Sigma Phi Epsilon to return to campus ahead of schedule in fall
More than a year after closing its chapter at USC, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity will return to campus in the fall.
The chapter was closed in December 2011 after undisclosed incidents, “continued neglect” of its Greek Village house and “a failure to self-govern,” the fraternity’s national headquarters said at the time of closure. The chapter was also one of seven fraternities that violated alcohol policies during fraternity recruitment in August 2011, halting the process and postponing the selection of new members.
Initially, USC and the fraternity planned to wait until 2015 for re-colonization, as all members at the time of the chapter’s closure would have graduated by then. The accelerated timeline was due to the cooperation of 18 members of the original chapter, who have been working with the fraternity’s national headquarters, local alumni and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life since June 2012, said Shane Lay, Sigma Phi Epsilon’s new chapter development director.
Those men will be the only remaining members of the original chapter to join the new chapter, which will still be called South Carolina Alpha. At the time of its closure, the chapter had 134 members, some of whom have already graduated.
“These men have spent the last seven months forming their vision for the new chapter and becoming educated on chapter operations,” Lay said of the 18 returning members. “Their leadership will be critical to our success.”
The recruitment of the new chapter’s members will take place this fall outside of regular fraternity recruitment. The process will be a partnership between Fraternity Council and Sigma Phi Epsilon’s national headquarters, Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jarod Holt said.
The fraternity will also sponsor a scholarship contest for all male USC students. Any male student can apply for the Balanced Man Scholarship on the fraternity’s website by Aug. 30. Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded. Applicants are not obligated to join or affiliate with the fraternity to win the scholarship and must have a GPA of at least 3.0.
The fraternity will also implement the Balanced Man program with its new members. The program “focuses on continuous development and mentorship, creating a fraternity experience that provides structure and support from the moment members join and prepares them for life after college,” Lay said.
“The Balanced Man Program supports the intentions of SigEp’s original founders and achieves the vision the returning 18 members set out to accomplish,” Lay said.
While the fraternity will be returning to campus, it will not be reoccupying its Greek Village house just yet. The house is currently being sublet by Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. The sorority, which colonized at USC in November 2012, has a five-year lease on the house and plans to build its own when construction begins on the second phase of Greek Village.
This is the second fraternity to return to campus sooner than expected. Alpha Tau Omega was closed by USC in March 2012 after drugs were found in its Greek Village house during a police search and two members were charged with possession of marijuana in December 2011. Their return was set for 2016, but the process was expedited after the fraternity’s national headquarters agreed to revoke its charter. The fraternity had remained active while not recognized as a student organization by USC, as the national headquarters still recognized it as an active chapter. Alpha Tau Omega will return to campus in January 2014 and face a similar recruitment process to Sigma Phi Epsilon’s.