College at Night

On a weekday night Princeton is quiet except for an occasional shout through the campus ant the mellow mean of the college jazz band. Most undergraduates spend the evening among the open stacks of Friesians library, which stays open until midnight.

Only one or two restaurants in the town do business later than 10 p.m. In a community so residential as Princeton, demand for nightspots has never been high. The new Campus Center serves sandwiches and light snacks until 1 a.m., but generally undergraduates turn-off their lights at the bewitching hour.

This five-day intellectual orgy breaks abruptly on Friday night when the college begins a two-day weekend. Girls are imported for the festivities. they usually spend the night at the upperclass eating clubs, at the Princeton inn, or with local families.

En masse the college lets off steam built up during a week of social starvation. Those with the capital take a train to New York or Philadelphia, and those without, or those unwilling to use it, stay, on campus for club parties. New jersey forbids selling spirits to students who are under 21, and the college and town enforce the rule. For encouragement the undergraduates usually call on an upperclassman who can purchase through the club custos.