On May 6, Drew Faust, President of Harvard University, sent an email to all Harvard College students. In that email, she shared a set of recommendations from Rakesh Khurana, Danoff Dean of Harvard College, concerning membership in unrecognized single-gender social organizations, as well as her letter accepting those recommendations. In his letter, Dean Khurana made six policy suggestions, but the most discussed and controversial are the first two: any students matriculating in the fall of 2017 or thereafter who become members of currently unrecognized single-gender social organizations will be ineligible to hold leadership positions in recognized student organizations or athletic teams, or receive the Dean's endorsement letters for fellowships requiring such endorsements.
To give you an idea of who might be affected by these sanctions two years from now: unrecognized single-gender social organizations include male and female final clubs and national Greek organizations (i.e. fraternities and sororities). Much of the conversation about potential sanctions for such organizations has centered around the male final clubs, for good reason. The male final clubs are unique among these organizations in that they own property on campus (only the Bee, one of the female final clubs, has any property besides them, and they rent it from the Fly Club; the Isis, another female final club, rents space in the Owl Club's building). This, in conjunction with Harvard's lack of physical spaces meant for social activity, contributes to the power imbalances Dean Khurana mentions in his letter to President Faust--power imbalances that, at least in part, manifest themselves in the relatively high frequencies of sexual assault in final clubs.
When one says a sexual assault occurred at a final club, that implies a building. So from that lens, it makes sense that much of the conversation concerning sanctions on unrecognized single-gender social organizations has centered on male final clubs and the sexual assaults that happen there. From that lens, it also makes sense that hundreds of women from female unrecognized social organizations rallied against the sanctions on May 9. However, viewing the sanctions from that perspective alone is reductive. In his letter to President Faust, Dean Khurana does not mention sexual assault once--which is to say, banners along the lines of "Sexual Assault is Not Our Fault" completely miss the mark, even if the banner's message was largely true.
Dean Khurana chose to frame the issue of final clubs and national Greek organizations as an issue of exclusivity and discrimination; there is certainly merit in that. Dues and other expenses that are part of membership in these organizations is a financial barrier to those who cannot afford them (though there is some financial aid). For some of the final clubs, this can cost thousands of dollars. Furthermore, unlike a fraternity or sorority, one cannot simply join most final clubs, rushing aside. With few exceptions, a student who wants to join a final club has to be invited to "punch" (read: rush). In other words, most final clubs have complete control over what students will be invited to be a part of them. Looking at it this way, Dean Khurana was correct when he called the final clubs and Greek organizations exclusive and discriminatory, and was within his bounds as Dean of Harvard College to denounce them (putting aside the fact that Harvard admitted only 5.2 percent of applicants this year).
Is that to say there's no merit in primarily single-gendered organizations? Certainly not. In fact, I myself am a member of the Harvard College Black Men's Forum and have found value in being a part of that organization. There are three differences between the Black Men's Forum (BMF) on campus and the final clubs and Greek organizations, however. First: nowhere in our constitution are there any criteria for membership besides a requirement that a member does 3.5 hours of community service each semester. (There was a requirement that one pay dues to be a member in good standing--the amount was $50 this past year--but said requirement was abolished.) Second: elections aside, no events held or sponsored by BMF limits non-members from attending in any way (except concerning space capacity, and such limits applies to members as well). Third: while BMF is primarily a space for Harvard's black undergraduates by charter, it has done much to attempt to improve relationships between itself and its members and non-members. We are not perfect in that regard, and are still trying to improve. However, the unrecognized single-gender organizations have not done so. (This is without speaking of BMF's purpose as a cultural organization.)
The sanctions passed down by Harvard on unrecognized single-gendered social organizations are not perfect. I understand that Greek organizations are merely chapters, and do not set their membership policies; and if Greek organizations and female final clubs are telling the truth, the college did not engage them in conversation about their policies nearly as much as it did the male final clubs before enacting these new policies. But it is difficult to argue Harvard doesn't have the right to make these particular sanctions. After all, Dean Khurana was right when he said recognized organizations, athletic teams, and fellowship applicants represent Harvard College in some way. We can debate the particulars and fairness of the sanctions Harvard enacted as much as we like (especially now that the school year has ended), but it's hard to argue Harvard wasn't acting within its bounds in enacting them.
