Court Upsets Order That 2 Princeton Clubs Admit Women

An appeals court today reversed a state order that Princeton University’s two remaining all-male eating clubs admit women, ruling that a procedural error several years ago denied the clubs a fair hearing.

A three-judge panel ruled that the clubs were entitled to a hearing before an administrative law judge in 1985 before a determination of whether they fell under New Jersey anti-discrimination laws.

Much of the social life at Princeton University revolves around 13 clubs where most juniors and seniors eat. The clubs are in privately owned houses near the campus. Since Princeton began admitting women in 1969, all clubs except the Ivy Club and the Tiger Inn have changed their rules to admit women.