Harvard Liberals ban fraternities, sororities and single sex final clubs, Students revolt

Harvard University’s recent announcement that it will ban students who join single-gender social organizations from holding leadership positions in on-campus clubs, captaining sports teams, or even getting recommendations for some prestigious scholarships has been criticized by students, faculty, and alumni—including some of Harvard’s biggest names.

Economics professor and Harvard president emeritus Larry Summers; cognitive scientist and psychology professor Steven Pinker; and civil rights attorney, author, and FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate are among those who told FIRE that Harvard’s attempt to foster “inclusion” and “address deeply rooted gender attitudes” by punishing off-campus conduct poses a serious threat to freedom of association.

“It is a great example of how civil liberties can be violated in a manner that gets a lot of people to cheer before they think about the implications of what’s being done,” Silverglate said.

Pinker summed up the freedom of association concerns simply: “What students do away from campus is their own business.”