Harvard club finally admits women, has party, shuts down

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - An exclusive social club at Harvard University has been closed by its board of university alumni following a rowdy party.

The Boston Globe reports graduate board leaders closed the Fox Club until at least Jan. 1, 2016.

A graduate member tells the newspaper that a Nov. 13 party, attended by the club's first class of prospective female members, included nudity, alcohol and "women in shark costumes."

He says images from the event circulated on the Internet until club members saw that they were taken down.

The decision to close comes two weeks after the historically all-male club announced it would admit women. Officials say an initiation for new members that was planned for Nov. 14 has been postponed.

A university spokeswoman says no one was available to comment.

The Harvard Crimson reports the incident appears to be part of a broader struggle between undergraduate and graduate members of the club. Alumni had been reportedly pushing back on university pressure to allow women into the male-dominated social club scene at Harvard.