging the former, and paired each of the new sophomores with a Junior and Senior in the club to help our newest members quickly establish strong bonds with our upperclassmen. Weekly social activities offered for our membership also continue to include Movie Wednesdays and themed club night Thursday dinners. In addition to these fantastic events, we have been open Thursdays and Saturdays for fun nights out on the street, providing new and fresh music each week. Our new treasurer, Meaghan Attard ’19, has been actively collecting dues from our new members, and new House Manager Theo Tamayo ’19 has been busy keeping the club in tip top shape given the waves of snowstorms and nor’easters that Mother Nature kept sending our way. New Athletics Chair Sami Belkadi ’19 has been active in organizing our membership for Intramural competition, and in the last set of sports, Cap finished in 2nd place in 5-on-5 basketball. While felled by Cannon 52-46, Cap members came out in full support of their team and provided the best “fan section” IMs has ever seen at Princeton. Our new Culturally Cap Chairs, Reed Melchionda ’19 and Andrew Wang ’19, dove right into their new positions by creating a Cap “Member of the Week.” Each week, they interview and highlight two members in the club, and post some fun facts about our members on each of the tables in the Class of 1973 Dining Hall. It has proved to be a nice way to further recognize and get to know some of the more quirky and creative secrets of members in the club. Additionally, our new Community Outreach Chairs, Morgan Bell ’19 and Alison Shim ’19, worked tirelessly with the rest of the Community Service Interclub Council to prepare for the annual street-wide service effort, TruckFest, which took place on April 21. It was a smashing success yet again, as the entire street came together to provide an experience “beyond your taste buds.” They also organized a fundraising event to support the non-profit schoolhouse that Cap Member Nat Tung ’18 will be pursuing in Trenton after 2 609.258.0799 I [email protected] graduation. Our new Sustainability Chairs, Viv Garth ’19 and Nyema Wesley ’19, are continuing to take part in street-wide efforts to recycle cups on nights out and compost. They also facilitated a clothing swap this past week in the clubhouse among the membership. Most recently, Social Chair Annie Hadley ’18 worked with Esteban to plan our annual “Cap in the City” evening. Current members and alumni enjoyed the night in Stitch Bar and Lounge. On the horizon, and as the end of the semester quickly approaches, the officers are also working to organize an “Endless Summer” themed Houseparties. As the Spring weather has finally begun to warm up the days and nights, our members have started to enjoy afternoon meals outside on the terrace and been spending evenings playing backyard games in the yard. As always, we love to see alumni around the club, so if you’re in the area please come by to enjoy a meal or the company of your ever-growing Cap family! Best wishes, RJ Raymond (RJ) Hernandez Undergraduate Officers President: Raymond (RJ) Hernandez ’19 Vice President: Josephine Pinnock ’19 Treasurer: Meaghan Attard ’19 Social Chair: Esteban Aguas ’19 Membership Chair: Jacob Schwartz ’19 House Manager: Theo Tamayo ’19 Athletics Chair: Sami Belkadi ’19 Tech Chair: Ryan McCaffrey ’19 Culturally Cap Chairs: Reed Melchionda ’19 and Andrew Wang ’19 Community Service Chairs: Morgan Bell ’19 and Alison Shim ’19 Sustainability Chairs: From Left to Right: RJ Hernandez, Meaghan Attard, Esteban Aguas, Theo Tamayo, Sami Belkadi, Josephine Pinnock, Jacob Schwartz Nyema Wesley ’19 and Viviane Garth ’19 capandgownclub.org | PO Box 1448, Princeton, NJ 08542 3 New Members Neel Ajjarapu Hannah Fein Arielle Lawson Pranav Rekapalli Princeton,NJ Williamstown, MA Pembroke Pines, FL Atlanta, GA Aizhan Akhmetzhanova Katya Flores Bojan Lazarevic Victor Riveros Karaganda, Kazakhstan Ceres, CA Camp Hill, PA Long Branch, NJ Kate Andre Alexander Glickman Farrah Lee-Elabd Benji Rosenblatt Silver Spring, MD Ithaca, NY San Antonio, TX Glastonbury, CT Ishanya Anthapur Arya Goel Curtis Leonard Isabel Ruehl