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By Abigail S. Gerstein and Jack B. Reardon
Yesterday
Every Thursday night, dozens of men in suits descend on the Junior Common Room of Dunster House. A few of them, carrying fire pokers, stand watch at the door — ceremonial guards of the semi-secret conservative debating society.
Inside, the members of the John Adams Society adhere to stringent etiquette in their debates, always referring to each other as “gentleman,” even when discussions get heated. This year, they addressed their new class of potential members as the “men of Harvard” — an apt greeting, since no women were present.
Six individuals, including a female former JAS member and two prospective members, told The Crimson that JAS now informally excludes women. Students said that no women were asked to join the invite-only group, with the former member noting that returning female members were not asked to pay their club dues. Now, JAS is effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.
Under Harvard College policies, recognized student organizations — such as JAS — must be open to all students regardless of their gender identity.
The society’s officers — Chairman Elliott J. Detjen ’24-’27, Charles S. DeMatteo ’26, Pablo L. Manzo ’26, Conor G. Mannion ’27, and James M. Cox-Donovan ’28 — did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo wrote in a statement that no reports of gender discrimination by the John Adams Society have been filed with the Dean of Students Office.
“If students have these concerns, they should report them right away for the Dean of Students Office so they can review,” Palumbo wrote.
JAS has admitted women since the group was founded in 2014, with women serving in leadership positions at least as recently as 2017. The organization’s own constitution affirms the College’s non-discrimination policy, extending it to all aspects of membership.
In 2024, the group changed its motto from “Harvard’s premier undergraduate debate organization for political and moral philosophy” to the “premier organization for the reinvention of man at Harvard Square.”
And in September of this year, the debating group began quietly excluding women from its membership.
A freshman woman who was unable to join the group said the exclusion sends a worrisome message to conservative women at Harvard.
“The message is go back to where you belong — to the Radcliffe Quad and the kitchen,” the woman said.
The Crimson granted the students who spoke for this story anonymity to discuss the actions of a tight-knit and tight-lipped student group, whose decisions are rarely communicated externally. Many cited fears of losing friendships, isolating themselves from conservative spaces at Harvard, or cutting themselves off from career and political networks.
In an email reviewed by The Crimson, the freshman reached out to a JAS member to express her interest in joining the organization. She did not receive a response. When she spoke with a JAS alumnus, he informed her that the organization was no longer inviting female members.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/12/8/john-adams-society-women/
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The John Adams Society began quietly excluding women from membership this semester....It is now effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.