WAC Petition to Include Men

Women Appealing for Change (WAC) will begin targeting men to support their boycott of Harvard's nine all-male final clubs, organizers said at a meeting last night.

WAC's petition, sent to the single-sex clubs to encourage them to admit women as members, has garnered nearly 300 signatures since September. Updated versions will be sent to the clubs after the new signature drive, said WAC organizer Megan E. Colligan '95.

Colligan said many men had expressed interest in supporting the group, and several had insisted on signing the petition, originally intended only for women.

Men will have the option of signing the basic petition, affirming their support of Women Appealing for Change and participation in the boycott, she said.

For final club members who support the idea of co-ed clubs but who are not willing to stop attending their clubs, there is an alternative petition stating that while they cannot participate in the boycott, they support the change in membership rules, Colligan said.

WAC members will be tabling at the houses at dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night.

In addition to targeting men, WAC will focus on building membership through reaching first-years and other undergraduates with less interest in the issue.

"Through our meetings, we've been targeting thus far people for whom it's a real decision," Colligan said. "There's a huge population who would probably support it if you went up and asked them."

Organizers said they were concerned that some members of WAC had ceased boycotting the Fly Club since it voted to admit women.

The graduate council of the Fly Club supported the undergraduates' right to choose the club's membership, but made the admission of women contingent upon further consideration of legal, financial and social implications and continued undergraduate support.

"Until it's finalized and women are being punched, I don't think we should be attending," WAC organizer Emily Buxton '94 said.

Overall, WAC organizers said they were happy with the success that their movement had achieved so far.

"There's no doubt that we have affected the structure of the final clubs and made things difficult for them," Colligan said.