A bipartisan pair of Harvard graduates in the House say college students shouldn’t be punished for joining groups that only allow male or female members.
Reps. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, and Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, are planning to push a new version of the Collegiate Freedom of Association Act when the 117th Congress opens on Jan. 3. Gallego introduced the bill in June 2019, but it was referred to committee, and so no other legislative action was taken.
The proposal is a reaction to Harvard’s 2017 effort to stopping students from joining “fraternities, sororities, and similar organizations.” Harvard’s sanctions, which went into effect with the Class of 2021, penalized final clubs, the Greek system, and other social groups no matter the gender makeup. Punishment for violating the rules can include being banned for participating in varsity sports and having the university’s support in seeking a Rhodes Scholarship, among other sanctions.
The bill seeks to amend the Higher Education Act “to uphold freedom of association protections.” It would prevent universities from penalizing students who are members of single-gender organizations.
“It’s a bipartisan bill between me and Elise Stefanik, largely in response to Harvard’s attempt to shut down single-sex organizations, which in my opinion is a violation of students freedom association,” Gallego, a 2002 Harvard graduate, told the Washington Examiner.
In the Congress that’s about to end, Gallego has worked with Stefanik, a 2006 Harvard graduate, and an ideologically disparate group of members, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“We had bipartisan support across the spectrum-Democrats and Republicans and CBC support,” Gallego said. “Many of them belong to Greek fraternities and recognize that it’s an important part of their career-building and for people to go and join them.”
Gallego and Stefanik, as well, are usually on opposite sides politically. Gallego is a member of the House Progressive Caucus, while Stefanik is a staunch supporter of President Trump.
After adopting the rules, Harvard faced a federal and state lawsuit in Massachusetts. Harvard admitted legal precedent was not on its side and dropped its sanctions policy. The case was settled last August on undisclosed terms.
“The disregard of students’ basic freedoms and the destruction of the women’s groups was indefensible,” R. Stanton Jones of Arnold & Porter said on behalf of the federal plaintiffs after the December 2018 filing. “With the defeat of its sanctions policy, Harvard should stay out of the business of trying to dictate who students spend their time with off campus.”
However, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress, many of whom are alumni of sororities and fraternities at other schools, as well as Harvard alums, wanted to give further protection to the students in the form of legislation.
“Harvard decided to shut down single-sex organizations and essentially affected mostly female organizations. Almost all female single-sex organizations were shut down. Actually, all of them were shut down, basically trying to have a safe space for them to congregate, meet, and network. I spoke to Harvard and asked them to rescind this,” Gallego said. “We’re going to continue to try to push this out and make sure other people don’t make and other colleges don’t make the same mistake.”
