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[[Harvard College]] has several types of social clubs. These are split between gender-inclusive clubs recognized by the college, and unrecognized single-gender clubs which were subject to College sanctions in the past. The [[Hasty Pudding Club]] holds claim as the oldest collegiate social club in America, tracing its roots back to 1770.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hastypudding.org/ |title=Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2022-12-24 |website=hastypudding.org|publisher=The Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770, Inc. |access-date=2022-12-22 |quote="As the oldest social club in the U.S., the Pudding has continued as a cornerstone of the Harvard experience for over two centuries. There is no other collegiate organization quite like it."}}</ref><ref name=amalgamation>{{cite news|title=CUTTING' OUT DEAD WOOD
|newspaper=[[The Harvard Crimson]]'|date=November 27, 1923|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1923/11/27/cutting-out-dead-wood-panyone-wholeheartedly/}}</ref> The next oldest institutions, dating to 1791, are the traditionally all-male final clubs. Fraternities were prominent in the late 19th century as well, until their initial expulsions and then eventual resurrection off Harvard's campus in the 1990s. From 1991 onwards, all-female final clubs as well as sororities began to appear. Between 1984 and 2018, no social organizations were recognized by the school due to the clubs' refusal to become gender-inclusive.
Beginning with the [[Spee Club]] in 2015, a number of formerly single-gender organizations began to admit new members regardless of gender.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/11/4/spee-elects-coed-class/ |title = Spee Club Elects First Class of Men and Women &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref> In 2016, Harvard announced sanctions on members of remaining single-gender clubs, aiming to push them to become coed.<ref name="thecrimson.com">{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/6/sanctions-explainer-v2/ |title = Harvard's Sanctions, Explained (Again) &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref> On September 8, 2018, Harvard announced that it would recognize an initial list of fifteen social organizations that either already were gender-inclusive or had committed to becoming gender-inclusive.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/9/8/15-groups-recognized/ |title = Fox, Delphic-Bee Clubs Among 15 Social Groups to Promise Co-Ed Status, Escaping Sanctions &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref> On June 30, 2020, Harvard announced that it would drop its social group sanctions as a result of a Supreme Court decision on sex discrimination.<ref name=dropped>{{cite news|title=Harvard Drops Social Group Sanctions Following Supreme Court Sex Discrimination Decision|newspaper=[[The Harvard Crimson]]'|date=June 30, 2020|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/6/30/harvard-ends-social-group-sanctions/}}</ref>
== Origins ==
The historical basis for the name "final clubs" dates to the late 19th century, a time when Harvard had a variety of clubs for students of each class year.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1999/3/3/facts-on-final-clubs-p-the-designation/|title=FACTS ON FINAL CLUBS - News - The Harvard Crimson}}</ref> During that period, Harvard College freshmen could join a freshman club, then a "waiting club," and eventually, as they neared completion of their studies, a "final club."<ref name=":0" /> Hence, students of different years joined different clubs, and the "final clubs" were so named because they were the last social club a person could join before graduation.<ref name=":0" />
Harvard's final clubs for women date to 1991 with the founding of the Bee Club.<ref name="CrimsonFeltonWhartonRetrosp">{{cite journal |author1=Felton, Lena K. |author2=Wharton, Molly E. | date = October 10, 2013 | title=Female Final Clubs: A Retrospection | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/10/10/female-final-clubs-a-retrospection/ | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Francis | first=A.M. | title=Secret Societies Vol. 3: The Collegiate Secret Societies of America | publisher=LULU Press | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-312-93285-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp5sCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 | access-date=June 2, 2016 | page=8}}</ref>
Many of the clubs were founded in the 19th century, after Harvard banned traditional fraternities in the 1850s.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} The Phoenix SK is the amalgam of three separate clubs: the Phoenix, the Sphinx, and the Kalumet.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jessica Tisch |date=November 29, 2001 |title= History final: The story and lore of Harvard's unique social organizations |journal=The Harvard Independent |url=http://www.harvardindependent.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=7821|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622161944/http://www.harvardindependent.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=7821 |archive-date=June 22, 2007 }}</ref>
