Harvard is arguably the most prominent academic institution in the world, yet it is still so elusive and coveted. Each and every day, more than 1000 tourists come to the campus hoping to get a sneak peek into the life of Harvard students. Most probably imagine that being a Harvard student would unlock all those mysteries and secrets embedded in the institution’s long history. But that’s not always the case.
What Are Final Clubs?
Finals clubs are a mystery that even the most connected students and faculty do not know much about. They are essentially social organizations that provide community to predominantly wealthier and more-connected students that attend Harvard. Each fall is “punch season,” where students, mostly sophomores, get letters slipped under their door and are invited to “punch events.”
This process is not to be confused with rushing in Greek life. It is a highly exclusive process where everyone who gets punched has already been pre-selected due to already knowing someone in a club or being a legacy in the club. As such, not everyone gets a chance to “punch” a finals club. The punch process is very long, consisting of four rounds, each with a social event or some sort of activity where students essentially try to make a good impression on the members. With each round, cuts happen until it is winnowed down to less than 30 people.
The entire selection process is very internal and each finals club has its own individual events and approaches to the process. For this reason, it is all very secretive, and finding any sort of information on the inner workings of final clubs is difficult. That’s surprising since most of them (at least the all-male ones; the female ones were founded much later) have existed since the mid-1800s.
Most, if not all, students pass the houses on their daily walks to and from Harvard Yard. Yet so few actually know what’s going on inside. Every Thursday you can hear them blasting music from their patios or see bouncers at the entrances with a sheet of paper, quietly ushering people into the houses before shutting the door so that you can’t get a good look at what’s going on inside the house. Of course, there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding final clubs, especially allegations of sexual assault and predation in some of the male clubs. Yet, in spite of this, the clubs are still highly sought after.
As a Harvard student, I have my own opinions on final clubs. Personally, I’ve always heard that they are designed for the white and wealthy students at Harvard. Their exclusivity and secret society-type facades always gave me a pretty negative impression. But as a journalist, I felt that it was only fair to speak with people who have interacted with these clubs directly before forming a more concrete opinion.
Few Want to Talk, Many Want to Join
I’ve written articles on some pretty controversial things before: racial inequality, affirmative action, and gender bias in the classroom. But nothing was as difficult to write as this article. For starters, no one who was affiliated with a final club was willing to go on the record. Even after explaining to them that it wasn’t an attack piece, they would not give up any information. Even alums, some 20 years removed from the school, didn’t want to say anything about their experiences in finals clubs.
Promises of total anonymity were also unable to sway interviewees into agreeing to be quoted, since the identities of the interviewees would have to be revealed to the executives of the paper in order to maintain journalistic integrity. Though we hold ourselves to a high standard and would never share that information with anyone outside of the editors dealing directly with the article, the interviewees refused to agree to these terms. Most of them cited fear of retribution as their reason.
The only people who agreed to these conditions were people who wanted to be in final clubs but were not punched. And though they could provide a sense of why students wanted to be a part of these clubs, a perspective from someone on the inside was still missing. Only after exhausting every avenue was I able to find one student to agree to the conditions of anonymity. And even then, it was not nearly enough information to understand the full picture of final clubs.
Perhaps the most important question to ask in understanding the importance of final clubs is, why join? What is the appeal? The student willing to go on record explained that it was all about having a social life. “There’s a lot of networking opportunities. You get invited to exclusive parties. Essentially, you want to be a part of a final club because you want to get into parties. It’s a part of the Harvard experience since Harvard doesn’t have many good parties.” Though the interviewee didn’t say that it was impossible to have a social life without membership in a finals club, they clarified that, “It’s harder to have a social life. A fun social life.”
A Threat to Inclusivity
But what about the lack of diversity? Isn’t it counterintuitive for a school like Harvard that boasts diversity to have these ultra-exclusive clubs? Do members of final clubs ever feel bad that they are essentially judging people based on their connections, money, and looks instead of merits or character?
This was met with a lot of silence. “It’s not necessarily right but that is just how it is at Harvard,” the anonymous interviewee responded. They explained further that the point of the final club is that members feel included. “It is the final stamp of approval that you belong. That you’re cool. It gives me a sense of pride.”
Of course, no one wants to admit that they are buying into the rather trivial and highly toxic social mindset of wanting popularity and getting a piece of all the action. What was interesting, though, was the idea that one could not have a healthy social life at Harvard without being a part of a final club. In dissecting that sentiment, one can see that as much as Harvard believes it has changed, it still is an institution that caters to the predominantly upper crusts of society, forcing the rest of us to beg for proverbial scraps.
Considering that the “real” Harvard experience is only experienced when you are a part of a final club, no wonder Dean Khurana has spent so much time fighting to sanction these clubs. They threaten to ruin the progress Harvard has made in molding the university into an inclusive community. The clubs serve to legitimize Harvard’s reputation for being a playground for the elites.
Though it is clear that there is quite a bit of social allure surrounding them, it is still unclear how they actually benefit the student as a holistic individual. Take the student-led organizations that are recognized by Harvard. You join the Institute of Politics, for example, to interact with other people who are interested in politics. Or you may join a singing group because you like to sing and perform. Of course, you have to audition for some of these groups, but the auditions are based on talent and merit. Not to mention, they are open to all people, not just a pre-selected few.
On the other hand, since the final clubs are all pre-selected, aren’t they just another way of hanging out with people who are already in each other’s social circle? Is it necessary to have a private house dedicated to that? There are some merits in the argument that this is mainly for networking, but then again, this is Harvard: All students have access to some of the most amazing networks in the country purely because they attend the school. Plus, the entire pre-selection process hinges on a student knowing a member or having some sort of a connection to the club which means they already have access to whatever network the club may provide.
I would argue that final clubs are more about keeping people out than they are about letting people in. That’s what is so significant about them. And that makes sense, considering the world we live in today. It’s considered “cool” to be able to say that you are a part of something because of your perceived social capital. In many ways, popularity has become yet another yardstick for measuring social status, money, and legacy.
In the end, these clubs have their costs and benefits much like any other organization on campus. On the one hand, they seem to provide a number of students with joy, excitement, and community. Students perform better when they are happy, so in many respects, final clubs can be good for student morale. On the other hand, many of the people I spoke with who were not punched or cut after the first round cited great amounts of anxiety and emotional strain surrounding the entire process. One student described a great deal of emotional pain. “It was probably the worst, most emotionally exhausting day of the semester for me. I was just devastated.”
That was a very profound example of the emotional and social stress these clubs can inflict on the lives of students. It is hard to believe that it isn’t personal when your entire personality and lifestyle are being picked apart for the slim chance of making it to the final round. The exact institution that provides a community for some, provides immense emotional pain and feelings of rejection for others. So if this process rewards some but hurts others, is that reconcilable?
I still don’t have the answer to that. I guess that’s something Harvard will have to work out for itself.
Image by Evan Smogor licensed under the Unsplash License.
