Women Unhappy that Harvard’s Single-Sex Club Ban Applies to Them Too

Women Unhappy that Harvard’s Single-Sex Club Ban Applies to Them Too

The ban on single-sex clubs was meant to provide more equality and inclusion, but some women don’t like it because they see a need for women-only groups.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports:

Harvard Cracks Down on All-Male Clubs. But It’s Women’s Groups That Have Vanished.

To some observers, the demise of exclusionary social groups on college campuses makes a lot of sense. As student populations diversify, administrators are growing more aware of the need to foster inclusive environments, not ones segregated by gender and class. At Harvard, the men’s final clubs in particular seem like vestiges of a university from an earlier era, when the student body was whiter and wealthier than it is today.

So on the surface, it would be easy to dismiss the lawsuits filed against Harvard by Greek organizations last month as a last-gasp effort. Privileged people are digging in their heels in the face of threats to their privilege, the argument goes. The suits are accompanied by a national campaign and petition, with an extensive website that purports to tell “the Truth” about single-gender social organizations. Some sorority chapters at other colleges have encouraged members and alumni to sign on.

But the sorority members who have become the loudest voice in favor of the lawsuits argue that their fight isn’t about protecting privilege at all. It’s about protecting women…

The women, on the other hand, say that the administration’s approach to halting gender discrimination has endangered gender-exclusive spaces that weren’t part of the problem. In fact, those women say, such groups remain necessary on a campus where issues like sexual misconduct persist.

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