Word: finall
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...most surprising aspect of the final club debate on campus is that some people who want to see the clubs shut down do not support Lisa Schkolnick's complaint against the Fly Club. These students do not believe that Schkolnick's suit will destroy the clubs or make them any less elitist, but rather that integrating the clubs would actually enhance their standing on campus, render them more socially acceptable, and bring them back into the center of campus life...
...elitism. But no one should regard admitting women as merely instrumental towards attacking the clubs' "real elitism." This analysis is sexist; it doesn't take women's rights as seriously as those of Blacks and other groups which have suffered from discrimination in this country. Imagine the outcry if final club members were to urge us to understand why white people want to be in a club with only whites and that Blacks should build their own clubs--as people have argued with women. Schkolnick's strike against the clubs' gender elitism must be recognized as a forceful blow...
Harvard's club system began as a multi-tiered system with entry level clubs that admitted prep school students, waiting clubs, and finally, the "final clubs"--only a few of which still exist. The attrition of the club system loosely parallels the progress of Harvard towards greater diversity in admissions and less reliance on a few prep school for students...
Harvard merged with Radcliffe in 1974, and the final clubs have yet to follow the cue. This lag is no surprise; the clubs have never been on the cutting edge of equal rights. Sexism is the last bastion of the clubs' illegal elitism, and the gender barrier, like that against public school students, Jews, and Blacks, will tumble in its turn...
HARVARD may end up, for the moment, with nine more Hasty Puddings where only people with money and connections can belong. Unfortunately, this type of elitism is not illegal. It's impossible to attack the final clubs on strictly legal grounds for charging money and choosing who they want--thousands of golf clubs, country clubs, and social clubs legally do the same thing. Financial elitism is protected by our laws, gender elitism...