After multiple sexual assault and gender discrimination complaints in recent years, Harvard University is finally making a move against single-gender social clubs, banning undergraduate club members from holding key positions in the Ivy League university's student groups and athletic teams starting the Class of 2021.
University President Drew G. Faust surprised students, faculty and staff on Friday morning after the said move was announced via email after recommendations from Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, the Harvard Crimson reported. Khurana, along with former Harvard provost Steven Hyman, previously lead in the organization of a university-wide report by the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault which concluded that final clubs are a major contributor to annual numbers of rape and assault on campus.
Faust emphasized the urgency of the move, describing the "final clubs" as "enacting forms of privilege and exclusion at odds with our deepest values."
Final clubs are, in essence, fraternities but with very lavish funding from its millionaire alumni ranks. These influential clubs, while not officially affiliated with the university, started in Harvard before the Cambridge-based institution went coed. As of the moment, Harvard University has six all-male clubs: the AD Club, the Fly, the Owl, the Porcellain, the Delphic and the Phoenix. These six have Matt Damon, JP Morgan, Bill Gates, Ted Kennedy and JP Morgan as former members.
To better understand what final clubs are, you may watch a close to accurate depiction of these organizations in this clip from "The Social Network."
There are also all-female final clubs; however, they do not have as much influence as their all-male counterparts. While male social clubs have their own property, only one female final club (The Bee) has their own real estate and even that is just rented from The Fly, according to the Vox.
As Harvard University is a leading American education institution, the new policy could very well set a precedent for how other universities and colleges approach the growing trend of assault in campuses all over the country.
