VA Kappa SigEp Chapter Closed - New House to be Used as Dormitory

The SigEp Chapter at VA Tech apparently built their brand new $5 million house so the university can use it as a dormitory. The members of the Chapter were informed Tuesday afternoon of the chapter closing.

Here is the link to the story from the student paper:
Sig Ep fraternity loses charter, new house - CollegiateTimes.com:

The following quote from a letter to HQ staff  gives an overview :

All,

Later this afternoon, we will announce the closure of the Virginia Kappa Chapter at Virginia Tech.

As many of you are aware, this comes after months and years of effort on  the part of the staff, alumni-volunteers, and Virginia Tech to address significant behavioral issues and general under-performance among the members.
[...]
We're all looking forward to re-colonizing a great chapter at VT in the upcoming years.

So there you have it. In the last few years a number of outwardly successful chapters have been closed. The reasons for closing have been varied. However, inability to change from a culture of high-risk behavior and non-existent or non-enforced standards to a culture of mutual support and accountability are high on the list of reasons. And it is not just about the undergraduates. Alumni who are resistant to change cannot shield a bad chapter from scrutiny. 

We look forward to a new, improved chapter at VA Tech in a few years.

Northwestern : IFC kicks off annual winter recruitment - sans SigEp

Starting over at Northwestern.

The Daily Northwestern : IFC kicks off annual winter recruitment


For the Interfraternity Council, this year's recruitment will look a little different.
...
On the men’s side, the North Campus quad will offer a reshuffled set of options from a year ago. Gone are Chi Psi and Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Delta Tau Delta will participate in formal winter recruitment for the first time since their return to campus last year.
...
Despite disaffiliating all of its members following a membership review this fall, Sig Ep will not be leaving campus or the IFC. Instead, national representatives will be coming to NU this week, and the chapter will participate in some of the activities of formal recruitment, Sig Ep’s director of fraternity operations Andrew Lemens told The Daily on Tuesday. The headquarters began informational meetings on campus Wednesday and they will continue Thursday, according to the IFC website.

Sig Ep disaffiliates members following alumni review

The chapter members who were disaffiliated are “not eligible or invited" to join the new Sig Ep chapter on campus.

The Daily Northwestern : BREAKING: Sig Ep disaffiliates members following alumni review

BREAKING: Sig Ep disaffiliates members following alumni review
PAULINA FIROZI, MANAGING EDITOR
January 8, 2013

All members of Northwestern’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon are officially disaffiliated from the organization after the national fraternity suspended members this summer.

Andrew Lemens, Sig Ep’s director of fraternity operations, said the national fraternity intervened when questionable behavior exhibited by the brothers “got to a point where it was detrimental to their success.” He said a group of alumni was assigned to evaluate members of the fraternity through Fall Quarter and determined they would not be able to continue as members of Sig Ep.

“It became quickly apparent through interviews and some follow up processes that there weren’t any members in that current group who are capable of detaching themselves of the former chapter experience, who were willing and able to do the things necessary to sustain Sigma Phi Epsilon at Northwestern,” Lemens said.

Although no previous members will remain in the chapter, Sip Ep will remain affiliated with the University. Lemens said the national fraternity is working with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Division of Student Affairs to reestablish the organization with new members for Spring Quarter.

He said Sig Ep representatives will be on campus starting this week to begin recruiting unaffiliated men who are “interested in joining and building a premiere fraternity experience.” The organization will participate in some of the formal recruitment activities that begin for the Interfraternity Council this week.

UF’s Sig Ep Chapter Closed for “Numerous Violations”

Florida Alpha has been closed. Sad to see that old and large chapters have such a difficult time adapting to the current times. Even more upsetting is that this is current Grand President Bert Harris' home chapter. That must have been a tough decision. More to the point, it shows how serious SigEp is about living our values in the 21st century.

