Harvard Update

[PhilTau]

In case anyone's interested, here are links to some pdfs I found for copies of the two lawsuits filed, which provide detail about the factual basis and legal principles upon which they are based - more so than the various news articles out there. Also without the adware that comes with news posting sites.

The federal suit:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vBL...Y3oYGSe4m/view

The state suit:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ao...h8_AUW1Ec/view

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by PhilTau

In case anyone's interested, here are links to some pdfs I found for copies of the two lawsuits filed, which provide detail about the factual basis and legal principles upon which they are based - more so than the various news articles out there. Also without the adware that comes with news posting sites.

The federal suit:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vBL...Y3oYGSe4m/view

The state suit:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ao...h8_AUW1Ec/view

Thanks for these PhilTau!

[g41965]

Harvard is a private institution ,what is going to stop Harvard if they decide to ban fraternity life or final clubs as a matter of educational policy?
There is no constitutional right to free association when you attend a private school (although I suppose you could condition federal funding on a college/university granting such a right, boy the Universities would fight that requirement tooth and nail).
If Harvard loses expect a complete ban like Williams, Amherst , Bowdoin and Colby have instituted.
Real open mindedness at those bastions of learning and enlightenment.

[33girl]

I would actually have a little more respect for them if they did ban them outright. With the way it's set up now, they can say "oh, we didn't ban them, student interest decreased" (conveniently not saying why it decreased). There is way way way WAY more $$$ and old boys behind the Harvard final clubs than there was behind, say, Zeta Psi at Bowdoin.

Also, apparently at Williams, the students were the ones behind the decision to get rid of fraternities, not the administration.

https://specialcollections.williams....ng-of-the-end/

If students want fraternities - or things that are like them - they will continue to exist. This does, however, include keeping your mouth shut and photos off the internet, a task which seems as out of reach for this generation as walking on the surface of Saturn.

[PhilTau]

Originally Posted by g41965

Harvard is a private institution ,what is going to stop Harvard if they decide to ban fraternity life or final clubs as a matter of educational policy?
There is no constitutional right to free association when you attend a private school (although I suppose you could condition federal funding on a college/university granting such a right, boy the Universities would fight that requirement tooth and nail).
If Harvard loses expect a complete ban like Williams, Amherst , Bowdoin and Colby have instituted.
Real open mindedness at those bastions of learning and enlightenment.

They already did. Harvard's new policy goes much farther and sanctions a student who joins a single-sex social group, even if the group has no affiliation with or recognition of Harvard.

The federal suit basically alleges Title 9 violations - including, that Harvard's policy punishes/discriminates against a person on the basis of the sex of those with whom a person associates. It also alleges violation of Massachusetts Civil Rights Act which incorporates and applies federal constitutional and statutory rights and does not require a plaintiff to show government action.

The federal complaint is very well written and goes into a lot of detail about Harvard's social history. Arnold & Porter did a good job writing this up. Worth reading.