Murphy then proceeded to conduct a number of interviews outside the club to demonstrate that women actually enjoyed their visit. All of those questioned by Murphy said they had fun at the party although one complained that the "guys are a little bit sleazier" than at the other clubs and another said that there were too many women.
Two Harvard women undergraduates, who are regular visitors to the Pi, spoke highly of its undergraduate members.
"I've always been treated so well here. Guys will always walk you home," said Valerie C. Nellen '91. She said the allure of the Pi is that it "is the closest Harvard comes to a normal college frat."
Asked about the club's past use of sexist language, including references to women as "pigs," partner Julie D. Hopkins '91 said she thought few of the current members harbored those feelings.
"Most of them don't really believe that," Hopkins said. Nellen said she thought such comments were often made in jest.
They're always ragging on each other," Nellen said of the members. "Any final club you go to, you'll find a lot of male bonding."
Kathryn I. Frucher '93, co-president if the Radcliffe Union of Students, said in an interview last week that students of both sexes who attend parties at the Pi Eta Club or other all-male clubs should reconsider their actions.
"There are a lot of good guys in Pi Eta. I don't have problems with all of them. I have problems with the institution. They choose to support a discriminatory institution. Both men and women haven't examined the implications," Frucher said.
When women go to parties at all-male clubs, they "have to cater to the men." Frucher said.
Late That Night
At about 12:30 a.m., a semi-conscious woman was carried to the front entrance. Several men attending the party attempted to place the woman on her feet.
Minutes later, another woman dashed out of the club in hysterics. She was crying and screaming. "I can't believe she punched me in the face," she yelled to a friend. "I wish she had killed herself."
A Cambridge police officer stood outside the club's 45 Mt. Auburn St. door, but neither he nor anyone else appeared to check the identification of people entering the building. People emerging from the club carried beer bottles and alcohol-laden punch.
Two young women who came out of the club after midnight said they attend Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Mass. The women said they heard about the party from friends, who warned them about the atmosphere inside.
"You have to be real careful when you go in there because you're a girl," said one of the young women, who identified herself only as "Lisa." She added that the club is a "dirty place," and it is easy to slip on the floor.
This story is based on a visit to the Pi Eta Speakers Club on the night of Saturday, April 6.