[TSteven]

BEAUCHAMP NO HAZING CALL

Excerpts from the Grand Consul's Jan. 31, 2005 Address

On Jan. 31, Grand Consul Lee Beauchamp, Texas A&M-College Station 1975, introduced Sigma Chi’s new zero tolerance policy regarding hazing to more than 1,200 Sigma Chis in a Fraternity-wide conference call. The following is an excerpt of his address.

Last fall, we all heard about several tragedies involving hazing and alcohol abuse at fraternity chapter houses across the United States. Sigma Chi suffered the tragic loss of Blake Adam Hammontree, an Oklahoma University pledge. He died from alcohol poisoning following a pledge event. A pledge of the Chi Psi Fraternity, Lynn Gordan Bailey Jr., died from an alcohol overdose, which was apparently tied to an initiation ritual. And at Colorado State University, sophomore Samantha Spady was found dead in a Sigma Pi chapter house the morning after a party. She’d had at least 30 drinks.

Then there are the Sigma Chi hazing incidents you probably did not hear about. At our University of Texas-Austin chapter, some of our own brothers forced pledges to ingest substances, participate in calisthenics and engage in personal servitude, and to participate in paddle swats and kidnapping exercises. They also confined new members in a crawl space. At our SUNY–Oswego chapter, brothers required pledges to do calisthenics, personal servitude and paddling. At our Arizona chapter, brothers locked pledges in a walk-in freezer, causing them to suffer from hypothermia and vomiting.

And just a week ago, a pledge at our California State University-Chico chapter was rushed to the hospital from the chapter house. Doctors found his blood alcohol level was 0.496—six times the legal limit. Authorities said he would have died had he not gotten medical attention when he did.

Everyone on this call knows by now how Sigma Chi feels about these problems. Alcohol abuse is wrong. Hazing is wrong. And combining the two usually makes for dangerous circumstances that can kill people and ruin lives.

After the senseless death of Blake Hammontree, Sigma Chi vowed to do everything possible to make sure we never experience such a tragedy again. Since then, Sigma Chi has looked for ways to attack both alcohol abuse and hazing, and to end the senseless cruelty a handful of our members commit in the name of tradition.

On Jan. 31, I announced a zero-tolerance policy for the Fraternity. Sigma Chi will tolerate absolutely no hazing, alcohol abuse or substance abuse.

We must ensure that all brothers enjoy a fulfilling and productive membership in Sigma Chi. This policy reflects the expectations set forth by The Jordan Standard and the principles and values that guide our Fraternity. It builds on our belief that Sigma Chis become the best men we can be through membership and brotherhood.

True brotherhood cannot grow from physical or mental abuse. I know that hazing has been a so-called tradition in some chapters. And these so-called traditions have gotten out of control—to the extent that people are dying or going to the hospital. We must change as an organization. We must abandon stupid and dangerous behavior. We need to build new traditions for our Fraternity—traditions that bring us together to share experiences, not to inflict pain or discomfort.

So, then, what is hazing? Our new definition is simple: Hazing is an act performed by an undergraduate member, alumnus or pledge that results in an environment of servitude or in any way endangers or demeans any Sigma Chi or pledge member, regardless of that person’s willingness to participate in the act.

Those needing more guidance in making the distinction should ask themselves whether what they’re doing singles someone out for unusual treatment—then, whether or not they’d be proud to talk about the activity with their family, their professors or the police.

To help diminish the potential for hazing, Sigma Chi has been working toward reducing the duration of the pledge program. Our goal is to shorten the period to eight weeks, based on the Fraternity’s current Preparation for Brotherhood series. While we believe that eight-week programs are ideal for the learning experience within Sigma Chi, we also understand that many chapters have strong and wonderful programs that last longer. For that reason, we will allow longer pledge programs with Grand Praetor approval. I do stress that this will be the exception to the rule.

Following the Jan. 31 announcement, all undergraduate chapters received a copy of the Fraternity’s policies and an explanation of how the Fraternity will enforce them. This did not include a list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Sigma Chi does not intend to write a checklist of approved or unapproved activities. We expect our chapters to know the difference between right and wrong.

It is not our goal to punish chapters. Rather, we want to help chapters change their behaviors to align with Sigma Chi’s commitment to character-in-action. The new policies will work only if there is trust between the Fraternity and its chapter members. We expect chapters to seriously review their own activities to end hazing and alcohol violations. Sigma Chi’s goal is to work with the chapters to define new and better standards of behavior. This must be a collaborative effort.

We expect all brothers will support our efforts to keep Sigma Chi the kind of fraternity we can all be proud of—today and in the future. The changes we introduced will not eliminate traditions. But they will eliminate stupid actions that are solely designed to embarrass our brothers or put them at needless risk.

Brothers, I ask that you help us create new traditions that reflect the realities that we all face today. And that you work with us to make Sigma Chi stronger in our second 150 years. We are confident that your support will help Sigma Chi continue to flourish and grow.

© 2004, Sigma Chi International Headquarters