By Stewart Tongue

YNOT – Some already are calling it Fifty Shades of Crimson: Harvard University approved a new on-campus student group devoted to those who enjoy the BDSM lifestyle.

Calling itself Harvard College Munch, the group of 30 charter members advocates “a positive and accurate understanding of alternative sexualities and kink on campus” and plans “to create a space where college-age adults may reach out to their peers and feel accepted in their own sexuality,” according to the university’s website.

“No other group exists as a forum for students interested in alternative sexualities to explore their identities and develop a community with their peers,” the group notes in its official description.

Members’ identities are protected by strict privacy standards, according to the group’s bylaws. Formal approval by the university allows Harvard College Munch to receive grants, post campus notices and use campus meeting spaces, among other benefits.

University spokesman Jeff Neal said Harvard doesn’t endorse the view or activities of any officially recognized student group. The school requires all of the 400 independent student organizations on campus to comply with the same “straightforward requirements, ranging from submitting an organizational constitution to agreeing to nondiscrimination and anti-hazing policies” Neal told the campus’ daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.

One may wonder how much fun a BDSM group could be with an anti-hazing policy in place, but this appears to be a very progressive step toward greater sexual freedom among Ivy League students. Can MIT, Yale and Dartmouth campus Doms be far behind with group proposals of their own?

Established in 1636 and located in Cambridge, Mass., Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S.