#StandUpToHarvard Explained
You may see #StandUpToHarvard being spread across your social media platforms right now, but what does this hashtag stand for?
In 2016 the university set a rule that discouraged students from joining single-gender clubs or organizations. The key word here is “discouraged”, the organizations and social clubs are not banned from the campus, but the members of them have been punished because of their affiliation. Students who are in these clubs are unable to gain leadership positions in campus groups or even become captains of sports teams. The policy has also created fear among students who wish to speak out against it but don't want their future education to be impacted by a negative response.
This past week, two fraternities and two sororities at Harvard filed a lawsuit in Boston’s federal court, along with another sorority filing a lawsuit in the Massachusetts court insisting the university repeals the policy. The students reasoning was that the rule and the university has and continues to interfere with students rights that are protected within the Massachusetts constitution. The rights that have been violated include both the free association and equal treatment based on sex.
Being in a sorority here at UK, I can say that is has both opened up doors to more opportunities for myself and helped me find a better sense of belonging on campus, whereas the students joining the single-sex organizations, or what's left of them, at Harvard are witnessing they are being stripped of multiple opportunities. Although the sorority I affiliate with, Pi Beta Phi, does not have a chapter at Harvard University I #StandUpToHarvard. Not only because my life has been impacted positively by joining a sorority, but because I think the University is stunting students ability to better themselves and their future. These organizations hold more importance than just parties, they build relationships and community, provide opportunities within college and university and future, and support philanthropy. Students should be able to freely choose their own leadership and social paths, not constrained by a place that is supposed to be supporting all efforts in doing so.
If you want to follow along with the progress of the lawsuits or obtain more information on the movement head over to https://www.standuptoharvard.org/lawsuit-update/.
