SigEp Out of NIC
 

Sigma Phi Epsilon Departs North American Interfraternity Conference

RICHMOND, Va. — Today, Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) announced that the Fraternity is leaving the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) after serving four years on the trade association’s governing council.

In 2015, SigEp decided to commit to membership in the then-reorganized association commonly referred to as “NIC 2.0.” The Fraternity’s leadership saw it as an opportunity to work collaboratively with peers to shape the Conference’s priorities based on research and best practices. While the NIC has made notable strides in several areas, for fraternities to truly deliver on their promises and espoused values, the Conference must turn greater focus to student safety, personal development and strategic partnership with campus professionals.

“The original vision of NIC 2.0 was one that could have been transformational for fraternity communities, but the Conference is no longer proceeding toward those goals,” said SigEp Chief Executive Officer Brian Warren. “It’s clear that SigEp’s vision for how to enhance health and safety in the fraternity experience and partner with our host institutions has diverged from the NIC’s current approach. At SigEp, we must deploy resources in ways that achieve our priorities.”

SigEp has taken bold steps – removing pledging from the experience, rethinking new member recruitment, training new volunteers to be effective mentors, and implementing substance-free facilities – to provide young men a safe and relevant fraternity experience, one that allows them to develop meaningful relationships and prepares them for life after college.

One of the main reasons for SigEp’s initial investment in NIC 2.0 was the intended focus on collaboration around initiatives that would lead to safer fraternity communities. Yet, many of the NIC’s health and safety initiatives have seen significant cuts in resources and staffing, and there is little to no accountability to ensure policies that have been adopted across the Conference are implemented.

“The NIC’s hard alcohol ban was a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough to address the underlying issues of alcohol and substance abuse, underage drinking, and their connections to issues like hazing and assault,” said Ed Hammond, a retired university president who served as SigEp’s NIC governing council delegate and chaired the NIC’s Commission on Alcohol Abuse. “We had hoped this collective of fraternities with a renewed sense of purpose would take the necessary steps to challenge archaic thinking and antiquated practices.”

Further, the Conference’s increasingly antagonistic approach to campus advocacy and its establishment of Independent Interfraternity Councils – severing ties with host campuses – has led many alumni, undergraduates, campus professionals and other stakeholders to question the NIC’s motives and genuine interest in solving critical concerns.

“Our members and partners are craving more support, more resources, more transparency and more collaboration — not less. We must help bring people together on campuses to address an issue’s root cause, not divide communities,” said Warren.

“Higher ed partners should expect SigEp to work with them – openly and transparently – to give them a strong understanding of the SigEp experience on their campuses and how together, we can continue to improve student success,” he said. “We hope that this active partnership invites collaboration and lessens the need for campuses to resort to system-wide actions that unintentionally penalize students and chapters who are not bad actors.”

While SigEp is not renewing its membership in the NIC, we have a steadfast commitment to the relationships and collaboration within local fraternity communities, and our chapters will remain a part of campus Interfraternity Councils. Further, we know there are like-minded organizations both within and outside of the Conference. SigEp intends to work collaboratively with our interfraternal peers and leaders in higher education to develop and implement strategies that deliver an experience colleges and universities will be proud to host on their campus.

https://sigep.org/sigepjournal/sigma...ty-conference/

They don't have pledges anymore?

They changed their program some time ago. I think it was part of their Balanced Man program.

I remember reading some threads here on GC about it.

From the Loyola Marymount chapter page via the national website:

https://loyolamarymount.sigep.org/jo...ship-interest/

"Our continuous member development program, The Balanced Man Program, is designed to help our members reach their greatest potential. In order for this development to take place, members must have a desire to better themselves in all aspects of life. All of our members place significant value on the pursuit of obtaining a sound mind and sound body. This combination creates a community of driven men who are dedicated to personal growth, academic success, leadership development, and lifelong friendship.

"

We changed to The Balanced Man Program in the late 90s I think. I still remember the Traditional vs BMP debate.

My son's chapter was Balanced Man (I guess some aren't) and he joined in 2009 but it really seems like they weren't initiated for weeks!

NIC statement on Sigma Phi Epsilon.

"We are disappointed that Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity has decided to leave the NIC and offended in the manner they communicated their departure.

To set the record straight, Sigma Phi Epsilon voted in all unanimously approved decisions of the NIC which it now criticizes. Those include advocacy areas such as litigation at Harvard and Yale in defense of the fraternity experience, lobbying for the Collegiate Freedom of Association Act in Congress and the development of Campus Advocacy Protocols which include the optional formation of independent interfraternity councils in cases when student rights are grossly violated.

NIC understands Sigma Phi Epsilon’s right to make decisions they feel are in best interest of their members. However, we question their method of departing the NIC and reject their assertion that the NIC and its members are not aggressively promoting a positive and safe fraternity experience."

https://nicfraternity.org/statement-...on-fraternity/

I feel like Sig Ep is Dennis DeYoung and the rest of the NIC is the rest of Styx during the “Kilroy Was Here” tour.

So in essence, they'd like the NIC to continue to bargain for, set policy, and act in their best interests, but they don't want to pay for it? We all chip in because we know to stay alive and relevant, we sometimes have to team up and get things done.

The statement that the NIC and its members are not aggressively promoting a positive and safe fraternity experience fundamentally does not understand what the NIC does.

It seems more like Sig Ep has had a few recent lawsuits and is looking for someone else to blame.

*this is my opinion, not Sigma Nu or Greekchat's

They are not the only ones to leave the NIC. LXA has also as we, they and others feel the NIC has out lived or are not living up to their mandate!:o

How so? Was LXA like Sig Ep in that it voted for all of the unanimously supported agenda items before they bolted? What else can the NIC do? Has LXA or any former member formed an alternative association or tried to advance the agenda the NIC wouldn't advance? Or have they stayed on the sidelines letting other organizations foot the bill for something which will eventually benefit everyone?