==List of clubs==
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'''Male final clubs:'''<ref name=CrimsonMcauleyMensFCs>{{cite news | author = Mcauley, James K. | date = October 5, 2010 | title=The Men's Final Clubs | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/series/the-punch/article/2010/10/5/series-men-final-clubs/?page=single|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227005519/http://www.thecrimson.com/series/the-punch/article/2010/10/5/series-men-final-clubs/?page=single | archive-date = December 27, 2014  | newspaper = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online blog  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=CrimsonThorne>{{cite news | author = Thorne, Gabriela | date = July 16, 2015 | title=#tbt to Going Greek | url = https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/hear-our-students/student-blog/tbt-going-greek | work = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online blog  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kappasigma.org/kappa-sigma-returns-to-harvard/ |title=Kappa Sigma Returns to Harvard - Kappa Sigma Fraternity|date=February 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crimsonsae.com/index.php|title=Sigma Alpha Epsilon — Mass Gamma}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/2/23/rush-hour-greek-groups-get-popular/?page=1|title=Rush Hour: Greek Groups Get Popular |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref><ref name="Delphic and Bee Clubs' Three-Year M">{{cite web |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/9/21/delphic-bee-divorce/|title=Delphic and Bee Clubs' Three-Year Marriage Ends |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.harvardsigmachi.com/ |website=Kappa Eta Sigma Chi}}</ref>
*[[Porcellian Club]] (1791)
*[[Fly Club]] (1836)
*[[A.D. Club]] (1836)
*[[Delphic Club]] (1846)
*[[Phoenix S.K. Club]] (1895)
*[[Owl Club (Harvard)|Owl Club]] (1896)
*[[Fox Club]] (1898)
'''Female final clubs:'''
* Bee Club (1991)<ref name="Delphic and Bee Clubs' Three-Year M"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bee Club Buzzes into Former Café Pamplona Location &#124; News &#124; The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/9/24/bee-purchases-cafe-pamplona/|access-date=2022-03-02|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref>
* The Seneca (1999)<ref name="ReferenceD">{{Cite web|title=Women at Harvard University; Harvard Library|url=https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=1108872&p=8085595|website=library.harvard.edu}}</ref>
* The IC (2000)<ref name="ReferenceC">{{Cite web|title=Harvard Is Without All-Female Social Groups After Last Three Holdouts Agree to Go Co-Ed &#124; News &#124; The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/8/24/no-more-female-clubs/|access-date=2022-03-02|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref>
* The Pleiades Society (2002)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/10/14/final-clubs-cancel-punch/|title = Final Clubs Cancel Punch |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]|date = October 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/10/10/female-final-clubs-a-retrospection/ |title = Female Final Clubs: A Retrospection &#124; Fifteen Minutes |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]| date = October 10, 2013}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/10/17/sisters-are-doin-it-for-themselves/|title=The sisters are doin' it for themselves&#124; Fifteen Minutes |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]] | date = October 17, 2002}}</ref>
* La Vie Club (2008)<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
* The Exister Society (2017)<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
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'''Co-ed final clubs:'''<ref name=CrimsonSanctionsExplainer>{{cite news | author = Joshua J. Florence| date = December 6, 2017 | title=Explained: The Sanctions Against Single-Gender Social Groups | url = https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/6/sanctions-explainer-v2/| newspaper = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online article | access-date = October 28, 2024 }}</ref>
* [[Spee Club]] (1852)
* [[Sab Club]] (2002)
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'''Other social clubs:'''<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://osl.fas.harvard.edu/policy |title = Recognized Social Organizations at Harvard College}}</ref>
* [[Hasty Pudding Club]] (1770, 1795)
* The FDL (formerly [[Kappa Kappa Gamma]])
* [[Signet Society]] (1871)
* The Aleph (formerly [[Alpha Epsilon Pi]])
* Kalí Praxí (formerly [[Delta Gamma]])<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/8/7/delta-gamma-launches-new-club/ |title = Ex-Members of Shuttered Sorority Delta Gamma Launch Co-Ed Club 'Kali Praxi' |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref>
