Last Friday, a "middle-aged woman" carrying a camera infiltrated Princeton University for what she claimed was an article for the New York Times on Princeton's famed eating clubs (like the super-WASPy Ivy, pictured at right), which go through a wonderfully snobby "bicker" process to determine who should be let in. Unfortunately for this "reporter," she was not only kicked off campus, but the Times Education Life editor Jane Karr denied sending anyone there on assignment. Curious! But we're thinking Karr might be, you know, lying.

Communications was contacted last week by Karr with a request to cover the bicker process. Cliatt said she told Karr that bicker is a "club process" and the reporters would have to obtain the consent of the eating clubs first. Despite multiple attempts to contact her, Karr could not be reached for comment this weekend... Former Tower president Chris Berg '07 said Karr emailed him on Jan. 30 and later called him.

"I had a New York Times editor call me and ask me lots of questions about Bicker, and I said, 'Of course I can't comment on any of those,' " Berg said. "She said, 'Well, I know that pickups are on Friday, so I'll send a couple of reporters down and if anyone wants to give comments, they can.' "

Berg said that Karr told him the Times was "looking into social institutions," and that she mentioned finals clubs at Harvard and secret societies at Yale.

Well then. If it's not an impostor, our money is on Sewell Chan in a wig.

Purported Times Reporter Follows Pickups [Daily Princetonian]