Live broadcast with SigEp CEO Brian Warren about the Ole Miss Chapter closing

SigEp CEO speaks to the Ole Miss Chapter closing and addresses comments and questions about the decision and actions around it.

What happened at Mississippi Alpha (Ole Miss) - Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity

A letter from the Grand President explaining how the decision was made to close the Ole Miss. chapter.

Email - What happened at Mississippi Alpha (Ole Miss) - Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity:

As you may already know, SigEp’s National Board of Directors recently made the difficult decision to close our chapter at the University of Mississippi. This decision followed revelations that the chapter had committed serious acts of hazing, had perpetuated a culture of alcohol abuse, and was deliberately attempting to hide their behavior from our Fraternity’s staff and their local volunteers.

This painful moment in our history can be a learning opportunity for us and help us ensure that nothing like this occurs again.

What happened
Three years ago, a string of hazing incidents and extremely low academic performance led to a membership review at the University of Mississippi. This review revealed more instances of hazing, alcohol abuse and extremely poor member development practices that demanded serious attention.

We chose at that time not to shut the chapter down, but to make it a learning opportunity for the young men of Mississippi Alpha and an opportunity to develop plans for a different fraternity experience that achieves the goals of brotherhood and continuous development without the risky behaviors of the past. And, we committed to giving Mississippi Alpha whatever resources it needed.

Since then, members of our staff have made extra trips to Oxford to provide targeted training and program support. The chapter attended exclusive retreats in Birmingham, Ala. each January, where Past Grand President Steve Shanklin spent 24 hours with them reviewing goals and crafting a vision. And chapter members attended EDGE and Carlson Leadership Academies and received tailored check-in meetings with staff and volunteers.

Until recently, we believed those efforts were having a positive effect and that the chapter was improving.

In February, we reevaluated the state of the chapter’s operations and membership after learning that three freshmen members had been involved in the desecration of the James Meredith Statue on the Ole Miss campus. When we did, we learned that the chapter had continued to commit serious acts of hazing since the first membership review three years prior. Even more distressingly, the chapter had made a deliberate and concentrated effort to hide this behavior from their local volunteers, staff members and the university.

As SigEp’s National Board of Directors pored over the information uncovered, we were confronted by the fact that Mississippi Alpha members had demonstrated an uncompromising commitment to operate an experience that placed young men in dangerous and unhealthy situations. In light of these facts, we were forced to close the chapter.

Moving forward – how you can help
While it is always painful to see a chapter close, I am reminded today of the brothers and volunteers across the country who want a better fraternity experience than the one pursued by some members at Ole Miss.

As we recover from this blow to our national body, I’d ask you to take a moment to reflect on the status of your own chapter. What type of membership experience do you facilitate for your brothers? Where do you want to be five years down the road? What legacy will you leave for those who will follow you?

If your chapter has serious issues – including hazing – talk to your regional director and chapter volunteers now to get the help you need.

Closure occurs when a chapter has deliberately and consistently worked against their volunteers, staff and university to maintain a culture that is destructive and poisonous to our brothers. Being honest with volunteers and regional directors allows a chapter to grow and avoid the serious consequences of concealed behavior.

If you have additional questions about the situation at Ole Miss and the decision to close the chapter, please join us for an online broadcast on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, where CEO Brian Warren will answer questions live. To view the broadcast, simply open SigEp’s official YouTube page.

To submit questions in advance, please email comments@sigep.net. You may also email questions during the broadcast, but bear in mind that time may be limited if other questions have already been submitted. If you would like your question to be anonymous, please indicate so in your email.

Fraternally,


Phillip A. Cox
Grand President

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Sigma Phi Epsilon closes chapter at University of Mississippi

Hot off the press from SigEp HQ. You never know what you will find when you start to look. Sometimes the reason you started looking is less trouble that what you find hiding under the surface.

Sigma Phi Epsilon closes chapter at University of Mississippi

After extensive deliberation and a thorough review of chapter activities, the decision has been made by the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity Board of Directors to close the chapter at the University of Mississippi.

"Sigma Phi Epsilon is committed to being a different kind of fraternity – one that recognizes the importance of the out-of-classroom experience and is committed to making that experience the safest and most empowering part of a college male’s life,” said SigEp CEO Brian Warren. “Though it’s always painful to close a chapter, these students’ actions clearly illustrate a determination to perpetuate an experience based on risky and unconstructive behavior. In these cases, we have no choice but to close the chapter and return to campus at a later date.”

The decision is not a result of any individual incident, but a response to newly discovered, ongoing behavior that includes incidents of hazing, underage drinking, alcohol abuse, and failure to comply with the university and fraternity’s codes of conduct.

Though the incident involving the James Meredith statue several months ago did not directly result in the chapter’s closure, it did mark the beginning of an intensified period of review.

