Are Finals Clubs Good for Harvard?

The annual Harvard finals club punch season is underway. As popularized in The Social Network, the eight male-only clubs and four female-only clubs will offer exclusive invitations to only a handful of undergraduates. Membership to a finals club is highly coveted because some think the clubs facilitate special bonds between students and have alumni networks committed to supporting undergraduates.

This year, however, some students are trying to convince many eligible sophomores not to join. These students argue that the clubs are bad for campus because they promote gender inequality. The male clubs dominate the social scene and have extraordinary resources at their disposal compared to the female clubs which were founded more recently.

Is it wrong for Harvard finals clubs to be single-sex? Should exclusive social clubs be allowed on campuses? Do they add to or detract from the social atmosphere?

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures