Last fall, Harvard University President Drew Faust formally announced that any new student who joins a final club, fraternity, or sorority would be banned from leadership positions in other university-recognized clubs or sports teams. The announcement came as a shock and disbelief for many students, faculty, and alumni: For over thirty years, Harvard University did not attempt to regulate their off-campus social groups.
This inattention ended in May 2016, when one of Harvard’s committees submitted a 22-page proposal that urged the university to ban all unrecognized single-gender social clubs, which includes fraternities and sororities by preventing recruitment in the Fall of 2018 and placing restrictions on current members of such organizations. More still, this policy was under revision and discussion most of 2017, and was expected to pass despite the protests from students, faculty, and the organizations themselves.
Out of this environment, #HearHerHarvard was born.
Sorority women who attend Harvard University flooded their social media with stories about chapters and the influential role Greek Life has played in their lives. In response, sorority women from all over the U.S. also chimed in on social media by sharing the original posts and even adding their own positive experiences to the mix. #HearHerHarvard was stilling trending on twitter throughout most of January.
This protest received national attention and support from sorority women across the country. A strong motivation for the women behind #HearHerHarvard was that the May 2016 policy was largely aimed at all-male unrecognized social clubs. According to CNN, Harvard’s decision to approve the ban on Greek Life was a response to nationwide outrage scrutiny at, “the fraternity system in particular…and questions about its future after a series of disturbing events involving excessive drinking, sexual violence and hazing on campuses nationwide.” Some of the women who support #HearHerHarvard argue that the decision to also ban sororities is an unfair punishment for other [largely, male] students’ actions.
There are currently four sororities at Harvard University: Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Approval of the ban on unrecognized single-gender social clubs means that no current members of these four sororities are eligible to hold leadership positions in other university-recognized clubs or sports teams. In addition, their affiliation to an unrecognized social club makes them ineligible for many of Harvard University’s esteemed fellowships, including the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.
Proponents of Greek Life insist that their chapters are the influential factor in their life: the executive positions in sorority chapters prepare women to hold additional leadership positions and teach them how to interact with other organizations on professional levels. Academic programs and GPA requirements motivate sorority women to excel in school. The social element and networking possibilities allow sorority women to find job opportunities and make meaningful friendships that extend far beyond college. Many sorority women insist that their sorority chapter is what made them the leaders that they are today.
Harvard University must then ask themselves what their campus gains by barring the women who already have extensive experience being leaders and scholars from additional opportunities, especially if their new policy unfairly targets chapters and women that regularly exceed Harvard’s student code of conduct.
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