On a more concrete level, many club members have become involved with OSAPR and HMAR.

Lichtenstein says that five out of eight male final clubs participate in OSAPR’s final club advisory committee, but a club’s dedication may vary from year to year depending on membership and leadership.

Avakian writes that OSAPR is working on instituting sexual assault prevention training in every final club, but challenges remain in ensuring that every member is present for training. But some final clubs have agreed to make training mandatory for new members as of next year—a practice he hopes will become universal among the clubs.

“If we’re getting guys to talk about these issues, we’re on our way to success,” he writes.

The main way to involve men in the fight against sexual assault, Avakian says, is to engage them as active bystanders who will step in when they see a potentially risky situation.

Hugo Van Vuuren ’07, founder of the MenSpeakUp website and a leader of OSAPR training sessions, says that it can be challenging to inspire people who care but remain silent to feel comfortable about taking an active stance.

“We need to find out how to get people to commit to action,” he says. “When you intervene, it almost always has an impact and almost always no harm comes to you.”

DEBATING DESEGREGATION

Many women and administrators say that desegregating the final clubs would help to improve both the safety and the reputations of the clubs.

“I think they do need to allow women in them,” Ellison says. “I do think they need to become more diverse and allow more members of the community, but I don’t have any control over that.”

While Lichtenstein says he opposes allowing women to join the Phoenix, he says the change would make the clubs safer for women.

“Just the fact that there would be equal members who could push each other to be gender-conscious would definitely help out,” Lichtenstein says.

Eva B. Rosenberg ’10, chair emerita of the feminist group Radcliffe Union of Students, refers to final clubs as “the last vestige of a dying heterosexist patriarchal racist order that has dominated Harvard for most of its nearly 400-year history.”

“A male-dominated social space is inherently inequitable and poses a particular risk for women,” Rosenberg says.

Though Rosenberg is critical of final clubs as institutions, she says she is optimistic about the surge in member participation in efforts against sexual assault.