Kappa Alpha Theta at Harvard Closing

[DaffyKD]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

And now Alpha Phi is gone...
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2...pha-phi-co-ed/

All the women-only groups are gone while the majority of the male-only groups are still operating "because they have been on the campus for a longer period of time"-- of course they have, Harvard was a male-only school until the 1970's. A blatant example of marginalizing the women on campus.

DaffyKD

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DaffyKD

All the women-only groups are gone while the majority of the male-only groups are still operating "because they have been on the campus for a longer period of time"-- of course they have, Harvard was a male-only school until the 1970's. A blatant example of marginalizing the women on campus.

DaffyKD

How is it marginalizing? The women are the ones who made the choice to cave. All of the men in those male only groups will still be denied the campus leadership positions and scholarships. The lobbying firm that the fraternities’/clubs’ lawyer is working with includes NPC as a client. I’m sure if the women had made the choice to be part of this suit, they’d have been more than welcome.

[DGTess]

If Harvard is so all-fired insistent on eliminating single-gender organizations, why are their all-male sports teams permitted to exist?

[33girl]

They also have all-female sports teams, so that reasoning really doesn't work.

[ChioLu]

I know Harvard is a private university but does It receive ANY federal assistance? If so, could Title IV be brought up as a reason to keep sororities all-female, especially since some of the old male groups can still maintain their 1-gender status? Because that’s discrimination.
Maybe Kevin can answer that.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They also have all-female sports teams, so that reasoning really doesn't work.

Sure it does. There were all-male and all-female final clubs and Greek orgs too. There's no difference at all.

As was noted in the comments of that article posted about Alpha Phi, the male final clubs will continue without any sanctions against their members because they are private, non-university affiliated organizations. It's like them saying that nobody at Harvard could be a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. Can't happen.

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Sure it does. There were all-male and all-female final clubs and Greek orgs too. There's no difference at all.

As was noted in the comments of that article posted about Alpha Phi, the male final clubs will continue without any sanctions against their members because they are private, non-university affiliated organizations. It's like them saying that nobody at Harvard could be a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. Can't happen.

The members who remain of the single-gender finals clubs will be sanctioned the same way the members of single-gender sororities and fraternities would have been or will be: lack of recommendations for scholarships or ability to hold leadership positions. Harvard could expel students who join these groups if they wanted to, but they chose not to, as this article details. My guess is they thought expulsion would alienate too many alumni from donating.

I also wonder how they'll know who are members of finals clubs or other single-gender orgs. It's not like they're getting rosters, and finals clubs don't come with stitched letters. Are they stalking social media for references?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Sure it does. There were all-male and all-female final clubs and Greek orgs too. There's no difference at all.

Sports teams are not social organizations, and it would be silly of us to think that the same kinds of membership requirements apply to both.

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

The members who remain of the single-gender finals clubs will be sanctioned the same way the members of single-gender sororities and fraternities would have been or will be: lack of recommendations for scholarships or ability to hold leadership positions. Harvard could expel students who join these groups if they wanted to, but they chose not to, as this article details. My guess is they thought expulsion would alienate too many alumni from donating.

I also wonder how they'll know who are members of finals clubs or other single-gender orgs. It's not like they're getting rosters, and finals clubs don't come with stitched letters. Are they stalking social media for references?

Thank you, I don’t know why everyone keeps acting like the fraternities and clubs that stayed all male are getting off scot free. If they don’t care about losing out on scholarships and campus leadership positions, that’s their choice. This has all been by choice. I doubt that any of the sorority HQs would have shuttered a chapter here for low membership, given the circumstances.

Don’t some of the Greek chapters in Canada operate independently of their schools? The sororities at Harvard could have done that, but they would have still been subject to the sanctions.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Don’t some of the Greek chapters in Canada operate independently of their schools? The sororities at Harvard could have done that, but they would have still been subject to the sanctions.

I believe that the sororities are Harvard were ALREADY forced to operate independently of the school. There was no official or school recognized chapter of Theta at Harvard University. The chapter was not allowed to refer to Harvard in any published material. They were a "Cambridge" chapter.

[GoldBows]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Don’t some of the Greek chapters in Canada operate independently of their schools? The sororities at Harvard could have done that, but they would have still been subject to the sanctions.

Those schools are not actively seeking to punish members. For example, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario is notorious for being anti-Greek. Yet, three fraternities (Alpha Epsilon Pi, Kappa Sigma and Zeta Psi) and one sorority (Alpha Pi Phi) have Kingston chapters where their members just so happen to go to Queen's. They get by on that technicality, and I think so long as Greek life does not get much bigger on campus, the university is willing to let it slide. They don't have sanctions against students who are members of these organizations, to my knowledge.

[GreekOne]

Originally Posted by thetalady

I believe that the sororities are Harvard were ALREADY forced to operate independently of the school. There was no official or school recognized chapter of Theta at Harvard University. The chapter was not allowed to refer to Harvard in any published material. They were a "Cambridge" chapter.

The same is true of the DG chapter there. It was the "Cambridge" chapter before dissolving. And, the dissolution was at the request of the collegians who did not want to give up the other scholarship and leadership opportunities. Of course, they could have remained. But, at what cost??

As the Harvard administrators expected, the women felt it was better to end their affiliation with the national sororities and become Ivy, Fleur de Lis or Kali Praxi, etc. Time will tell if the remaining men's organizations will succumb to the same pressure or if they prevail in court.

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They also have all-female sports teams, so that reasoning really doesn't work.

It does work when you realize Harvard is imposing these sanctions for the single reason of someone choosing a single-sex group.

If they really want to say that is contrary to their principles, then all single-sex groups should be contrary to their principles.

This is simply a way for Harvard to get rid of undesirables.