Will Harvard University Ban Fraternities And Sororities In An Effort To Be More Inclusive?

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A group of faculty members at Harvard University are recommending that the college start prohibiting students from joining fraternities, sororities and similar social organizations with the goal of phasing out such organizations at the school by May 2022.

It's a move that would model policies after Williams College and Bowdoin College, which forbid students form participating in social clubs as undergraduates. And it comes as the college is seeking to be more inclusive, according to the Harvard Crimson, which first reported on this.

"The Committee’s recommendation is in part intended as a preventative step," reads part of the conclusion of a 22-page report authored by a group of 29 Harvard faculty members charged with taking a look at Harvard's recently revised, but unpopular, gender equality policy put into place last year for social clubs.

The committee dug into student surveys spanning academic years 2010-2011 through 2014-15 from freshmen to seniors, according to the faculty members.

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"The comments written by Harvard students in the anonymous surveys about events that take place behind the closed doors of the [Unrecognized Single-Gender Social Organizations] are disturbing, and the comments about the negative effects that the USGSOs have on fellow students in the Harvard community are heartbreaking," reads the report.

The recommendation, released Wednesday morning, the Harvard Crimson said, would replace existing rules if approved by the president of the college. The group recommended banning students from joining social organizations beginning with students entering in the fall of 2018, exempting current students already participating in frat or sorority life but leading to an eventual phase-out.

The recommendations represent the college's effort to curb the influence of single-gender social groups on campus. In May 2016, university President Drew G. Faust announced the college’s current policy, which bars members of single-gender social organizations from holding certain leadership positions on campus.

But widespread faculty criticism led to the creation of the committee tasked with taking a second look at the policy. Upon consulting with students and faculty, the group determined pushing single-sex groups to adopt gender-neutral membership policies, did not go far enough.

"The Committee’s deliberations were carried out under the shadow of tragic events relating to hazing and excessive drinking at other campuses across America. In the wake of such events, other Colleges and Universities have taken reactive steps such as closing down certain fraternities," the report said. “Our main reservation about the stated goal of the [current] policy was whether the focus on ending gender segregation and discrimination is too narrow.”

The committee recommends language for the university to consider using:

“Harvard students may neither join nor participate in final clubs, fraternities or sororities, or other similar private, exclusionary social organizations that are exclusively or predominantly made up of Harvard students, whether they have any local or national affiliation, during their time in the College. The College will take disciplinary action against students who are found to be participating in such organizations. Violations will be adjudicated by the Administrative Board.”

There was a dissenting opinion in the report's appendix. Professor David Haig said though he was in the minority of the group that looked at the policy, there was no data showing whether he represented the minority of the school. Still, he said the policy recommendations represented competing goods:

"On the one hand, respect for student autonomy and freedom of association; on the other hand, non-discrimination and inclusivity. The report strongly favors the latter over the former goods. I continue to favor a balance more on the side of student autonomy because I am unconvinced that the policy, when implemented, will solve the latter problems," he wrote in the dissent.

The committee is slated to present the recommendations to the rest of the faculty and then wait for the feedback before going to the dean and then the president with their official recommendations, the Crimson reports.

Representatives from Harvard were not immediately available for comment.

"Freedom of association and speech are paramount for the intellectual and spiritual growth of students. We urge Harvard to focus on creating a culture of health and safety on campus that also respects students’ rights," said Heather Kirk of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents more than 60 international and national men’s fraternities, in an email to Patch.

READ the full Crimson Article: Faculty recommends social groups be 'phased out'

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