HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
has several types of social clubs. These are split between gender-inclusive clubs recognized by the college, and unrecognized single-gender clubs which are subject to College sanctions. The
Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...
holds claim as the oldest collegiate social club in America, tracing its roots back to 1770. The next oldest institutions, dating to 1791, are the traditionally all-male final clubs. Fraternities were prominent in the late 19th century as well, until their initial expulsions and then eventual resurrection off Harvard's campus in the 1990s. From 1991 onwards, all-female final clubs as well as sororities began to appear. Between 1984 and 2018, no social organizations were recognized by the school due to the clubs' refusal to become gender-inclusive. Beginning with the
Spee Club The Spee Club is a final club at Harvard University. After voting to adopt a gender-neutral membership policy in September 2015, the Spee Club became the first Harvard final club to admit both male and female members. The clubhouse is located at ...
in 2015, a number of formerly single-gender organizations began to admit new members regardless of gender. In 2016, Harvard announced sanctions on members of remaining single-gender clubs, aiming to push them to become coed. On September 8, 2018, Harvard announced that it would recognize an initial list of fifteen social organizations that either already were gender-inclusive or had committed to becoming gender-inclusive. On June 30, 2020, Harvard announced that it would drop its social group sanctions as a result of a Supreme Court decision on sex discrimination.


Origins

The historical basis for the name "final clubs" dates to the late 19th century, a time when Harvard had a variety of clubs for students of each class year. During that period, Harvard College freshmen could join a freshman club, then a "waiting club," and eventually, as they neared completion of their studies, a "final club." Hence, students of different years joined different clubs, and the "final clubs" were so named because they were the last social club a person could join before graduation. Harvard's final clubs for women date to 1991 with the founding of the Bee Club. Many of the clubs were founded in the 19th century, after Harvard banned traditional fraternities in the 1850s. Of the final clubs still in existence (see below), only the Fox was initially founded as a final club. The Phoenix SK is the amalgam of three separate clubs: the Phoenix, the Sphinx, and the Kalumet.


The Clubs

Male Final clubs: * Porcellian Club (1791) * A.D. Club (1836) * Delphic Club (1846) * Fly Club (1865) * Phoenix S.K. Club (1895) *
Owl Club The Owl Club of Cape Town, South Africa (formed in 1894), is a social meeting place for all those with an interest in the arts and sciences. The monthly meetings include an evening of fellowship, fine dining, stimulating conversation, talks by ac ...
(1896) * Fox Club (1898) Female Final clubs: * Bee Club (1991) * The IC (2000) * The Pleiades Society (2002) * La Vie Club (2008) * Exister Society (2017) Co-ed Final clubs: *
Spee Club The Spee Club is a final club at Harvard University. After voting to adopt a gender-neutral membership policy in September 2015, the Spee Club became the first Harvard final club to admit both male and female members. The clubhouse is located at ...
(1852) * Sab Club (2002) Other social clubs: *
Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...
(1770, 1795) * Oak Club (1999) * The FDL (formerly
Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States ...
) * The Aleph (formerly
Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college fraternity founded at New York University in 1913 by Charles C. Moskowitz and ten other men. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United K ...
) * Kalí Praxí (formerly
Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...
) * The Ivy (formerly Alpha Phi) * Themis Asteri (formerly
Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
) * Alpha Phi * Sigma Alpha Epsilon * Sigma Chi


History

The Harvard men's final clubs trace their roots to the late 18th century, while the five formerly all-female social clubs were founded more recently. Another women's organization, the Seneca, distinguishes itself as a "
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...
nonprofit women's organization that is often misidentified as a final club." Several other clubs are also 501(c)(3) organizations and engage in some community service. The Bee was founded in 1991, IC in 2000, Pleiades in 2002, Sab in 2002, and La Vie in 2008. (The co-ed Signet Society, ''
The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...
'', '' The Harvard Advocate'', ''
Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United S ...
'', and '' The Harvard Lampoon'' also have selective membership, but their charters define them as something other than social organizations, based on their literary or artistic characteristics.) Nine of the historically all-male clubs own real estate in
Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busi ...
, with the clubhouses usually including dining areas, libraries, and game rooms. Most are staffed with chefs, stewards, and other paid personnel, and serve lunch and dinner meals at regular schedules. The Delphic house boasts a regulation-size
squash court Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. Th ...
. The Fly Club owns additional property at 45 Dunster Street, in a building that is currently home to the
Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...
. The building was originally home to the D.U. Club (the "Duck") before its merger with the Fly Club in 1996, and it hosted the Bee Club until its subsequent merging with the Delphic Club. The Delphic has since dissolved its relationship with the Bee. The D.U. Club closed, in 1995, after an assault of a football recruit occurred at its clubhouse. The D.U. Club's graduate membership merged with the Fly in 1996. In a controversial move, the Fly did not allow former D.U. undergraduate members to integrate, and subsequently the undergraduate D.U. membership formed The Oak Club. La Vie Club rents a colonial style house on Garden Street.