* The Ivy (formerly [[Alpha Phi]])
* The John Adams Society<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/13/john-adams-society-feature/ |title = Duels, Drinks, Debates: Inside the John Adams Society |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref>
* Themis Asteri (formerly [[Kappa Alpha Theta]])<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://crimson-theta.org/welcome | title=Home}}</ref>
* Alpha Phi<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/12/4/alpha-phi-back-lawsuit/ |title = Alpha Phi Returns to Campus, Joins Lawsuit Opposing Sanctions |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://cambridgealphaphi.com/about-us/ |title = About Us}}</ref>
* Sigma Chi
* Oak Club (1999)
'''Secret Societies:'''
*[[The Gilded Coach]]
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==History==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
The Harvard men's final clubs trace their roots to the late 18th century, while the five formerly all-female social clubs were founded more recently.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Another women's organization, the Seneca, distinguishes itself as a "[[501(c)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]] nonprofit women's organization that is often misidentified as a final club".<ref name="ReferenceD">{{Cite web|title=Seneca To Go Gender Neutral, But Membership Could Stay All-Women {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/8/16/seneca-gender-neutral-policy/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Seneca {{!}} Women's Empowerment {{!}} Harvard|url=https://www.theseneca.org/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=theseneca|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/flyby/article/2014/9/26/what-is-the-seneca/|title=What is the Seneca, Anyway? &#124; Flyby &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref> Several other clubs are also 501(c)(3) organizations and engage in some community service.  The Bee was founded in 1991,{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} IC in 2000,{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Pleiades in 2002,<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> Sab in 2002,{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} and La Vie in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Staff |year=2008 |title=La Vie Club Incorporated Summary Screen |url=http://www.corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/CorpSearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?ReadFromDB=True&UpdateAllowed=&FEIN=000991056 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, William Francis Galvin, Secretary Of The Commonwealth, Corporations Division |format=government database entry |access-date=May 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604000459/http://www.corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/CorpSearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?ReadFromDB=True&UpdateAllowed=&FEIN=000991056 |archive-date=June 4, 2016 }}{{better source needed|date=May 2016}}</ref> The [[Signet Society]], [[Crimson Key Society]], ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'', ''[[The Harvard Krokodiloes]]'', ''[[The Harvard Advocate]]'', ''[[Hasty Pudding Theatricals]]'', and ''[[The Harvard Lampoon]]'' also have selective membership, but their charters define them as something other than social organizations, based on their literary, artistic, or service-based characteristics.<ref name=exclusive>{{cite news|title=The 5 Percent of Harvard's 5 Percent
|newspaper=[[The Harvard Crimson]]'|date=March 28, 2019|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/3/28/lee-harvards-five-percent/}}</ref>
Nine of the historically all-male clubs own real estate in [[Harvard Square]], with the clubhouses usually including dining areas, libraries, and game rooms.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Most are staffed with chefs, stewards, and other paid personnel, and serve lunch and dinner meals at regular schedules.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} The Delphic house boasts a regulation-size [[squash court]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Beam, Alex |date=May 20, 2009 |title=Harvard's Vanishing Squash Courts |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/05/harvards-vanishing-squash-courts.html}}</ref>
