Sigma Nu (Kicked Off)

[Chi_Omega2000Chick]

National organization kicks Sigma Nu off campus (An Article Featured in the University of Arkansas school newspaper "The Travler"
On January 29,2001)
Curtis A. McClane
Lead Staff Writer


The Sigma Nu fraternity house has been dark and empty since the end of the fall semester.
Brad Beacham, chief operating officer of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc., said the national organization revoked the charter of the UA chapter because of allegations of hazing, vandalism, alcohol-related incidences and financial problems during the past few years.


“A couple of years ago, we began working closely with the UA administration concerning the behavior of the members and allegations of hazing,” Beacham said.


Gary Standridge, an alumnus of the fraternity and special assistant to the chancellor, said the allegations of hazing involved primarily members waking up pledges in the middle of the night for a roll call.


“Hazing is against the law,” Standridge said. “Any form of hazing is not allowed.”
“Some think it is esprit de corps,” he said. “They just want them to get what they got.”
According to police reports, a number of incidences have occurred involving alcohol, fighting and vandalism.


Oct. 10, 1999, a student was arrested at a party at the house on charges of public intoxication, a minor in possession of alcohol and fleeing after being approached by a UAPD officer.
Oct. 31, 1999, the Sigma Nu fraternity agreed to pay damages after a bottle was thrown through a window at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house.


Nov. 12, 1999, a man was arrested at a Sigma Nu party for public intoxication.
Feb. 13, 2000, Sigma Nu agreed to pay damages for a broken window at the Kappa Sigma house.
July 21, 2000, a rock was thrown through the glass door of the Sigma Nu fraternity house and a fire extinguisher sprayed on the inside by two men who had gotten into a fight earlier that night with Sigma Nu members.


Sept. 24, 2000, a fight occurred between Sigma Nu members and some international students who had attended an open party at the fraternity house.


“But, the last straw that broke the camel’s back occurred during finals week,” Standridge said.
Some pledges had gone on a trip for the weekend and were told to be back by 3 a.m. Sunday morning, Standridge said. When some pledges arrived late they found stereos and computers damaged, their clothes thrown outside, walls damaged and a mattress thrown through a window.
After this incident, the national organization revoked the Sigma Nu charter.


“This was the breaking point for the fraternity,” Beacham said.


“Although we didn’t have proven evidence,” he said, “there were enough problems from our perspective.


“One of the main problems was the lack of cooperation from members to identify those involved in these incidences,” Beacham said.


“Unfortunately, the future of the chapter was greatly and negatively affected by the actions of a few,” he said.


Sigma Nu had gone from a Chapter in Good Standing to having an Alumni Board of Advisors appointed in the fall of 1998, he said.


The purpose of the board, which included UA administrators and Sigma Nu alumni, was to work with the chapter members and leaders to avoid a reoccurrence of the problems and pursuing the fraternity’s mission and principles, Beacham said.


The mission of Sigma Nu endeavors to develop ethical leaders for society, he said.
“We’re trying to get away from the social club image,” Beacham said. “It was never intended to be a social organization.”


“The closing of Sigma Nu is a signal that these types of fraternities will not be tolerated,” he said.
James Conneely, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said, “This may make other fraternities and sororities look at what they are doing.”


Standridge said they stress scholarship, leadership and community service.


“Sigma Nu has a long history of success nationwide,” he said. “This chapter has more alums than any other chapter in the U.S.”


Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington Virginia and the Gamma Upsilon chapter at the UA was founded in 1904.


At the time the alumni board was formed, the fraternity was also having financial problems, Standridge said.


The board collected money, paid bills and approved activities, he said.
“Collecting room and board from members was a problem,” Standridge said. “As much as $30,000 to $40,000 is owed.”


Standridge said he is hoping to have the fraternity back on campus by 2004, but it will be a minimum of two years before it will return.


Beacham said, “There is no doubt in our minds that Sigma Nu will be back on campus and will return in a grand style.”


James Ezell, UA project and program director, said the house and property are owned by the UA.
Don Pederson, vice chancellor of Finance and Administration, said the fraternity owes the UA about $450,000 for bonds issued to the UA to pay for an addition to the house.
He said the UA is working with the fraternity to figure out how to deal with this situation.


“They don’t have the wherewithal to pay at this time,” Pederson said. “But, they are not dodging the obligation.”
Sigma Nu officers and members were unavailable for comment.


Debra Euculano, Greek Affairs coordinator, declined several requests for an interview.

[carnation]

Oh noooo....they were so good when I was a student there.

[Chiocutie]

Unfortunately in every fraternity or sorority there are chapters who do not make wise choices. There's always a few bad apples in the bunch. But overall Sigma Nu is an awesome Fraternity with great ideals. They have some of the best guys and are one of the strongest houses on campus.

XO love and mine

[Theta-cutie]

I'm very sorry to hear of the chapter's problems. However, as Chiocutie said, there are always a few bad seeds in any organization. The Sigma Nus that I know at my school are terrific, and I hope that the Sigma Nus all around the world keep their heads up and stick together!

[This message has been edited by Theta-cutie (edited March 24, 2001).]

[Billy Optimist]

Originally posted by DeltAlum:

Sigma Nu National did what any organization must do in this society. Other fraternities are doing the same thing.

Don't put your chapter at risk by being foolish.

DeltAlum

Couldn't something else have been done besides closing the chapter? Wouldn't that just embitter the brothers of that chapter to the rest of the fraternity. That is kind of drastic, I mean aren't there educational programs, so you don't have to throw out your brothers?

