A Night on the Street: Hooking Up and Loneliness at Princeton Eating Clubs

Abstract

This paper provides a thorough ethnographic investigation of the nightlife of students at Princeton eating clubs. I participated directly in club culture to observe the lifecycle of a typical evening, from the beginning of the night when students prepare to go out, to the end when they leave with friends, alone, or with a romantic partner. Through in‐ depth interviews with students, I discovered that most women expressed interest in developing meaningful, lasting relationships rather than short­‐lived hookups. Men more often than women shared with me their explicit desires to hook up, and many believed hooking up would bring them satisfaction at the end of the night. Detailed interviews revealed that overall, both men and women thought they would be happier if they were in a relationship because they were often dissatisfied with one‐night hookups or with leaving the eating clubs alone and single. Many students, especially women and women of color, sometimes left the Street feeling as though they were physically inadequate. While my observations and interviews reveal that students occasionally leave the clubs feeling inadequate and lonely, this is just one aspect of their experiences at the Street.