Davidson College fraternity has charter revoked after probe into hazing
A national fraternity has revoked the charter of its Davidson College chapter for humiliating its new members.
Sigma Phi Epsilon officials told The Charlotte Observer Wednesday that the decision corresponds with the college’s five-year suspension of the chapter, a punishment the college had shared with alumni Wednesday morning.
The chapter was suspended for hazing new members, Lisa Combs, associate vice president for engagement, told SigEp alumni in an email.
“During the 2023 spring semester, the chapter acknowledged it had engaged in hazing of new members, participated in the college’s accountability process, and received an outcome that it appealed,” Combs said.
“The appeals process concluded at the end of the most recent fall semester and confirmed the earlier findings,” Combs said. That resulted in the suspension, she said.
College and Sigma Phi Epsilon officials did not respond when asked by the Observer how new members were hazed and how long the hazing lasted.
The revocation followed “verified reports” of behavior in spring 2023 “not aligned with the values of the Fraternity,” Sigma Phi Epsilon officials said in an emailed statement to the Observer.
“Members of SigEp are expected to treat others with dignity and respect, providing a safe and supportive environment,” according to the statement. “As this decision shows, the Fraternity takes these expectations seriously and holds our chapters to that standard.”
According to the organization Stop Hazing.org, hazing is “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.”
Once the suspension ends, students will have the chance to “reconstitute” the chapter with the help of the national organization, college spokesman Mark Johnson said.
Staff at the fraternity’s headquarters “will work in full partnership with the university toward the re-establishment of the chapter” if SigEp someday seeks to return to Davidson, according to the Sigma Phi Epsilon statement.
Sigma Phi Epsilon is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its national board of directors voted to formally revoke the charter of the Davidson College chapter, known as North Carolina Epsilon, fraternity officials told the Observer.
The fraternity has at least 12,000 undergraduates on 200 campuses across the U.S.
Established in 1901, the fraternity has a mission of “Building Balanced Leaders for the World’s Communities,” according to its statement to the Observer. The fraternity achieves that “through a continuous member development program focused on academic and leadership development in a substance-free environment,” officials said.
The Davidson College chapter has 58 members with an average 3.32 grade point average, according to the North Carolina Epsilon page on the Sigma Phi Epsilon website.
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 6:00 AM.