“I hope that at the very least men working from inside that system share my belief that creating safe, inclusive, and equitable social space is an urgent priority here at Harvard,” she says.

A FEW BAD MEN

Despite the perception that sexual assault is rampant in final clubs, many agree that only a small minority of men is likely to commit sexual assaults.

“It’s such a tiny minority of men who do this. It’s not like we have these big bad clubs,” says Tamar Holoshitz ’10, who used to work with OSAPR. “You want to educate your organization and create an environment where people step up and people notice something going on and say something.”

Lichtenstein echoes Holoshitz’s comments.

“It’s a very small percentage of guys who are actually capable of it, and an even smaller percentage who even do it,” Lichtenstein says. “Every single club I know has one to two guys who are more sketchy than the rest of them. The measures are there for those one or two guys.”

Members say that the Phoenix tries to eliminate threatening members during punch—the final clubs’ process for selecting members.

Sack says that members ask themselves during punch, “Is this a guy who is going to be overly aggressive with girls?” as they want to avoid inducting members who will be a “liability” or “reflect poorly on the club.”

To protect both the clubs’ reputation and female guests, many members already connected to OSAPR or HMAR are trying to involve their fellow members.

“They come to a sincere realization that...they have the responsibility to stand up and do something,” Van Vuuren says. “We’re doing this so Harvard can be a safer place, so our community will be more intact, to protect the integrity of individuals in our community.”

—Melody Y. Hu contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Eric P. Newcomer can be reached at newcomer@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Alice E.M. Underwood can be reached at aeunderw@fas.harvard.edu.