Harvard Sorority Goes Gender-Neutral
CHICAGO (CBS)--Harvard's student-run newspaper, The Crimson, is reporting one of the university's sororities is ending the female-only Greek life tradition by becoming gender-neutral.
Harvard's chapter of the all-female sorority Kappa Alpha Theta will rebrand itself as as a gender-neutral "social group," called "Theta Zeta Xi." The soon-to-be former sorority will disaffiliate from its national organization in the fall of 2018, the club announced Monday, according to The Crimson.
The announcement comes at the heels of a decision by Harvard to crack down on single-gender social clubs.
Penalties imposed by the university in 2017 ban members of single-gender clubs and Greek organizations from holding student group leadership positions, becoming varsity athletic team captains and from receiving college endorsement for prestigious fellowships, The Crimson says.
The Crimson reports that a statement was issued by Kappa Alpha Theta defending the decision as an "act of good faith."
Theta members voted unanimously to go co-ed, according to the statement.
The sorority previously took a different stance.
Last year, after Harvard administration voted to adopt the sanctions on single-gender clubs, the group released a statement pledging to continue its tradition of allowing only women to be the members, the Boston Globe reported.