Sanctions

In the fall of 2015, Harvard President Drew Faust criticized the clubs for—as stated by C. Ramsey Fahs of ''The Harvard Crimson''—their "gender exclusivity and the potential for alcohol abuse and sexual assault on the off-campus properties." The
Spee Club The Spee Club is a final club at Harvard University. After voting to adopt a gender-neutral membership policy in September 2015, the Spee Club became the first Harvard final club to admit both male and female members. The clubhouse is located at ...
began admitting women in later 2015, and the Fox Club followed suit but was then temporarily shut down as graduate board members sought to re-evaluate what it meant to be a "member of the Fox". As part of an effort to marginalize organizations that "contribute to a social life and a student culture that for many on our campus is disempowering and exclusionary", a new policy provides that students entering in the fall of 2017 or later who join unrecognized single-sex organizations (such as single-sex final clubs, fraternities, and sororities) will be barred from campus leadership positions such as team captaincies, and from receiving recommendation letters from Harvard requisite for scholarships and fellowships. Note: Date of print appearance may have been May 6, 2016. At least one club has protested that the new rule infringes students' right of free association, and enforcement may be stymied by the difficulty of establishing who the members of each club are. In 2016, the President and Vice President of the Undergraduate Council, Shaiba Rather and Daniel Banks spoke before the elected Faculty Council and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University to support the effort to curb gender-discrimination amongst student organizations. Their statement was the first official opinion of any elected members of the student body on the matter. As administrative officials endeavored to implement and rewrite the sanctions, Rather and Banks were drafted as hardliners against any gender discrimination between Final Clubs and the Harvard student body. However, in November 2016, 59% of undergraduate student voters on a referendum question were in favor of repealing the sanctions, while 30% were against repealing the sanctions and 9% abstained from voting. The vote had no immediate effect on the policy. In December 2017, the university's highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation, voted to approve the sanctions and confirm their permanence. Currently, members of the class of 2021 and beyond who are members of unrecognized (single-gender) social organizations are barred from "holding leadership positions in recognized student organizations, becoming varsity captains, or receiving College endorsement for prestigious fellowships," according to
The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...
. The university has faced questions about how it will enforce its sanctions policy, and the enforcement mechanism remains somewhat unclear. As the class of 2021 had its first opportunity to join single-gender organizations in fall of 2018 (and as members of that class will begin to seek on-campus leadership positions as juniors in 2019), it is expected that Harvard will face its first real test in enforcing the sanctions in 2019. In response to the policy, the all-female Sablière and Seneca societies instituted gender-neutral recruitment policies in 2016. The all-male Oak Club followed suit in January 2017 after reaching a "club-wide consensus". Former sorority
Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States ...
announced it would form a new gender-inclusive group called the Fleur-de-Lis (FDL) beginning in February 2018. In September 2018, Harvard released a public list of organizations it would recognize, certifying their gender-inclusive status or their commitment to achieving gender-inclusive status. In addition to the Sab, Oak, Seneca, and FDL, this initial list included the
Spee Club The Spee Club is a final club at Harvard University. After voting to adopt a gender-neutral membership policy in September 2015, the Spee Club became the first Harvard final club to admit both male and female members. The clubhouse is located at ...
, the Fox Club, the Delphic Club and Bee Club Merged Group (The Delphic has since dissolved its relationship with the Bee Club), the Aleph (formerly
Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college fraternity founded at New York University in 1913 by Charles C. Moskowitz and ten other men. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United K ...
), the La Vie Club, The IC Club, the K.S. (formerly
Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...
, the Ivy (formerly Alpha Phi, the Pleaides Society, the Kali Praxi (formerly
Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...
), and the TA (formerly
Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
). In June 2020, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in
Bostock v. Clayton County ''Bostock v. Clayton County'', , is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case in which the Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because they are gay or transgender. ...
that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination against LGBTQ workers, Harvard Corporation voted to rescind its approval of the sanctions.


Proposed elimination from campus life

In July 2017, a Harvard committee pointed to
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
as a model for eradicating final clubs, sororities, and
fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...
from campus social life. This preliminary recommendation would have taken effect with the incoming class of 2021, so all currently enrolled students would be exempt. The transition period would have extended into May 2022 before all such organizations and social clubs would be abolished. After the committee released its 22-page report, ''The Harvard Crimson'' reported that the committee, co-chaired by Danoff Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, had not been transparent in its deliberations or conclusions. Members of the committee, speaking anonymously, described "a process ... marked by confusion, disagreement, and opacity, resulting in a report that did not necessarily capture the full committee's views." Moreover, according to ''The Crimson'', the report misrepresented the conclusions of the committee:


Controversy

Harvard severed ties with final clubs in 1984 because of their refusal to admit women. During the 2006 Senate hearings on the nomination of
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has serve ...
to the United States Supreme Court, Senator
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
was among those highlighting Alito's membership in
Concerned Alumni of Princeton The Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) was a group of politically conservative former Princeton University students that existed between 1972 and 1986. CAP was born in 1972 from the ashes of the Alumni Committee to Involve Itself Now (ACTIIN), whi ...
, which had opposed admission of women into Princeton; when Kennedy's membership in the Owl Club was pointed out, Kennedy resigned from the club. That same year, Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate
Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...
's membership in the Fly Club was criticized as contradictory to his image as a champion of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
; Patrick responded that he had left the club in the early 1980s for that reason.


Lawsuit

In December 2018, separate suits were filed in federal and Massachusetts courts by national fraternities and sororities which alleged that Harvard's policies against single-sex clubs were discriminatory. The lawsuits filed by the organizations were settled on undisclosed terms on August 21, 2020 in the
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was he ...
.


In popular culture

* '' The Social Network'' featured both
The Phoenix – S K Club The Phoenix – S K Club is one of six male final clubs at Harvard College, tracing its earliest roots to 1895. It consists of an undergraduate body of male upperclassmen at Harvard College who are not members of any other Final Club and alumni m ...
and the Porcellian Club. * '' The Accidental Billionaires'' by
Ben Mezrich Ben Mezrich ( ; born February 7, 1969) is an American author. Early life and education Mezrich was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Molli Newman, a lawyer, and Reuben Mezrich, a chairman of radiology at the University of Maryland Scho ...
.


See also

* Collegiate secret societies in North America


References


Further reading

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Final Club Student societies in the United States Harvard University