Harvard University on Monday voted to uphold a 2016 policy that bans students who join single-gender social clubs from taking leadership roles on campus, a rule that was initially created to create change among male social groups known as final clubs, The Washington Post reports.
The Ivy League university first announced its plan in May 2016. Final clubs host exclusive parties in buildings they own around the school's campus and boast powerful alumni networks. In recent years, the clubs have been accused of fostering an environment where alcohol abuse and sexual assault happened.
Drew Faust, Harvard's president, and William F. Lee, a senior fellow of the university's governing board, said the general impact of such groups has been negative.
"The final clubs in particular are a product of another era, a time when Harvard's student body was all male, culturally homogenous, and overwhelmingly white and affluent. Our student body today is significantly different," and, "is diverse on many dimensions."
The North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents three fraternities that include Harvard students, criticized the vote.
"Harvard could not be more wrong. You can both honor a student's rights and foster a safe and healthy campus community," spokeswoman Heather Kirk said in a statement. "It's ironic that one of the most exclusive institutions in the world is limiting what organizations students can join."
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