Greek Row is holding on to one of its largest fraternities, at least until a March 23 meeting of the national organization of Kappa Sigma which will ultimately decide the fraternity’s fate.
U administrators are calling on the national organization to revoke Kappa Sigma’s charter after a Jan. 19 party that resulted in 52 alcohol violations.
The Greek Judiciary Council held a hearing Feb. 26 and decided to placed Kappa Sigma on a one-year probation. Along with the probation, the council ordered Kappa Sigma to pay a fine of $8,150 to the Interfraternity Council, stop all social events and go dry. The fraternity can still participate in recruitment and philanthropy.
“We’re fine with this decision and we’re going to accept it and cooperate,” said Reed Sutton, president of Kappa Sigma’s U chapter.
Kappa Sigma became the U’s first fraternity to ban alcohol the day before the hearing, but on top of that the council decided that the fraternity must implement an alcohol training program under the direction of the national Kappa Sigma organization before the end of the semester.
IFC President Cory Peterson expressed his satisfaction at the ruling.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome. This is a very difficult situation on all fronts, and everyone has done a great job handling it,” Peterson said.
Though all parties are in agreement with the terms of the probation, Kappa Sigma is not in the clear yet.
Kappa Sigma could still lose its charter if the national organization does not feel its members have complied with the national rules.
As Peterson explains, each individual organization has its own set of standards, but there is a universal process that guides how revoking a charter occurs.
“The first step in the process is a warning,” Peterson said.
The Greek Judiciary Council stated that if Kappa Sigma violates the probation, it will ask the U to remove its recognition of the fraternity and ask the national organization to pull the charter.
Sutton just hopes that his ailing fraternity can return to the U’s greek system intact, and that the Greek Judiciary’s decision will shift attention away from Kappa Sigma.
“Things happen and it was a dumb mistake, but there was no violence, drugs, rape or anything. It was just college kids being college kids,” Sutton said.
He also expressed confidence in his fraternity and vows to honor the stipulations in the Greek Judiciary’s decision.
“The dean is our biggest critic right now, but we’ll make him our biggest proponent by next year,” he said.
Dean of Students Stayner Landward has sent a letter to Kappa Sigma’s national organization calling for the dissolution of the U chapter. He cites the Jan. 19 party and complaints from neighbors as justification.
Michael Dalebout, alumni advisor to Kappa Sigma, hopes the situation ends with the Greek Judiciary ruling.
“I think the decision of the Greek Judiciary was fair, and my concern all along was that they would get kicked off campus. I’m glad that the Greek Judiciary disagreed with the dean’s decision,” he said.
Vice President of Student Affairs Barbara Snyder has stated that complaints against Kappa Sigma by their neighbors have been “exaggerated.” However, Greek Student Adviser Lori McDonald said that while in mediation, “we dwelled for a long time on certain issues,” and that every side had to be considered.
Though Kappa Sigma has come under scrutiny following their Jan. 19 party, U officials say they treat the fraternity no differently than any other chapter.
“There are ongoing issues with different groups, and they’re all very varied,” McDonald said.
She also recognizes the efforts of Kappa Sigma within its ranks in resolving this issue.
“I know they’re doing a lot of things internally,” she said.
Though Kappa Sigma’s future became more certain following Tuesday’s meeting, Sutton remains wary.
“There is still the reality that we could lose a chapter, and we feel the other houses should know what’s going on,” he said.
Kappa Sigma points to an incident involving Sigma Chi as evidence of being treated unfairly. In the summer of 200o, members of Sigma Chi dropped a sofa on the head of a mailman from the balcony of their house.
After meeting with Greek Judiciary, Sigma Chi faced 100 community service hours and also had to remodel their balcony. However, as McDonald points out, “there were no sanctions brought against Sigma Chi to address those issues.”
The difficulty in the Kappa Sigma case is in the roles of three entities: the Greek Judiciary Council, the U administration and the national organization.
“The administration plays a supervisory role in the greek system, and it’s a very gray area,” Peterson said.
Until the March 23 hearing, Kappa Sigma will remain active in greek life at the U.
Despite the ruling of the Greek Judiciary Council, Landward, an alumnus of Sigma Chi, still requests the revocation of Kappa Sigma’s charter.