Stand Up to Harvard

In December 2018, a group of sororities, fraternities and students filed lawsuits in federal and Massachusetts courts to challenge a Harvard University sanction policy that punishes students who join off-campus, single-sex social organizations. This lawsuit has made headlines in major new outlets and prompted conversation about the need for single-sex organizations and the role institutions should have in a student’s right to associate. There has even been a grassroots social media campaign, called Stand Up to Harvard, designed to bring attention to the issue and the lawsuits.

As a Delta Upsilon brother, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I care?” DU has not had a chapter at Harvard since 2005, and only 106 living DU alumni are from the Harvard Chapter (about 0.1 percent of all living alumni).

If upheld in the courts, Harvard’s policy would set a dangerous precedent that could be followed by other institutions across the United States. As with many areas of academia, Harvard is looked upon within higher education to be a trendsetter and benchmark for success. If Harvard can successfully implement a policy that infringes upon the rights of students, many fear it would be almost inevitable that others follow suit.

For several years now, you have heard Delta Upsilon describe the changing higher education landscape and the threats that exist for the fraternity/sorority community. The reason we share this information with you is that the Fraternity believes it is important for all members to understand the current climate as it affects many of the decisions we make as an organization. Now more than ever before, fraternities and sororities are under the microscope. Bad behavior—behavior antithetical to our beliefs and policies as organizations—is not only heightening media coverage of fraternities and sororities but also bringing about new policies aimed to mitigate risk to students, and in many cases, punish fraternities and sororities. Harvard’s sanctions policy and the outcome of these lawsuits have the capability to completely upend fraternities and sororities. So, while DU is not involved or represented in these suits, the decisions rendered will have a profound impact on our organization and members.

Justice is the foundation of Delta Upsilon. As brothers, it is important for us to understand what is happening at Harvard and fight for justice for the students impacted by the sanctions policy. To take action, you can visit www.standuptoharvard.org to sign a petition showing your support of the litigation or learn how to add your voice to the discussion on social media.

Policy Implications

Following the policy announcement in 2016, contentious debate ensued. Protests were held, particularly by women’s groups that argued space was needed for women’s only groups and that the policy would hurt women’s organizations that were not part of a cultural problem. Men’s groups also spoke to the need for single-sex organizations, as well as how the policy trampled students’ right to associate, especially since these groups were private organizations not affiliated with the university. Harvard, they argued, had no authority to dictate what groups they could join outside of campus. Both the U.S. Constitution and Title IX law protect the right to associate, with Title IX specifically exempting “the membership practices of a social fraternity or social sorority” from gender discrimination.

Even though the policy was announced in spring 2016, it wasn’t until fall 2018 that Harvard’s governing board voted to approve the policy. However, within that time, damage was done. What was once one in four Harvard students belonging to a fraternity, sorority or single-sex finals club, has significantly decreased. This struggle to recruit new members has had profound ramifications, especially for groups with chapter/club facilities financing those spaces. Today, nearly all women’s groups cease to exist, with most sororities and women’s finals clubs having closed or becoming coed. This includes the four chapters within the National Panhellenic Conference, three of which withdrew from their national organizations to become coed and the other closing. Four men’s finals clubs have also become coed.

The Lawsuits

In December 2018, two lawsuits were filed against Harvard.

In the federal suit, two international sororities, two international fraternities, a Cambridge fraternity chapter, and three current Harvard students assert that through the sanctions policy, the President and Fellows of Harvard College have interfered with students’ right to be free of sex discrimination, as guaranteed by Title IX and the U.S. Constitution.

In the suit filed in Massachusetts court, three women’s organizations—an international sorority, one of its chapters, and a sorority housing corporation—assert that Harvard has interfered with student’s rights to free association and equal treatment based on sex.

“Sororities, fraternities and students sued Harvard today because its sanctions policy is discriminatory and unlawful,” said R. Stanton Jones of Arnold & Porter, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the federal case, in a press release announcing the lawsuits. “The disregard of students’ basic freedoms and the destruction of the women’s groups is indefensible. Harvard should get out of the business of trying to dictate who students spend their time with off campus.”

The plaintiffs and lawsuits have support from nearly 100 single-sex organizations, including the 26 sororities of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), the 66 fraternities of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), and the organizations in the Cambridge Coalition, a nonprofit coalition to advance equity and justice within the Cambridge community. As of March 10, 2019, more than 62,000 people have signed the petition on www.standuptoharvard.org to show their support.