Defending Those Who Suck: Let The Final Clubs Exist

I’ve never been inside a final club—except for the coatroom of the Bee (but that’s another story). Like a lot of Harvard students and alumni, I believe final clubs are more than just stupid—frankly, they suck. I don’t feel the need to go through all of the reasons for why I think they suck, but for those just joining us, here are some reasons that are commonly held:

Basically, there are a lot of reasons why intelligent, reasonable, nice people dislike final clubs. And I can see why Dean Khurana and President Faust have made an effort to pressure the clubs out of existence, or at least stop discriminating based on gender. These clubs are huge embarrassments to the school. They are the institutional equivalent of your anti-Semitic Uncle Ned who shouts racial slurs at Thanksgiving before throwing up outside JP Licks.

There’s no doubt in my mind that if the final clubs decided to shut themselves down next semester, Harvard would be a better place. And, to be sure, if the final clubs decided more modestly to go gender neutral next semester, that too would make for a better Harvard.

But Dean Khurana and President Faust are not letting the final clubs decide. Instead, the Harvard administration has decreed that, if the final clubs (as well as fraternities and sororities) do not become gender neutral, their members will be barred from campus leadership positions and scholarships. Essentially, the clubs will conform, or they will be crushed.

Not surprisingly, there have been no large protests on behalf of the wealthy, property-owning, all-men final clubs. Frankly, I haven’t seen a lot of proud final club posts on Facebook. Not seeing a lot of “club spirit.”

Clubs that are widely liked don’t need to be defended. But we do have an obligation to respect those students with whom we disagree—be they elitist, sexist, stupid, or some combination of the above. Quite simply, we should not threaten people for the beliefs they hold, or the groups they are a part of, even if they do suck. As long as they are not breaking laws, students should not fear that their membership in a group will result in a penalty from Harvard. I may look down on a member of a final club, just as I would look down on a member of the Harvard Republican Club (come on, we all do it), but I would never dispute his or her right to assemble, throw parties, or support Ted Cruz.

Harvard might have the legal authority to tell students what groups or clubs they can and cannot be a part of (although, not being a lawyer, that is not obvious to me). But to use that authority to threaten students based on their associations or affiliations, even if repulsive or annoying (looking at you, Divest Harvard), is not what Harvard is supposed to be about. I’m far more ashamed of Harvard for dictating to students how and with whom they can and cannot spend their time than I am by the offensive, brain-dead statements of the Porcellian’s former graduate president. I hold Harvard to a higher standard.

Dean Khurana, President Faust: one of the best parts of my college education was watching you. And watching you now, I am horrified as my alma mater throws away freedom of association in the name of inclusion. In a nation that has always struggled to avoid silencing and destroying those in the unpopular minority, I am greatly disappointed that this is the lesson you have chosen to teach your students. They came to Harvard to learn about the world, and they are now being taught that it is acceptable to threaten and silence those who have different social and political beliefs than they do. Dean Khurana once warned me, when I was railing against the Harvard administration, against the politics of “othering.” Here the administration is not just “othering,” it is essentially outlawing others.

No matter how boorish and backwards they are, the final clubs have a right to exist in Harvard Square. Dean Khurana and President Faust, if you don’t believe that groups with unpopular or unsavory beliefs have the right to exist, then maybe you shouldn’t be teaching today’s Harvard students.

PS: Maybe people wouldn’t go to the final clubs if the student groups were financially able to provide a social alternative. Maybe some more funding is in order. I think $250,000 would be sufficient.

Gus A. Mayopoulos ’15 is a tutor and failing writer living in Boston. He was president of the Undergraduate Council in 2015.