The Fly Club owns additional property at 45 Dunster Street, in a building that is currently home to the [[Hasty Pudding Club]]. The building was originally home to the D.U. Club (the "Duck") before its merger with the Fly Club in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1996/2/12/du-fly-clubs-agree-to-merge/| title= D.U., Fly Clubs Agree to Merge|first=Matthew|last=Granade|work=The Harvard Crimson|date=12 February 1996|access-date=19 March 2022}}</ref> and it hosted the Bee Club until its subsequent merging with the Delphic Club.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/9/19/hasty-pudding-clubhouse/ | title=Hasty Pudding Institute Moves into Former Bee Clubhouse &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref> The Delphic has since dissolved its relationship with the Bee. The D.U. Club closed in 1995, after an assault of a football recruit occurred at its clubhouse.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jonathan A. Lewin |date=March 18, 1995 |title=Final Club Closed After Recruit Is Beaten In Fight |journal=The Harvard Crimson |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1995/3/18/final-club-closed-after-recruit-is/}}</ref> The D.U. Club's graduate membership merged with the Fly in 1996. In a controversial move, the Fly did not allow former D.U. undergraduate members to integrate,<ref name=CrimsonGranade>{{cite journal |author=Granade, Matthew W. |date=February 12, 1996 |title=D.U., Fly Clubs Agree to Merge |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1996/2/12/du-fly-clubs-agree-to-merge/ |journal=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |format=online article |access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref> and subsequently the undergraduate D.U. membership formed The [[Oak Club]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.theoakclub.org/history|publisher=The Oak Club|access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-date=March 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306071533/http://www.theoakclub.org/history|url-status=dead}}</ref> La Vie Club rents a [[colonial style]] house on Garden Street.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}<ref name="CHC">{{cite web|author=CHC Staff |date=2009 |title=City of Cambridge, Landmarks and Other Protected Properties |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/landmark_11X17.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2016 |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Cambridge Historical Commission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806144925/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/historic/landmark_11X17.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2012}}</ref>
==Sanctions==
In the fall of 2015, Harvard President Drew Faust criticized the clubs for—as stated by C. Ramsey Fahs of ''The Harvard Crimson''—their "gender exclusivity and the potential for alcohol abuse and sexual assault on the off-campus properties."<!--PHRASE ADDED BECAUSE AS APPEARING, IT OTHERWISE ALLEGES TO BE A QUOTE OF THE PRESIDENT (WHICH IT IS NOT).--><ref name=CrimsonFahs29Jan16>{{cite journal | author = Fahs, C. Ramsey | date = January 29, 2016 | title=Divided Fox Club Opens With New Policies | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/1/29/fox-reopens-new-rules/ | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref> The [[Spee Club]] began admitting women in later 2015,<ref name=CrimsonDelwiche>{{cite journal | author = Delwiche, Noah J. | date = September 11, 2015 | title=In Historic Move, Spee Club Invites Women To Punch: As final clubs face pressure, one male club moves to go co-ed | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/9/11/spee-club-punch-women/ | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref> and the [[Fox Club]] followed suit but was then temporarily shut down as graduate board members sought to re-evaluate what it meant to be a "member of the Fox".{{quote without source|date=May 2016}}
As part of an effort to marginalize organizations that "contribute to a social life and a student culture that for many on our campus is disempowering and exclusionary", a new policy provides<ref name=policy>{{cite web | author = Khurana, Rakesh | date = May 6, 2016 | title = Untitled letter addressed "Dear President Faust" [Opening "I write today to convey the College's recommendations for addressing the problems created for our community by the discriminatory membership policies of undergraduate unrecognized single-gender social organizations, including Final Clubs".] | format = PDF, letter on stationery, from college.harvard.edu | pages = 1–4, esp. 1 | url=http://college.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/presidentfaust5.6.16__0.pdf | access-date = May 11, 2016 | quote = [Quoting, end of paragraph 2, p. 1:] At a time when Harvard is preparing citizens and citizen-leaders to bring people together and embrace an increasingly diverse and interconnected world, these organizations contribute to a social life and a student culture that for many on our campus is disempowering and exclusionary.}}</ref> that students entering in the fall of 2017 or later who join unrecognized single-sex organizations (such as single-sex final clubs, fraternities, and sororities) will be barred from campus leadership positions such as team captaincies, and from receiving recommendation letters from Harvard requisite for scholarships and fellowships.<ref name=NYT2016>{{cite news | author = Saul, Stephanie | date = May 7, 2016 | title = Harvard Restrictions Could Reshape Exclusive Student Clubs | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | url =  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/us/harvard-restrictions-could-reshape-exclusive-student-clubs.html?_r=0 }} Note: Date of print appearance may have been May 6, 2016.</ref>
