Untimely Death of a Sigma Nu

[EtaEpsilove]

Last night, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and Sigma Nu lost a dedicated and beloved friend, Clifton Alexander. I wanted to post this so that the members of Greek Chat could keep the Alexander family in their thoughts and prayers.

Last night, Sigma Nu was holding elections, and Clif was running for President. When he did not come to the meeting, the brothers went to look for him. When they got to his room, they found him dead. At this time, the coroner is not exactly sure what the cause of death was. However, no foul play is suspected, and they believe the cause of death was natural. One possibility is that he was taking medication for migraines, and his death may have had something to do with that. Until the autopsy is completed, we will not be certain, so some of this is just speculation.

Clif was a dedicated member of the Miami community and a loving brother of Sigma Nu. His grandfather, Cliff Alexander, is the namesake of Miami's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. I am including several articles concerning the details of this tragedy.

Please, please, keep the Alexanders in your prayers, and if your chapter is able to, send the Miami Sigma Nu's some manner of condolences.

God Bless.

FROM THE MIDDLETOWN JOURNAL
Autopsy results were unrevealing Tuesday as to the cause of the death of a 20-year-old Miami University student.

Butler County Coroner Richard Burkhardt said it could be up to two weeks before they have a better idea of what killed Clifton Alexander, as his office awaits toxicology results.

"It's in a way disappointing, but at the same time expected," Burkhardt said. "The autopsy was unrevealing, with Mr. Alexander looking like a normal 20-year-old man."

Burkhardt said Alexander suffered from migraine headaches and had been seeing a doctor for them. While nothing will be certain for a couple of weeks, Burkhardt said he thought the migraines could be related to Alexander's death — possibly a result of medications he was taking to treat them.

Alexander, from Piqua, was discovered deceased in his bedroom around 7:20 p.m. Monday at the Sigma Nu fraternity house, 300 Tallawanda St., according to police.

Police said his housemates had not seen the Miami University junior since 2 a.m. and, over 15 hours later, decided to enter his room to check on him.

Oxford police said there was no indication of suicide or foul play following a preliminary investigation.

"He was a great kid," fraternity advisor Wayne Staton said. "He was really the nicest kid you could ever want to meet. This is just a tragedy."

Alexander had been a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity for over two and a half years and was preparing to run for president of the fraternity, Staton said. He said the fraternity was preparing to hold a meeting regarding the election when they noticed Alexander's absence. Shortly thereafter, he was discovered dead.

He was an accountancy major, active with multiple organizations and a member of Miami's Interfraternity Council, university spokeswoman Claire Wagner said. Wagner said he had active family at the university, with Miami's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership named after his grandfather, Cliff Alexander.

Antonio Lytle, the advisor for a hip-hop dance team Alexander was a member of, remembers him as someone he could always count on.

"He was always friendly, always smiling and very personable," Lytle said. "He was a great person to have on our team, making you smile whenever you saw him. He had a great deal of passion for his fraternity and anyone who had a chance to work with him saw that."

FROM THE CLIFF ALEXANDER OFFICE OF FRATERNITY AND SORORITY LEADERSHIP

What Miami University officials believe is a one-of-a-kind gift in college philanthropy-a $1 million contribution to endow Miami's office of Greek affairs-is being celebrated with an open house and dedication ceremony Tuesday, November 9, 2004.

Cliff Alexander of Piqua graduated from Miami in 1956. He went on to found the Crayex Corp., a custom manufacturer of polyethylene shrink, non-shrink and specialty films and bags for the packaging industry, which has facilities in Piqua and McDonough, Ga.

The firm is known for its quality products and its philosophy that every customer is to be treated as employees would like to be treated themselves.

In 1976, Alexander was named the Ohio Small Business Person of the Year. He has served on numerous boards and is a trustee of Piqua Memorial Hospital, president of the Piqua YMCA and an elder in his church.

Despite these business and civic responsibilities, he never forgot his alma mater or his fraternity, Sigma Nu.

"Mr. Alexander agreed to endow our office of Greek affairs because the experiences he had as an undergraduate fraternity member shaped many of his values and provided early opportunities for leadership," said Dick Nault, vice president for student affairs at Miami.

Long known as the "mother of fraternities" because four national chapters (and one sorority) were founded at Miami in the 1800s or early 1900s, the university expects that the gift will cement Miami's leadership in Greek life well into the 21st century.

The university will use the endowment to:
o Attract and retain skilled faculty and staff to serve as advisers to fraternities and sororities.
o Encourage fraternities and sororities to communicate their core purposes during recruitment and reinforce the messages during new member education.
o Develop new strategies to renew and perpetuate founding values. The Alexander gift will build on an effort already under way that was funded by the Kettering Foundation.
o Support innovative programs that will keep Miami at the forefront of the Greek system nationally. There will be a focus on innovations and changes necessary to preserve important traditions while modernizing the contemporary fraternity. Partnerships in leadership development with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi are being initiated.
o Develop a historic archive of Miami's fraternity and sorority system.

"The gift is remarkable because to my knowledge, it will be the first Greek affairs office in the nation to be endowed," said Nault. "It will impact not only the almost 25 percent of our students who are members of fraternities and sororities, but the entire campus."

Nault noted that Alexander never seeks credit for his accomplishments and only reluctantly agreed to allow the university to rename the office of Greek affairs in his honor. University officials insisted, however.

"We wanted undergraduate men and women who are part of Greek organizations to see clearly what a life of achievement and service means," said Nault.