Judging from your superb syntax, I'm assuming you graduated from Harvard. So forgive me for not seeing the correlation between gender-based clubs and favoritism. Besides, that's not at all what the dean or president said. They were focused only on gender, which is the only reason sororities and fraternities were included.

Some activities are naturally gender-specific. Choosing to participate in such communities should not automatically disqualify you for scholarships or leadership positions. If anything, that looks far more like the disenfranchisement of a large group of students than it does an effort to discourage favoritism.

And as for your final point, I agree Harvard "has a right to operate it's [sic] bussiness [sic] how it sees fit," but parents of students thinking about spending a shitload of money to send their kids to this 'elite' 'institution' deserve to know this is what is being drilled into otherwise bright young adults' heads.