Earlier this week you may have heard that the Sigma Chi chapter at Southern Methodist University has been reportedly suspended indefinitely. The incident is gaining national media attention over the last couple days fueled by the fact the storyline has similarities to the recent Seth Rogen movie Neighbors.
In reality, a few SMU students who happened to be members of Sigma Chi fraternity living in an off-campus house, reportedly harassed their grown-up neighbor. Greeks across the country now have another of what is an increasing growing number of examples of the actions of a few jeopardizing an entire chapter of brothers or sisters.
A lot of Greeks are asking themselves, “is it right to suspend an entire chapter because a few members made some poor choices?”. “How many members have to be caught doing something stupid to jeopardize an entire house….4? 3? 2?...1?”. Universities and Greek organizations’ nationals have varying guidelines for what determines a “social event”. Check out UCF’s policy that states, “A gathering of three (3) or more people of the same fraternity or sorority could be considered a social event.”. So basically any three members living in the same house (on-campus or off-campus) are pretty much living one big fraternity/sorority social event whenever they are home.
All three parties – the active chapter members, the universities, and the organizations’ nationals must continue to reflect on how an isolated incident like this one can have a huge ripple effect. Each of the 3 parties have their own part to play when a chapter gets suspended or kicked off campus. In this example, a few boneheaded active members are the ones who start the mess by acting like total pricks instead of rising to the standards set by the Sigma Chi creed. Nationals and the university are the parties that decide how many members acting like dumbasses constitutes punishing an entire chapter.
Let’s quickly examine the ripple effect when actions by all three parties lead to the suspension of the SMU Sigma Chi’s. This organization’s Derby Day’s raised over $17,000 for charitable organizations last year. It’s possible for members to lose their housing and potentially lose scholarships. Depending on how long the chapter is suspended, newer members could be robbed of knowing what it’s like to be part of a brotherhood that strives for a lifelong commitment “to achieve true friendship, equal justice and the fulfillment of learning as part of our overall responsibilities to the broader communities in which we live.” The world can use more men molded after these values and it’s a bummer to imagine the possibility that these young Americans might fall short as a direct result of this suspension.
