So as to make sure that members judge prospective initiates, male and female, responsibly, the report suggests that the Fox undergraduate president reiterate during punch deliberations that “friendship” should be “the only standard for election.” Potential problems with attraction between members of the opposite sex would be “further diffused” as more women joined the club, making the issue “insignificant,” the report indicated.

“If the length and freedom of discussion currently present at deliberations is maintained, then it is unlikely that the factor of attraction would not be raised if any present member felt it was swaying members to a particular decision,” the report also suggested.

The report also presents a number of proposals to combat the potential for an “imbalanced power dynamic” to develop between the club’s older male members and its first female punch class. One point suggested only admitting junior and senior female students for the first co-ed class. Another advocated appointing a number of senior female members as “punch liaisons” to guide the punch process and respond to concerns from prospective female members.

This fall, the Fox ultimately elected a group of junior and senior female undergraduates who plan to lead an all-female punch process next semester, although their graduate board has since assigned them, and new male members, a provisional status.

One anticipated concern with the Fox’s admission policy was how it would react to an increase in legacy candidates, according to the task force report. By letting women punch, both the sons and daughters of club alumni would now be considered legacies—a status that at some final clubs greatly increases a prospective member’s chance of admission. The report suggests balancing the need to be “judicious” in the election process with “maintaining positive graduate relations.”

Beyond just admissions questions, the report delves into the minute procedural details of the punch process, addressing questions such as whether the club should allow punches to bring each other as dates to punch events. It offers several options: Officers could either permit or forbid that arrangement, hold separate date events for women, or eliminate date events altogether.

Officers could also change the requisite attire for punch events from “coat and tie” to “semi-formal” or “cocktail attire,” the report recommends. It suggests that the Fox could designate some bathrooms, meanwhile, as specifically for women, or the club could install locks and make all of them unisex.

Beyond those logistics, the report covers questions about how officers would navigate potential romantic relationships between members and initiates if women joined the club.

While the report notes that the club already had experience addressing existing relationships between members and punches, it implies that the issue would come up more frequently if it went co-ed. The Fox could require members who are in relationships with prospective members to recuse themselves from deliberating on their election, the report suggests, a policy it says the club should “potentially” adopt regardless.

“Such a situation has already arisen in recent club history, and requires the same maturity and caution of members that is already expected of them during deliberations,” the report says.

The document is clear that officers would expect club members to behave appropriately around women punches. “We expect male punches to behave around female punches the way male members ought to behave around female members. Any indication of punches unwilling or unable to do so will factor into the deliberation process,” the report proposes.

The report also says the Fox could ban relationships between two members, and if adopted, such a policy should also apply to relationships between prospective members.

The report also offers ways to formalize a policy on romantic relationships between members, instead of prohibiting them. The club could allow consensual relationships or “institute a policy of ‘don't ask, don't tell’ regarding member-member relations, asking members to be discreet about their intra-club relationships, and to respect that the purpose of the Fox club is primarily to build and maintain friendship.”

‘INSTITUTE A POLICY’

Beyond punch, the Fox’s report also indicates that undergraduates mulled over club initiation events, specifically questioning the place of nudity and alcohol. They also thought generally about how the club would respond to allegations of sexual harassment.