Can a fraternity still call itself a fraternity if it’s gender neutral?
The Harvard Crimson reports:
Alpha Epsilon Pi to Go Gender NeutralMembers of the Harvard chapter of national fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi will disaffiliate from the organization and form a new, gender neutral social group, undergraduate chapter president Jake Ascher ’19 announced Tuesday.The Eta Psi chapter of AEPi is the first of Harvard’s nine Greek organizations to go co-ed following the announcement of Harvard’s historic penalties on members of unrecognized single-gender social organizations. The College’s policy will bar undergraduate members of these groups—starting with the Class of 2021—from certain leadership positions, athletic captaincies, and postgraduate fellowships.In a written statement released to The Crimson Tuesday, current members of the chapter announced they had “voted to become a gender neutral organization” and will hold a gender-neutral rush next fall. In order to do so, the group has been forced to disaffiliate from AEPi’s national organization.“Beginning next semester our rush process will be open to all Harvard undergraduates, regardless of gender identity,” the statement reads. “Our chapter has long debated the issues of gender inclusion and neutrality, but the announcement of the sanctions certainly spurred our decision,” it continues.
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