“Over the past several years we've worked with our chapter at the University of Mississippi to enhance the quality of their program,” said Warren. “Following the James Meredith incident two months ago, we began a more formal and comprehensive review process that revealed this new and disappointing information.”

Sigma Phi Epsilon is currently working with the University of Mississippi to discuss a return date to campus.

View the press release.

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Message from the Grand President

The last two weeks have reaffirmed how much our alumni and friends believe in this Fraternity’s values.

When our University of Mississippi chapter found their way onto recent headlines, our alumni stood up and shared what SigEp means to them. The support of our base and proud history will always speak louder than the actions of those who carelessly tarnish our reputation.

Now that all the facts are known, I am writing to make sure you know what happened, what we’re doing about it, and how you can help.

What happened?
After learning that three freshmen members of their chapter were responsible for desecrating the James Meredith statue on the Ole Miss campus, our University of Mississippi chapter quickly voted to expel all three men, turning over their identities to university administrators and investigating authorities.

What we’re doing about it.
This is a defining moment for SigEp. We began challenging negative Greek stereotypes in 1901 and continued to lead the way when we first invited members of all races, creeds and religions to join in 1959. This incident serves as a reminder that there is still work to be done to make our campuses and Greek systems more inclusive. Once more, SigEp has the opportunity to lead the way at The University of Mississippi and on campuses across the country.

As we continue to respond to the incident with our Mississippi Alpha alumni and chapter leaders, we have communicated actively with media to correct the narrative about what happened and how SigEp intends to lead moving forward.

• We were the first to release a statement about the incident and the chapter’s swift action.
• Mississippi Alpha’s chapter president spoke with a local paper about the opportunity SigEp has to lead the Ole Miss campus.
• While in Oxford, CEO Brian Warren sat down with a local CBS affiliate for an on-camera interview to help correct the narrative and defend SigEp’s values.

Before we move forward at Ole Miss, we must also look inward to understand how three students responsible for these actions could gain entry into our Fraternity. Mississippi Alpha’s alumni-volunteers and Fraternity staff are asking this question and others as they conduct a review of the chapter’s operations and membership.

CEO Brian Warren, Fraternity Operations Director Seth Irby, and Past Grand President Steve Shanklin were all in Mississippi last week to begin this process. They met with the university’s administration, our AVC and the chapter.

The chapter’s officers and volunteers have demonstrated a commitment to improving all aspects of the chapter experience, including the process by which the chapter evaluates and recruits new members.

Until we can assure you that the chapter’s membership will represent the best of SigEp, we won’t resume operations at The University of Mississippi.

How you can help.
SigEp continues to lead as the premier collegiate Fraternity, but it is moments like this that remind us we’re not perfect, and we have room to improve. We need more of our alumni and friends mentoring chapter members and leaders, whether it is with your home chapter or the one nearest you.

We certainly can’t control the actions of each and every member, but we can help guide our chapters as they create environments where, as U.G. Dubach, Oregon 1913, said, “it is easy to do right and hard to do wrong.”

I encourage all alumni to consider volunteering with a local chapter or to become a mentor with your own chapter today. I am sure you will find it, like I have, a rewarding experience.

For more information, please contact the district governor responsible for your area of the country.

Fraternally,


Phillip A. Cox
Grand President

Ole Miss SigEp chapter took same-day action to kick out freshmen members

A report in the Nashville "Tennessean" newspaper says the MS Alpha chapter acted swiftly and decisively when they learned three of their members were involved in the James Meredith statue incident.
Based on this report It looks like the chapter did everything they could to take proper and timely action. The full investigation will still be needed, but lets hope the chapter itself is soon cleared from the cloud of suspicion and back in full operating order. 

Ole Miss Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter took same-day action to kick out freshmen members | The Tennessean | tennessean.com:

Written by

Therese Apel

(Excerpt)
The president of the Mississippi Alpha chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon said the very day that chapter members knew the people responsible for the desecration of the James Meredith statue on campus were in their own midst, they voted to kick them out of the fraternity.

"I learned about their involvement on Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday night, the chapter had voted to expel all three, and we reported the information to the university and authorities," said SigEp president Jeremy Smith in written answers released by the fraternity's national headquarters

Smith, of St. Petersburg, Fla., said members of the brotherhood were "offended and outraged" at the knowledge that the three students who tied a noose around the neck of the Meredith statue and draped an old Georgia flag which features the confederate battle flag on it were SigEps.

"That three students who previously identified with our fraternity could do something like this has been a humbling experience," Smith said. "It has forced us to reconsider the process we use to evaluate new members and the assumption that this kind of behavior couldn’t occur in 2014."