At least one club protested that the new rule infringes students' [[Freedom of association#United States Constitution|right of free association]],<ref name="NYT2016" /> and enforcement faced potential challenges with the difficulty of establishing who the members of each club are.<ref name="CrimsonFahs6May16">{{cite journal | author = Fahs, C. Ramsey | date = May 6, 2016 | title=A Guide to Harvard's Relationship with Final Clubs: The Crimson gives a quick primer on the final clubs, institutions unique to Harvard, and the administration's actions toward them over this tumultuous year. | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/6/final-clubs-explained/      | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}</ref> In 2016, the President and Vice President of the Undergraduate Council, Shaiba Rather and Daniel Banks, spoke before the elected Faculty Council and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University to support the effort to curb gender-discrimination amongst student organizations. Their statement was the first official opinion of any elected members of the student body on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/11/2/UC-leaders-faculty-meeting/|title=UC Leaders Support Social Organization Sanctions at Faculty Meeting - News - The Harvard Crimson}}</ref> As administrative officials endeavored to implement and rewrite the sanctions, Rather and Banks were drafted as hardliners against any gender discrimination between Final Clubs and the Harvard student body.<ref>http://osl.fas.harvard.edu/files/osl/files/implementationcommitteefinalreport.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://harvardmagazine.com/2016/11/social-club-sanctions-debated |title = Harvard Faculty Debate Final Club Sanctions|date = November 2, 2016}}</ref> However, in November 2016, 59% of undergraduate student voters on a referendum question were in favor of repealing the sanctions, while 30% were against repealing the sanctions and 9% abstained from voting. The vote had no immediate effect on the policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/11/22/referendum-reveal-student-opposition-college-sanctions/|title=Majority of Student Voters Oppose College Sanctions in UC Ballot - News - The Harvard Crimson}}</ref>
In December 2017, the university's highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation, voted to approve the sanctions and confirm their permanence. Currently, members of the class of 2021 and beyond who are members of unrecognized (single-gender) social organizations are barred from "holding leadership positions in recognized student organizations, becoming varsity captains, or receiving College endorsement for prestigious fellowships," according to [[The Harvard Crimson]].<ref name="thecrimson.com" /> The university has faced questions about how it will enforce its sanctions policy, and the enforcement mechanism remains somewhat unclear. As the class of 2021 had its first opportunity to join single-gender organizations in fall of 2018 (and as members of that class will begin to seek on-campus leadership positions as juniors in 2019), it is expected that Harvard will face its first real test in enforcing the sanctions in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/12/5/editorial-stand-up-for-sanctions/ | title=Stand up for the Sanctions, Harvard &#124; Opinion &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref>
In response to the policy, the all-female [[Sablière Society|Sablière]] and [[Seneca Society|Seneca]]<ref name="ReferenceD" /> societies instituted gender-neutral recruitment policies in 2016. The all-male Oak Club followed suit in January 2017 after reaching a "club-wide consensus".<ref name="Xiao 2017">{{cite web | last=Xiao | first=Derek G. | title=All-Male Oak Club to Accept Women | website=The Harvard Crimson | date=January 25, 2017 | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/1/25/oak-club-to-go-coed/ | access-date=January 25, 2017}}</ref> Former sorority [[Kappa Kappa Gamma]] announced it would form a new gender-inclusive group called the Fleur-de-Lis (FDL) beginning in February 2018.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/1/8/kappa-gender-neutral/ |title = Kappa Kappa Gamma Now Gender-Neutral Club 'The Fleur-de-Lis' &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson}}</ref>
In September 2018, Harvard released a public list of organizations it would recognize, certifying their gender-inclusive status or their commitment to achieving gender-inclusive status. In addition to the Sab, Oak, Seneca, and FDL, this initial list included the [[Spee Club]], the [[Fox Club]], the [[Delphic Club]] and Bee Club Merged Group (The Delphic has since dissolved its relationship with the Bee Club), the Aleph (formerly [[Alpha Epsilon Pi]]), the La Vie Club, The IC Club, the K.S. (formerly [[Kappa Sigma]], the Ivy (formerly [[Alpha Phi]], the Pleaides Society, the Kali Praxi (formerly [[Delta Gamma]]), and the TA (formerly [[Kappa Alpha Theta]]).
