Harvard faculty objects to restrictions on single-gender groups

In a motion filed Monday, 12 Harvard professors expressed disapproval with the university’s recent decision to impose sanctions on single-gender final clubs, the Harvard Crimson reported.

“Harvard College shall not discriminate against students on the basis of organizations they join,” the Faculty of Arts and Sciences professors wrote.

The motion would oppose attempts by the Harvard administration to penalize final club members. President Drew Faust announced May 6 that starting with the Class of 2021, anyone who is a member of a single-gender final club, a sorority, or a fraternity will not be eligible to hold a leadership position in a club, be a captain on an athletic team, or receive recommendations for prestigious scholarships.

The faculty members,, according to the Crimson report, argue that the college does not discriminate based on “political parties with which they affiliate, nor social, political or other affinity groups they join, as long as those organizations, parties, or groups have not been judged to be illegal.

“Students may exercise their civil right to free assembly without fear that Harvard will disadvantage them because they have joined an organization that does not comply with Harvard policies,” they wrote.