Dean Khurana's Crusade Against Harvard Undergraduate Social Groups
On May 6, 2016,
in the midst of spring finals at Harvard College...
Dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana, released recommendations for discriminatory membership policies of undergraduate Unrecognized Single-Gender Social Organizations (USGSOs).
USGSO
An Unrecognized Single Gender Social Organization (USGSO) is any selective-membership, single-gender organization, whose primary purpose is social, including but not limited to final clubs, fraternities and sororities, that has a membership that is comprised entirely of Harvard students and/or Harvard alumni.
WHAT
The sanctions recommended that members of USGSOs would not be eligible to hold leadership positions in athletic teams and recognized student organizations, or to receive the Dean's endorsement letters for fellowships. The sanctions are an administration-led effort to regulate off-campus undergraduate social life.
WHO
This policy would apply to students matriculating in the fall of 2017, i.e. Class of 2021.
All currently enrolled undergraduates are exempt from the effects of this policy for the duration of their time at Harvard.
WHEN
The original proposed sanctions were released May 2016.
In February 2017, the Final Report of the Implementation Committee for the Policy on Membership in Single Gender Social Organizations was released,
which called for an extended timeframe for female groups to adjust and a new category of recognized social groups on-campus.
In July 2017, the Faculty Committee, led by Dean Khurana, released a report calling
for an outright ban on social groups to be phased out from the campus completely by 2022. This report cited no-tolerance social policies of "peer institutions",
including Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, and Middlebury.
Can you tell which of these are USGSOs?
The administration's definition of a USGSO is not well-defined in its policy, creating ambiguity as to which clubs and student organizations with single-gender membership are classified as USGSOs.
| Which of these are USGSOs? | Choose your answer! | ||
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Membership: ~30 brothers. Its values are service, activism, and brotherhood. "[This organization] seeks to promote intercultural understanding and social activism at Harvard and beyond...At its core, [this organization] is committed to exploring the oft-neglected issue of Asian American masculinity". |
Correct!
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Membership: ~45 women This organization is a treble choral ensemble. "[This organization] aims to foster the appreciation and enjoyment of women's choral music... striving to honor its history and further its legacy." |
Correct!
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Membership: ~100 sisters. "Since its creation, [this organization] has strived to strengthen the bonds of black sisterhood through community discussion, social events and public service." They strive to be "catalysts in bringing Black women on Harvard University's campus together for academic, cultural, political and social purposes." |
Correct!
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Membership: ~150 sisters. Its values are scholarship, service, leadership, personal excellence, and friendship/sisterhood. This organization "exists to nurture each member throughout her college and alumna experience and to offer a lifelong opportunity for social, intellectual, and moral growth..." |
Correct!
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Organizations classified as USGSOs by policy
Reflects status of organizations before announcement of sanctions in May 2016
| Sororities | Fraternities |
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| Female Final Clubs | Male Final Clubs |
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Key Characters in the Sanctions
Since May 2016, a multitude of key entities have been involved in the progression of the sanctions, both opposing and supporting.
Hover over the images to learn about the main parties:
Key Events in the Sanctions
Should we follow in the footsteps of our 'peer institutions'?
Both the
Faculty Committee's report and the
Implementation Committee's report cite "Amherst, Bowdoin, and Williams" as "peer institutions who have
dealt with similar issues...[and] decided to ban fraternity and sorority life."
The only caveat is that Harvard looks nothing like its Peer Institutions.
Hover over nodes to learn individual statistics
Click a layer to learn more about that school
There are diverse perspectives on this policy
Controversy over the sanctions has been openly expressed. Here are perspectives from key university leadership and students:
Pro-Sanction Voices
"Harvard College’s commitment to non-discrimination, inclusion, and a healthy social climate has guided and animated the work of the Implementation Committee."
—Report of the Committee on the USGSOsOfficial Policy Report | July 5, 2017
"The final clubs in particular are a product of another era, a time when Harvard’s student body was all male, culturally homogeneous, and overwhelmingly white and affluent. Our student body today is significantly different."
—Drew Faust, University PresidentFormal Statement | December 5, 2017
"The discriminatory membership policies of these organizations have led to the perpetuation of spaces that are rife with power imbalances. In their recruitment practices and through their extensive resources and access to networks of power, these organizations propagate exclusionary values that undermine those of the larger Harvard College community."
—Rakesh Khurana, Dean of CollegeLetter to Faust | May 6, 2016
Anti-Sanction Voices
"Don’t students have the right to associate with whomever they want off campus? [...] Using “nondiscrimination” as a cudgel against students’ private associations is odiously patronizing. No similar policy applies to Harvard faculty or staff."
—Harry Lewis, Former Dean of CollegeThe Washington Post Op-Ed | April 21, 2017
"By removing… spaces for women, Harvard is making our campus less safe for women. The College may have discussed this extensively with the male organizations, but they have only included female organizations as an afterthought."
—Rebecca J. Ramos ’17, Undergraduate#HearHerHarvard Protest | May 10, 2016
"I think the freedom of association is a profoundly important value and I think the idea that we would condition fellowship letters or the opportunity to be elected by one’s peers as captain of a football team on agreement with certain values is inconsistent with the central values of an academic institution."
—Larry Summers, Former University PresidentInterview | May 26, 2016
What are the perspectives of the USGSOs?
Only 8/24 USGSOs have gone co-ed to avoid penalty
- 0/4 Sororities
- 2/5 Fraternities
- 3/6 Female Final Clubs
- 3/9 Male Final Clubs
Most USGSOs have decided to make no changes and operate as
they did prior to the sanctions, showing resistance to these policies.
To visualize how the USGSOs have responded to the sanctions:
- Select a group from dropdown: visualize a specific subset of clubs
- Select a button: visualize status of clubs before or after the sanctions announcement
-
Hover over icons: identify the organization
Where are we now?
The past few years have been fraught with tension regarding the current status of Harvard's unrecognized social groups.
While many administrators and faculty alike realize the negative impact of Harvard's final clubs and their associated exclusivity, many others realize the importance of freedom of association and value of women's spaces.
The implementation of the existing policy is still to be decided, and on 12/06/2017, President Drew Faust announced the University's highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation, voted in favor of maintaining the current sanctions on unrecognized social groups to subdued faculty response. Republicans proposed legislation in the Higher Education act that could prevent Harvard from enforcing the social sanctions. In May, the Faculty will vote on whether the undergraduate social sanctions will appear in the official student handbook.
Clearly there is no shortage of moving pieces in the future of undergraduate social groups at Harvard, and no clear-cut, correct answer. To stay updated with the latest breaking news, subscribe to The Harvard Crimson here.
About
This project was created by Kelly Luo, Tessa Muss, and Zizi Zhang.
Thanks to the CS171 Teaching Staff for their help and guidance throughout this project!
Sources: All citations and sources used for this project can be found here.