Erin Hawley writes for National Review Online about the unintended consequences of Harvard‘s ban on single-sex groups.
The controversial policy, implemented with the entering class of 2017, subjects to punishment any undergraduate student who joins an “unrecognized” single-sex social organization. Students who join such organizations may not hold any on-campus leadership position, captain an athletic team, or be recommended for prestigious postgraduate fellowships. …
… Harvard administrators have offered shifting justifications for the policy, claiming first that all-male social clubs (including fraternities and Harvard’s storied “final clubs”) were responsible for a disproportionate share of sexual assaults, and later arguing that such groups “restrict women’s liberty.” Currently, Harvard claims that all single-sex groups are inconsistent with its “core institutional values.”
Whatever the rationale, the policy reeks of paternalism. Although membership in a single-sex organization can be empowering for women, offering a haven for women where they can un-self-consciously grow and develop leadership skills, Harvard has determined that it must prohibit women from joining groups without men for their own good.
Harvard is, of course, not required to host fraternities and sororities on campus. But by banning membership in all off-campus single-sex clubs, Harvard is punishing more than just those who hope to participate in Greek life. Indeed, under the policy, it seems that Harvard could punish any of its students who join an all-female singing group, an all-male Bible study, or a single-sex service organization, such as the Knights of Columbus or the Daughters of Isabella.
