Tiger Inn
Encyclopedia
The Tiger Inn is one of the ten active eating clubs at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey
. Tiger Inn was founded in 1890 and is one of the "Big Four" eating clubs at Princeton (the others are The Ivy Club
, University Cottage Club
, and Cap and Gown Club
).. Tiger Inn is the third oldest Eating Club. Its clubhouse, located at 48 Prospect Avenue, near the Princeton University campus, is the oldest of the Eating Club houses, and is both architecturally distinct, built in the Tudor style, and historically notable. The clubhouse has been in continuous use since the facility first opened. It is a selective club, meaning membership is awarded after successful completion of a process called bicker
. During bicker, prospective members interact with current members who then convene to vote on whether the prospective members should "receive a bid," or be invited to join, the club. Members frequently refer to the club as "The Glorious Tiger Inn" and their unofficial motto is, "Always in the Right."
The club is described by F. Scott Fitzgerald
in This Side of Paradise
(1920) as "broad-shouldered and athletic, vitalized by an honest elaboration of prep-school
standards." In a 1927 essay on Princeton for the magazine College Humor, Fitzgerald elaborated: "Tiger Inn cultivates a bluff simplicity. Its membership is largely athletic and while it pretends to disdain social qualifications it has a sharp exclusiveness of its own."
Debate over co-ed membership abounded until 1991, before which Tiger Inn had been all-male. The club became the last selective club to offer membership to women. Prior to the decision of the undergraduate club membership to open its membership to women, other selective Eating Clubs had gone to court to defend the practice of banning women from their ranks. For example, the New Jersey Supreme Court
ruled in Frank v. Ivy Club that the failure to open membership to women violated the state's anti-discrimination statute.
The Tiger Inn's distinctive clubhouse underwent renovations, improvements and enlargements culminating in the formal opening of its newest facilities on the weekend of November 11-13, 2011. Funded entirely by the club's alumni, the expanded facilities include a new dining hall and improvements to the spaces normally reserved for social events.
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
. Tiger Inn was founded in 1890 and is one of the "Big Four" eating clubs at Princeton (the others are The Ivy Club
The Ivy Club
The Ivy Club is the oldest eating club at Princeton University. It was founded in 1879 with Arthur Hawley Scribner as its first head. The members of each class are selected through the bicker process, a series of ten screening interviews, which are followed by discussions amongst the members as...
, University Cottage Club
University Cottage Club
The University Cottage Club is one of ten current eating clubs at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is also one of the five bicker clubs, along with The Ivy Club, Tiger Inn, Cap and Gown Club, and Tower Club.-History:...
, and Cap and Gown Club
Cap and Gown Club
Cap and Gown Club, founded in 1890, is an eating club at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Colloquially known as "Cap", the club is one of the "Big Four" eating clubs at Princeton . Members are selected through a selective process called bicker...
).. Tiger Inn is the third oldest Eating Club. Its clubhouse, located at 48 Prospect Avenue, near the Princeton University campus, is the oldest of the Eating Club houses, and is both architecturally distinct, built in the Tudor style, and historically notable. The clubhouse has been in continuous use since the facility first opened. It is a selective club, meaning membership is awarded after successful completion of a process called bicker
Bicker
Bicker may refer to*Bicker, Lincolnshire*Bicker, a practice in the eating clubs at Princeton University and Mount Olive College*Bicker , a Dutch Golden Age family, headed by Andries Bicker...
. During bicker, prospective members interact with current members who then convene to vote on whether the prospective members should "receive a bid," or be invited to join, the club. Members frequently refer to the club as "The Glorious Tiger Inn" and their unofficial motto is, "Always in the Right."
The club is described by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
in This Side of Paradise
This Side of Paradise
This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920, and taking its title from a line of the Rupert Brooke poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive Princeton University...
(1920) as "broad-shouldered and athletic, vitalized by an honest elaboration of prep-school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
standards." In a 1927 essay on Princeton for the magazine College Humor, Fitzgerald elaborated: "Tiger Inn cultivates a bluff simplicity. Its membership is largely athletic and while it pretends to disdain social qualifications it has a sharp exclusiveness of its own."
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
ruled in Frank v. Ivy Club that the failure to open membership to women violated the state's anti-discrimination statute.
The Tiger Inn's distinctive clubhouse underwent renovations, improvements and enlargements culminating in the formal opening of its newest facilities on the weekend of November 11-13, 2011. Funded entirely by the club's alumni, the expanded facilities include a new dining hall and improvements to the spaces normally reserved for social events.
External links
- Official Tiger Inn Website
- History and culture of the clubs, at Princeton's official site.
- History of the Tiger Inn building