A secretive, hyper-exclusive men’s-only club at Harvard spoke out for the first time in decades this week. The reason? According to one former Porcellian club official, if the club starts to let women in, they might be sexually assaulted by one of its members.
Harvard University is home to several exclusive and secretive clubs, called “final clubs,” that host a legacy of fame, prestige and power. The Porcellian Club is one of the most of famous of these, with former president Teddy Roosevelt on its list of past members. The Porcellian Club is also historically private—They’ve barely given any public comments to news organizations since their founding in 1791.
Until now, that is. In the wake of calls for men’s-only Harvard final clubs to either accept women or shut down completely, one former member spoke up. Officer Charles M. Storey, an alum of the Porcellian Club, gave a statement on behalf of the organization.
“Given our policies, we are mystified as to why the current administration feels that forcing our club to accept female members would reduce the incidence of sexual assault on campus,” Storey wrote to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper. “Forcing single gender organizations to accept members of the opposite sex could potentially increase, not decrease the potential for sexual misconduct.”
This comes in response to data released by the university, indicating that women who were either members or guests of final clubs at Harvard experience a higher rate of sexual assault. According to the Harvard Crimson, 47 percent of these women have experienced nonconsensual sexual contact. The University’s Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention claimed these men’s-only final clubs carry “deeply misogynistic attitudes,” later calling on Harvard to address such issues as soon as possible. The clubs’ leadership are supposed to meet with Harvard’s Dean of College Rakesh Khurana on Wednesday.
Even Vice President Joe Biden had something to say about final clubs. “Well, I think it indicates that there’s a real problem at Harvard,” Biden said, according to Mic. “and it’s the responsibility of the president of Harvard University and the administration to go in and investigate it, and if it’s occurring and they can show that, get rid of the — get rid of those fraternities on campus that are engaged in it.”
Storey did not think that his beloved Porcellian Club could be a part of the problem, though. “The college is trying to expel students for joining our club by arguing that we contribute to the problem of sexual assault on campus…We don’t host parties. We don’t allow guests on the premises of our club. How could we possibly be connected to the problem of sexual assault on campus?” Storey wrote to the Crimson.
In today’s world, the answer to sexual assault and gender equality is just to keep women out, right? Obviously, those poor guys at Harvard can’t even stand to be in the same organization as a woman without restraining themselves. That makes as much sense as pigs flying. Or ordering diet coke with a large bacon burger and fries. Or messaging that person on Facebook that clearly wants nothing to do with you “Hey bb you’re hot HMU” 50 times in a row. It’s all about logic. For being one of the most exculsive clubs at one of the most elite universities in the world, these guys aren’t making much sense.