How much has Sandy changed the face of New York City? Well, the Yale Club has abandoned its dress code as it invites in students who can't make it back to the safety of New Haven. The news came in an email to students from the school's vice president Linda Lorimer, who wrote that for a mere $60 per person students could stay there four to a room. But not just that, the club's usual dress code (which is spelled out as a "Neat, respectful appearance is required at all times," which means a jacket and tie for guys, and "Denim—neat, clean, and in good repair—is now permitted in specific areas of the Club") but young Yale students seeking shelter will not ejected onto Vanderbilt Ave. simply because J. Press is closed. Here is the key portion of Lorimer's letter:

Twitter reacted with appropriate (read: exaggerated) horror. Slate's Jacob Weisberg, an alum, tweeted:

My god, will we descend completely into barbarism? twitter.com/dreambignj/sta…

— Jacob Weisberg (@jacobwe) October 29, 2012

Mother Jones' Clara Jeffery weighed in:

GOOD NEWS: The Yale Club has suspended dress code and will shelter stranded students for $60 a night, 4 to a room. :/

— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) October 29, 2012

But really the institution has been on its way downhill: the hard and fast ban on denim has recently been renounced.

Update: We spoke to manager John Roldan who told us that for the most part rooms are not available for students as the rooms were occupied by people who could not get out themselves. As for the dress club: "We're not going to ask people to come in with a suit or anything like that."

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Esther Zuckerman