==Proposed elimination from campus life==
In July 2017, a Harvard committee pointed to [[Bowdoin College]] as a model for eradicating final clubs, [[sororities]], and [[fraternities]] from campus social life. This preliminary recommendation would have taken effect with the incoming class of 2021, so all currently enrolled students would be exempt. The transition period would have extended into May 2022 before all such organizations and social clubs would be abolished.<ref>{{cite news |last=Krantz |first=Laura |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/30/harvard-looks-bowdoin-model-eradicating-frats-but-its-decision-had-mixed-results/1YSwSjkmUg6dPs2gxr860M/story.html |title=Harvard looks to Bowdoin as model in eradicating frats, but its decision had mixed results |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=July 31, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Grinberg |first1=Emanuella |last2=Kaufman |first2=Ellie |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/14/us/harvard-fraternities-ban-trnd/index.html |title=Harvard mulls phasing out frats, sororities, final clubs |work=[[CNN]] |date=July 14, 2017 |access-date=July 31, 2017 }}</ref>
After the committee released its 22-page report, ''The Harvard Crimson'' reported that the committee, co-chaired by Danoff Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, had not been transparent in its deliberations or conclusions. Members of the committee, speaking anonymously, described "a process ... marked by confusion, disagreement, and opacity, resulting in a report that did not necessarily capture the full committee's views."<ref>Hannah Natanson & Derek G. Xiao."Seven Votes: How a Harvard Committee Came to Recommend a Social Group Ban". ''The Harvard Crimson''. July 22, 2017.</ref> Moreover, according to ''The Crimson'', the report misrepresented the conclusions of the committee:
{{blockquote|According to documents reviewed by ''The Crimson'', the decision to outlaw membership in social groups at Harvard—some over two centuries old—received only seven votes from the 27-person committee.
By contrast, two other options—one suggesting a new committee to oversee the social groups, another proposing a ban of all organizations that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, or socioeconomic status—gained 12 and 11 votes, respectively. Not every member of the committee was present at the vote.
The committee never conducted another vote after May 12. At the body's last meeting 14 days later, the decision to ban membership in the groups had become a fait accompli: Committee members spent most of the meeting debating the finer points of the proposed social group prohibition, according to two members of the committee. No student members were in attendance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Natanson |first1=Hannah |last2=Xiao |first2=Derek G. |title=Seven Votes How a Harvard Committee Came to Recommend a Social Group Ban |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/7/22/inside-social-ban-committee/ |website=The Crimson |access-date=August 21, 2018 |language=en |date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>}}
== Controversy ==
Harvard severed ties with final clubs in 1984 because of their refusal to admit women.<ref name="NYT2016" />
During the 2006 Senate hearings on the nomination of [[Samuel Alito]] to the United States Supreme Court, Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] was among those highlighting Alito's membership in [[Concerned Alumni of Princeton]], which had opposed admission of women into Princeton; when Kennedy's membership in the Owl Club was pointed out, Kennedy resigned from the club.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hemel|first1=Daniel J.|title=Kennedy Severs Final Club Ties|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/1/18/kennedy-severs-final-club-ties-a/|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=April 27, 2017|date=January 18, 2006}}</ref>
That same year, Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate [[Deval Patrick]]'s membership in the [[Fly Club]] was criticized as contradictory to his image as a champion of [[civil rights]]; Patrick responded that he had left the club in the early 1980s for that reason.<ref name=Boston.comPhillips>{{cite journal | author = Phillips, Frank | date = August 3, 2006 | title = Patrick says he quit The Fly Club in 1983: Nine exclusive clubs at Harvard limit membership to men. A gubernatorial candidate's link to one renews debate on elitism. | url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/08/03/patrick_says_he_quit_the_fly_club_in_1983/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175711/http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/08/03/patrick_says_he_quit_the_fly_club_in_1983/ | archive-date = March 3, 2016 | journal = [[The Boston Globe]] | format = online article | access-date = May 11, 2016 | ref = Archive date unknown. Internal publication archive. | url-status = bot: unknown }}{{subscription required}}</ref>
