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Princeton is old<ref>
Princeton is old<ref>
Princeton considers itself to be the fourth oldest university in British North America.[http://www.princeton.edu/main/about/history/] Princeton, Penn, Brown, Columbia, Rutgers, and Dartmouth are all roughly the same age, originating within about a two-decade period from 1750 to 1770. Because institutional age is a point of pride, and because there is no firm definition of what constitutes "founding," colleges have a tendency to interpret history in such a way as to yield the earliest possible founding date. Until 1895, Princeton would generally have been considered the fourth oldest, Penn then stating its founding date as 1749, but in 1895 Penn alumni found an interpretation for a founding year of 1740, the date Penn now uses. Thus, Princeton and Penn both claim to be the fourth oldest.
Princeton considers itself to be the fourth oldest university in British North America.[http://www.princeton.edu/main/about/history/] Princeton, Penn, Brown, Columbia, Rutgers, and Dartmouth are all roughly the same age, originating within about a two-decade period from 1750 to 1770. Because institutional age is a point of pride, and because there is no firm definition of what constitutes "founding," colleges have a tendency to interpret history in such a way as to yield the earliest possible founding date. Until 1895, Princeton would generally have been considered the fourth oldest, Penn then stating its founding date as 1749, but in 1895 Penn alumni found an interpretation for a founding year of 1740, the date Penn now uses. Thus, Princeton and Penn both claim to be the fourth oldest.
</ref> and famous university in [[Princeton]], [[New Jersey]], founded in 1746 as the "College of New Jersey." It is one of the nine Colonial Colleges (founded before 1776) and one of eight members of the [[Ivy League]].
</ref> and famous, founded in 1746 as the "College of New Jersey." It is one of the nine Colonial Colleges (founded before 1776) and one of eight members of the [[Ivy League]].
Princeton was founded to train men who would become "ornaments of the State as well as the Church." It was chartered to trustees representing the New Light (evangelical) wing of the Presbyterian church, but was open to men of any denomination, and had no legal connection with the Church.<ref>[http://www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/revolution.html Princeton in the American Revolution], Princeton website: "The charter was issued to a self-perpetuating board of trustees who were acting in behalf of the evangelical or New Light wing of the Presbyterian Church, but the College had no legal or constitutional identification with that denomination. Its doors were to be open to all students, 'any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding.' The announced purpose of the founders was to train men who would become 'ornaments of the State as well as the Church.'"</ref>
Princeton was founded to train men who would become "ornaments of the State as well as the Church." It was chartered to trustees representing the New Light (evangelical) wing of the Presbyterian church, but was open to men of any denomination, and had no legal connection with the Church.<ref>[http://www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/revolution.html Princeton in the American Revolution], Princeton website: "The charter was issued to a self-perpetuating board of trustees who were acting in behalf of the evangelical or New Light wing of the Presbyterian Church, but the College had no legal or constitutional identification with that denomination. Its doors were to be open to all students, 'any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding.' The announced purpose of the founders was to train men who would become 'ornaments of the State as well as the Church.'"</ref>
Campus life on Princeton during the Roaring Twenties was depicted by [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] in his novel ''This Side of Paradise.''<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/115/ This Side of Paradise], online text at Bartleby.com]</ref> A Trenton newspaper columnist wrote that "Fitzgerald described how boozing, social climbing and sex were an accepted part of the college scene. And he refused to draw any moral conclusions... The book would bring flappers, flaming youth and fast living into the American consciousness. In time, Fitzgerald would coin a name for the hectic era—The Jazz Age."<ref>[http://www.capitalcentury.com/1920.html The Capital Century: 1920: Fitzgerald's Own 'Paradise'], Trenton, NJ history website; article by Jon Blackwell</ref>
Campus life on Princeton during the Roaring Twenties was depicted by [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] in his novel ''This Side of Paradise.''<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/115/ This Side of Paradise], online text at Bartleby.com]</ref> A Trenton newspaper columnist wrote that "Fitzgerald described how boozing, social climbing and sex were an accepted part of the college scene. And he refused to draw any moral conclusions... The book would bring flappers, flaming youth and fast living into the American consciousness. In time, Fitzgerald would coin a name for the hectic era—The Jazz Age."<ref>[http://www.capitalcentury.com/1920.html The Capital Century: 1920: Fitzgerald's Own 'Paradise'], Trenton, NJ history website; article by Jon Blackwell</ref>
==Eating clubs==
==Eating clubs==
Princeton has no fraternities; socially, the "eating clubs" fulfill somewhat the same role. (While President of Princeton, Woodrow Wilson tried unsuccessfully to abolish the eating clubs.) The eating club tradition became cemented during the years 1899-1910, when the clubs built plush "clubhouses," many on Prospect Avenue, beginning with Ivy Club in 1899.<ref>[http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap11.html The Eating Clubs of Prospect Avenue]</ref> Some clubs named by Fitzgerald in ''This Side of Paradise'' include: "Ivy, detached and breathlessly aristocratic; Cottage, an impressive melange of brilliant adventurers and well-dressed philanderers; Tiger Inn, broad-shouldered and athletic, vitalized by an honest elaboration of prep-school standards; Cap and Gown, anti-alcoholic, faintly religious and politically powerful; flamboyant Colonial; [and] literary Quadrangle." The process of selection for eating clubs is known as "bicker." The Daily Princetonian noted that the "time-honored tradition that has been both celebrated and contentious from its beginning." It is contentious because "Bicker has always had an exclusive nature."<ref>[http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2001/02/09/news/2279.shtml Down the 'Street' A history of the Bicker process], Daily Princetonian].</ref> However, today only five of the eleven clubs use bicker to select candidates.
Princeton has no fraternities; socially, the "eating clubs" fulfill somewhat the same role. (While President of Princeton, Woodrow Wilson tried unsuccessfully to abolish the eating clubs.) The eating club tradition became cemented during the years 1899-1910, when the clubs built plush "clubhouses," many on Prospect Avenue, beginning with Ivy Club in 1899.<ref>[http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap11.html The Eating Clubs of Prospect Avenue]</ref> Some clubs named by Fitzgerald in ''This Side of Paradise'' include: "Ivy, detached and breathlessly aristocratic; Cottage, an impressive melange of brilliant adventurers and well-dressed philanderers; Tiger Inn, broad-shouldered and athletic, vitalized by an honest elaboration of prep-school standards; Cap and Gown, anti-alcoholic, faintly religious and politically powerful; flamboyant Colonial; [and] literary Quadrangle." The process of selection for eating clubs is known as "bicker." The Daily Princetonian noted that the "time-honored tradition that has been both celebrated and contentious from its beginning." It is contentious because "Bicker has always had an exclusive nature."<ref>[http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2001/02/09/news/2279.shtml Down the 'Street' A history of the Bicker process], Daily Princetonian].</ref> However, today only five of the eleven clubs use bicker to select candidates.