[DeltAlum]

Billy, et al,

It's very easy to overlook the seriousness of hazing and alcohol issues.

This doesn't sound like a one time thing. We may not know all of the story.

And again, hazing is ILLEGAL. Not just a no-no -- against the law. Like you can be arrested for it. Or sued. Personally, or the chapter as a whole. Or the National.

As for bitterness, it probably does cause some, but those brothers were knowingly breaking the rules of their national and breaking the law.

If the article is accurate, it sounds like there were a number of leagally actionable issues. Losing their charter and chapter may be the easiest thing that could happen. They could have gone to jail.

By the way, did you notice that the Assistant Chancellor who was quoted in the article is a Sigma Nu alum. This couldn't have been easy for him -- but it is something which had to be done, unfortunately.

DeltAlum



[This message has been edited by DeltAlum (edited March 25, 2001).]

[33girl]

Originally posted by DeltAlum:
This doesn't sound like a one time thing. We may not know all of the story.

Isn't that a mouthfull...there are 3 sides to every story, side one, side two, and the truth.

Billy, I know what you mean and I agree - chapter closing should be a LAST resort. I have heard of chapter closings that sounded totally bogus and far too severe for the crime. Sad to say though, this one sounds warranted...it sounds like these guys were doing a pretty consistent job of being a-holes for quite a while.

[This message has been edited by 33girl (edited March 28, 2001).]

Originally posted by Billy Optimist:

Couldn't something else have been done besides closing the chapter? Wouldn't that just embitter the brothers of that chapter to the rest of the fraternity. That is kind of drastic, I mean aren't there educational programs, so you don't have to throw out your brothers?

From the looks of that article, the chapter had multiple incidents of alcohol abuse and abuse against their pledges! If it were a one time thing, maybe revoking a charter would be too harsh...but you've read the article and it's been going on for a while. It only took a few Sigma Nus to decide the future of the chapter, and I'm sorry to say, but any chapter that violates national's policy deserves to get their charter pulled. I hope that Greeks everywhere can look at this and work together to prevent incidents like these from happening at their houses.

[Lil_G]

Yeah these guys were violating standards on many levels: hazing, debts owed to the fraternity and campus, alcohol violations.
There are a lot of chapters that get closed down from just any one of these. They're lucky the campus administration is willing to take them back in a re-colonization effort in the future.

I like the part about the brothers destroying stereos and computers that belong to the pledges, I'd like to see that N2 guy talk shit about how that increases brotherhood.

[KABillyMac]

I hate the posting of these kinds of articles. It does us as greekchatters absolutley no good whatsoever. Not only that, but it also taints our image in the face of potential rushee's. Next time you guys want to post an article on here cant we try to post some positive stuff. I'd also like to extend my apoligies to the members of Sigma Nu for having this article splattered all over greekchat for us to analyize. Freedom of speech yes, but you also need to take into consideration the fact that parents, pledges, and potential rushees are looking at this page also. We dont have to hide this kind of publicity, but we could have avoided this thread and all of us still would have got a good sleep tonight.

I have to admit, this is a sad issue, but I feel that it is one that needs to be dealt with.

KABillyMac, while I respect your opinion, I have to disagree with you.

The GreekLife forum often has positive topics regarding GLOs. Hazing, vandalism, alcohol/drug abuse is a reality, and it is a problem affecting Greeks today. It should not be something to hide. True, we have parents and potential new members reading these topics, but if they were really serious in joining a GLO, they'd be able to realize that this does not happen in ALL GLOs. Many fraternities and sororities have excellent reputations, but I feel that many people agree with me that there are the bad seeds out there that give us a bad name.

When your chapter encounters a problem, do you simply sweep it under the mat and pray that it goes away? I didn't think so. This problem does not make me ashamed to be Greek, and I do sympathize with the brothers of Sigma Nu, but this topic should be taken with serious consideration. The UofA chapter's gone, and if chapters don't shape up...who'll be the next to go?

[Billy Optimist]

Hazing and stuff should go in the risk management section. This is really sad.

[DeltAlum]

I too am terribly sorry to hear about this situation. I'm always sorry when any chapter is closed. One of my very favorite people is a Sigma Nu.

I hope, however, that this is a wake up call to all chapters who continue to argue that things like hazing and alcohol abuse (I'm certainly not arguing about alcohol used in moderation)are important and necessary parts of Greek life.

I'll say yet again that having pledged in the sixties and seen this situation from both sides, I can see NOTHING in hazing that promotes brotherhood in any way.

As the article says, it's against the law.

Sigma Nu National did what any organization must do in this society. Other fraternities are doing the same thing.

Don't put your chapter at risk by being foolish.

DeltAlum

[LyonAZD]

as an alpha xi i am very saddened to hear about the sigma nus at uofa. however, i hate to sound pro hazing, but compared to the hazing that happens at my school, that was nothing. mips, middle of the night roll call---that's nothing compared to one of our frats. why has nothing been done about it? because their nationals doesn't care that it occurs. our nationals turned their frat in for hazing and you know what happened, bupkiss. i don't condone hazing, in fact i think it is utterly ridiculous. but until frats and sorors start regulating themselves, this kind of thing will only continue. and the greek reputation will only get worse.

[prdlocal]

I am very sorry to hear of all of the problems with this chapter. I hope that they will again be on campus in 2004 in full swing everyone (and chapter) deserves a second chance Perhaps then, the Sigma Nu's can start with a new attitude, as can the rest of the Greek system and campus. It is, however, hard to live down a bad reputation. I wish the Sigma Nu's nationals the best of luck!