==Lawsuit==
In December 2018, separate suits were filed in federal and Massachusetts courts by national fraternities and sororities which alleged that Harvard's policies against single-sex clubs were discriminatory.{{refn|https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvard-sued-fraternities-sororities-over-single-sex-rule-n942961}} The lawsuits filed by the organizations were settled on undisclosed terms on August 21, 2020, in the [[United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-05 |title=Lawsuit Update |url=https://www.standuptoharvard.org/lawsuit-update/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Stand Up To Harvard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>"Harvard Notice of Settlement and Request to Hold Pending Dispositive Motions in Abeyance 08-21-20." ''Stand Up to Harvard'', Stand Up to Harvard, 5 Nov. 2020, [https://www.standuptoharvard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Harvard-Notice-of-Settlement-and-Request-to-Hold-Pending-Dispositive-Motions-in-Abeyance-08-21-20.pdf. https://www.standuptoharvard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Harvard-Notice-of-Settlement-and-Request-to-Hold-Pending-Dispositive-Motions-in-Abeyance-08-21-20.pdf.]</ref>
== In popular culture ==
* ''[[The Social Network]]'' featured both [[The Phoenix – S K Club]] and the [[Porcellian Club]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://qz.com/678017/harvard-is-dealing-a-huge-blow-to-its-secretive-male-only-student-clubs/|title=Harvard is dealing a huge blow to its secretive, male-only student clubs|first=Amy X.|last=Wang|date=May 6, 2016 }}</ref>
* ''[[The Accidental Billionaires]]'' by [[Ben Mezrich]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/flyby/article/2010/7/27/sorkin-zuckerberg-final-facebook/|title=Making a Movie? The Final Clubs Welcome You. - Flyby - The Harvard Crimson}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Collegiate secret societies in North America]]
*[[Lincoln's Inn Society]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal | author = Fahs, C. Ramsey | date = May 6, 2016 | title=A Guide to Harvard's Relationship with Final Clubs: The Crimson gives a quick primer on the final clubs, institutions unique to Harvard, and the administration's actions toward them over this tumultuous year. | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/6/final-clubs-explained/ | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online news article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Harrington, Rebecca M. | date = March 2, 2006 | title=How the Final Clubbers Fool You—The Trend is Nigh | url = http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2006/3/2/how-the-final-clubbers-fool-you/  | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online arts article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Hernandez, Javier C. | date = January 17, 2006 | title=Kennedy Ends His Final Club Ties: Senator withdraws from Owl Club after conservatives criticized his membership | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/1/17/kennedy-ends-his-final-club-ties/ | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online news article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 |display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite journal | author = Hemel, Daniel J. | date = October 24, 2005 | title=E-mails Offer Glimpse of Club: Isis e-mail archives reveal details of 'punch' process, relationship with Bee Club | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=509327 | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online news article  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Sachs, Stephen E. | date = October 23, 2001 | title=What's Wrong With Final Clubs: The Public Interest | url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=121825 | journal = [[The Harvard Crimson]] | format = online opinion piece  | access-date=May 11, 2016 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Final Club}}
[[Category:Student societies in the United States]]
[[Category:Harvard University]]
[[Category:Lists of chapters of United States student societies by college]]
[[Category:Harvard College social clubs|*]]