On Friday, SigEp's national headquarters suspended the chapter indefinitely, citing a need to do a top-to-bottom review of the recruitment process in order to ensure that members who espouse racist beliefs would not be able to slip through the cracks and join the fraternity in the future.

SigEp responds to desecration of James Meredith statue

Fraternity announcement: SigEp responds to desecration of James Meredith statue:

After learning that three freshmen members of their chapter were responsible for desecrating the James Meredith statue on The University of Mississippi campus, the Mississippi Alpha Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity quickly voted to expel all three men, turning over their identities to university administrators and investigating authorities.

SigEp’s CEO Brian C. Warren Jr. said Thursday, “It is embarrassing that these men had previously identified with our Fraternity. SigEp as a national Fraternity has championed racial equality and issues on diversity since 1959 when it became the first national fraternity to invite members of all races, creeds and religions to join its membership. For this to occur in 2014 is an insult to the legacy of James Meredith, The University of Mississippi community, and the SigEp alumni who fought for racial equality in the late 1950s.”

SigEp has indefinitely suspended its University of Mississippi Chapter and asked that the chapter cease all operations. The Fraternity staff is working with chapter and alumni-volunteer leadership to conduct an internal investigation. The Fraternity intends to conduct a comprehensive review of the membership to ensure members’ values align with those espoused by the Fraternity. "We won’t allow the actions of a few men to undermine the more than five decades of leadership this Fraternity has demonstrated in the fight for racial equality and diversity on our college campuses,” said Warren.

View the press release PDF.

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3 booted from Ole Miss frat, SigEp chapter suspended

"We won't allow the actions of a few men to undermine the more than five decades of leadership this fraternity has demonstrated in the fight for racial equality and diversity on our college campuses,"
- Sig Ep CEO Brian C. Warren.

3 booted from Ole Miss frat, chapter suspended:

(Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily
Mississippian/AP)

The Mississippi Alpha chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Ole Miss has been indefinitely suspended by its national headquarters, and three Ole Miss freshmen from Georgia have been kicked out of the fraternity after refusing to talk to police about a noose and Georgia flag found on the James Meredith statue on campus.

"Sig Ep has indefinitely suspended its University of Mississippi Chapter and asked that the chapter cease all operations," said a statement issued by the fraternity on Friday.

"The fraternity staff is working with chapter and alumni-volunteer leadership to conduct an internal investigation. The fraternity intends to conduct a comprehensive review of the membership to ensure members' values align with those espoused by the fraternity."

"We won't allow the actions of a few men to undermine the more than five decades of leadership this fraternity has demonstrated in the fight for racial equality and diversity on our college campuses," said Sig Ep CEO Brian C. Warren.

VIDEO: Feds investigate vandalism of statue at Ole Miss

The fraternity expressed shock and embarrassment at the behavior of the three.

"It is embarrassing that these men had previously identified with our Fraternity. Sig Ep as a national Fraternity has championed racial equality and issues on diversity since 1959 when it became the first national fraternity to invite members of all races, creeds and religions to join its membership," said Warren. "For this to occur in 2014 is an insult to the legacy of James Meredith, The University of Mississippi community, and the Sig Ep alumni who fought for racial equality in the late 1950s."

The three were declining through their attorneys late Thursday to be questioned by university police regarding the vandalism Sunday morning of the University of Mississippi's James Meredith statue, according to the university chief of police, Calvin Sellers.

Sellers said the University Police Department had gathered enough evidence by late Wednesday to bring charges through the student judicial process against two of the students, and both state and federal authorities were working in close coordination to determine whether criminal charges were applicable

Two of the students were those being sought by university police, but all three names had been prominent in the investigation, according to Sellers. He said the attorneys declined to make their clients available for questioning without an arrest warrant.

The university is satisfied that the three students under investigation are responsible for the statue's desecration, Blanton said. "Both federal and local authorities have done a very tough and thorough investigation and interviewed a lot of people to gather information," he said.

The FBI said Friday it planned to expand the investigation for potential violations of federal law.

The statue commemorates Meredith's 1962 entrance into Ole Miss, which marked the integration of the university. Meredith has declined to comment on the vandalism.

Therese Apel writes for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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Oxford, MS May Curb Drinking Establishments

(Courtesy of "The Fratboy News")

Ole Miss Students Could See Tougher Drinking Laws
Ole Miss Drinking
Students at the University of Mississippi could see a change in the way local Oxford businesses handle alcohol if new ordinances are passed.

City officials hope to enact an ordinance which would hold Oxford businesses responsible to selling alcohol to underage drinkers.

If the ordinance passes, businesses found to be first time violators could have their liquor licenses suspended for two weeks and face a year of probation. A second offense would mean a three-week suspension and another year of probation and a third could cause a liquor license to be revoked for a minimum of two years.