KnightNews.com » UF’s Sig Ep Chapter Closed for “Numerous Violations”

UF’s Sig Ep Chapter Closed for “Numerous Violations”
BEYOND UCF, NEWS, UCF GREEK LIFE — BY JACOB SADOWSKY ON DECEMBER 10, 2012 AT 5:37 PM
 

Sigma Phi Epsilon of the University of Florida is no more.

Sig Ep’s Board of Directors has withdrawn the charter of the Florida Alpha Chapter of Sig Ep at UF for several reasons relating to conduct issues.

The chapter is currently being investigated by UF for numerous violations of the University’s code of conduct.

“When the cultural issues within a chapter conflict with our values and are too deeply rooted to effect change, we have no other option but to withdraw the chapter’s charter,” a statement from the Sig Ep Fraternity said.

The chapter has existed at the school since 1925.

Sigma Phi Epsilon MSU (Michigan State) chapter restored

The State News :: Sigma Phi Epsilon MSU chapter restored
After losing its charter last winter, the MSU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity recently won the right to reorganize.

Natalie Kolb · The State News

A newly recolonized Sigma Phi Epsilon located at 1148 E. 

Grand River Ave., sits on Thursday evening, Sept. 27, 2012, 

in East Lansing. The fraternity recently won its charter back 

after having it revoked last winter. 

Sigma Phi Epsilon’s National Board of Directors revoked the MSU chapter’s charter Jan. 17, citing “poor operations” and risky behavior as reasons. This past summer, the MSU chapter as a whole removed about half of its members, appealed the national board’s decision and won the case.

“We did an internal membership review and changed some of our operations,” said Noah Berger, MSU’s Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter president.

The MSU chapter was forced to move out of its house at 225 N. Harrison Road following the end of the 2012 spring semester. Berger said many of its members have purchased the lease and moved into the old Alpha Epsilon Pi house at 1148 E. Grand River Ave.

Berger said Alpha Epsilon Pi members previously living at that location have, in turn, purchased the 225 N. Harrison Road lease and moved into the MSU Sigma Epsilon Pi chapter’s old house.

“(Sigma Epsilon Pi’s) nationals, when they revoked their charter, cited some general management issues inside the house,” said Devin Cudnohufsky, MSU Interfraternity Council, or IFC, president.

In a previous State News article, Cudnohufsky said the IFC was revising its constitution with regard to recolonization of banned fraternities.

Although he did not specify what the revisions were, Cudnohufsky said the IFC is “still in the progress of it.”

“We’re getting close, and the goal is to have it passed soon,” he said.

Jason Price, a current Sigma Phi Epsilon member, said the remaining members worked hard to be where they are now.

“I’m extremely happy with the progress our house has made since January, when we thought it was all over,” Price said. “Since the beginning of the spring (2012) semester, not only has the actual status of our chapter changed for the better, but attitudes in the house have immensely improved.”

This is the second time in the past 12 years MSU’s Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter has instantaneously lost a substantial portion of its members.

According to a previous State News article, In December 2000, 31 of the 77 members at the time were resigned, expelled or given alumni status after interviews by alumni members who said they had failed to adhere to university and chapter guidelines.

“Sig-Ep is alive and well, and we have full intention of keeping it that way,” Price said. “We plan to be bigger and better than ever before.”

Future of Sig Ep uncertain after national suspension

Future of Sig Ep uncertain after national suspension - Campus - The Daily Northwestern - Northwestern University:

Northwestern’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon will not host social events or participate in rush pending a membership review, an official from the fraternity’s national organization said Monday.

The review comes as a condition of Sig Ep’s suspension. The fraternity's board of directors is taking action against NU's members after noting a "pattern of risky behavior exhibited by the chapter over the last year," the national fraternity’s executive director Brian Warren Jr. wrote in a statement to The Daily on Aug. 3.

Alumni advisers will begin as soon as possible to interview all undergraduate members of Sig Ep to determine which brothers to reinstate and which to release from the fraternity, Warren said Monday. 

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