Members of the oldest all-male club at Harvard University have almost never spoken publicly about the organization since its founding in 1791.
This week, that silence was broken when an official with the group, the Porcellian Club, said that admitting women could increase the chances of sexual misconduct.
“Forcing single-gender organizations to accept members of the opposite sex could potentially increase, not decrease, the potential for sexual misconduct,” Charles Storey, president of the club’s alumni group, wrote on Tuesday in a letter to the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.
As news of the comments, which came in the midst of a broad effort at Harvard to prevent sexual assault, spread around campus on Wednesday, so did satire, including a piece titled “Club of wealthy white men comes out in support of status quo.”
On Twitter, US Representative Katherine Clark wrote; “Or, instead of blaming women, you could focus on teaching members of your club to NOT sexually assault people.”
Harvard has a long tradition of all-male social clubs. In 1984, the university required these clubs to admit women.
At that point, the clubs broke official ties with Harvard and they remain unrecognized by the university.
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