Campus Pride, one of the most prominent groups advocating for LGBT college students, is joining national fraternity and sorority groups in opposing a new policy at Harvard University that threatens the Ivy League school’s elite final clubs.
Harvard announced a new rule in May meant to discourage students from joining unrecognized single-gender final clubs and Greek organizations. Students who join such groups cannot participate in leadership positions on campus, including on athletic teams, or be endorsed by the college for elite fellowships such as the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. The move is intended to force the final clubs to either go co-ed or close their off campus operations.
The clubs, which are prominent in the university’s social scene, operate much like fraternities or sororities. Although they are not not affiliated with most of the groups affected, national fraternity and sorority organizations condemned Harvard’s new policy as unfairly punishing undergraduates.
About 1 in 10 graduating Harvard seniors belongs to a final club, unofficial estimates show; club members are also more likely to be white, straight and come from a wealthy background than the rest of the student body.
Harvard took aim at the clubs following a survey that identified a correlation between membership in the groups and the risk of sexual assault.
But Campus Pride is now defending their right to exist.
“Harvard’s policy will not fix the serious campus problems of sexual assault or discrimination ― much less classism and racism. It will only drive them further underground,” Shane Windmeyer, the group’s executive director, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Blocking access or restricting rights is never the answer to complex issues,” he continued. “Instead, we encourage Harvard to reconsider its policy and take a more complex, strategic ownership and responsibility in directly addressing the concerns at heart by all its student populations.”
After the policy change in May, more than 200 women protested against the attack on all-female final clubs. Shortly after, a former dean of the college argued the change was foolish and several professors prepared a resolution opposing the new rules.
As a private school, Harvard can legally restrict what groups students join. But many of the policy’s critics say it violates the principle of free association, on par with blacklisting Communists.
Trans students may prefer to join a single-sex club that matches their gender identity, Windmeyer argued, and Harvard should not take away their ability to do so.
“For some trans and LGB young people, there is great value, affirmation and personal growth from being part of a single-gendered brotherhood or sisterhood,” Windmeyer said. “For this reason, we strive to protect student rights to join any organization, including fraternities and sororities.”
Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.
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Tyler Kingkade covers higher education and is based in New York. You can contact him at tyler.kingkade@huffingtonpost.com, or find him on Twitter: @tylerkingkade.