Nation’s ‘deadliest’ frat hopes to establish chapter at SIU

By Joshua Murray

With nine deaths attributed to it since 2006, Sigma Alpha Epsilon hopes to be the next fraternity at SIU.

Founded more than 150 years ago, SAE is one of the largest and oldest fraternities in the nation, and is now seeking to join more than 30 other fraternities or sororities on campus.

One of the nine fatalities attributed to the fraternity was Carson Starkey, 18, who died of alcohol poisoning. A freshman at California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Starkey died in 2008 after being pressured to drink excessive amounts of alcohol in a 90-minute period given to him in a brown paper bag. This was done as part of a “brown bag” hazing ritual.

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Four men were arrested and served jail time for the incident.

More than 60 fraternity-related deaths have occurred in the U.S. since 2005, and Bloomberg News labeled SAE the “deadliest” fraternity in the nation in December 2013. More than 100 chapters of SAE have been disciplined by universities in the U.S.

Matthew Snite, a freshman from Wilmette studying business, is the student leader in trying to establish the chapter in Carbondale. He said a man approached him at a fair showcasing Greek life at the beginning of the semester.

“I was just over there with a couple of friends and Thomas Brigman, the recruitment director for the organization, approached me and said, ‘How would you like to be the founding father of this fraternity?’”

Snite said they exchanged numbers and kept in contact. Eventually Brigman began taking Snite and several others to upscale restaurants, discussing membership recruitment, goals of the fraternity and the recruitment process.

The creed of SAE is “The True Gentleman.”

“The mission of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is to promote the highest standards of friendship, scholarship and service for our members based upon the ideals set forth by our Founders and as specifically enunciated in ‘The True Gentleman,’” according to the organization’s website.

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After a continued string of hazing and pledging incidents, the organization announced in March it would be banning all forms of initiation pledges. Under the new policy, which was announced on the fraternity’s 158th Founder’s Day, students can become members by simply accepting a recruitment offer. And instead of pledging, new members will have to complete the Carson Starkey Membership Certification Program, named after the hazing victim.

In a YouTube video, Brad Cohen, a top SAE official, commented on the fraternity’s decision.

“As an organization, we have been plagued with too much bad behavior, which has resulted in loss of lives, negative press and bad lawsuits,” Cohen said. “We have taken our bloodline for the fraternity-our new members-and treated them as second-class citizens.”

Cohen said pledging and hazing incidents have given the organization a bad name. He said he is concerned stockholders and universities would begin to drop SAE. And they have. JPMorgan and Chase Co. quit managing SAE’s account, citing concerns with the bad publicity of both Cohen and the organization.

Some SAE alumni, as well as current members, have spoken out against this decision. Online discussions started by both alumni and current members claim a ban on pledging would allow anyone to just be able join. Many think this will take away a sense of the tight-knit brotherhood and fellowship that come with a fraternity.

“This is not a way to stop any hazing,” one SAE alumnus said on a discussion board. “I feel that this is only giving those individuals an easier way to become a part of something amazing…something they need to learn before they are given.” Another SAE member shared the same sentiment saying, “Now accepting a bid from SAE is going to Vegas to get hitched. Now you’re in so you better like it.”

Brandon Weghorst, associate executive director of communications for the fraternity, said he knew there would be opposition to the ban.

“No change is easy, especially one of this magnitude for an entire generation of members,” he said. “As with any change, there are people who are skeptical or who hold a negative outlook. As a large organization, there are members who make bad decisions or act in ways that go against what we stand for.”

Weghorst said the original founding fathers required no pledging process for membership, and pledging was only introduced to fraternity-life long after the organization originally formed.

“From the very beginning, our leaders have maintained that they will not tolerate groups that fail to follow our guidelines for the new membership experience,” he said.

Weghorst said the fraternity’s board of directors started a discussion on ways to improve membership. The students and community should have no reason to be concerned about hazing, he said.

“We have zero tolerance for actions and behaviors that are not consistent with our creed and expectations, and the organization’s leadership will not hesitate to take corrective actions or to sanction individuals or groups that fail to comply with our guidelines,” he said.

Kate Roessler, who works for Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the university welcomes SAE’s colonization.

“We do support the colonization of this fraternity, but we haven’t provided any additional assistance to them that we wouldn’t give to any other fraternity on campus,” Roessler said.

She said the university would require the same of SAE as they would any other fraternity or sorority on campus.

“Overall, we expect them to meet the standards of our community as a whole, so that means taking members with a GPA above a 2.5,” Roessler said. “We also recommend that students do eight or more hours of service per semester. It’s more so that we expect them to live up to the expectations that we have on all of our other chapters, as well.”

Nationwide, SAE has 223 chapters and 23 colonies, for a total of 246 groups. The organization has approximately 15,000 collegiate members and has initiated nearly 325,000 men since its founding.

Weghorst said the colonizing process at SIU is ongoing and the organization is focusing on recruitment. He said because the students have only formed an interest group, it would be presumptuous and too early for anyone to worry about hazing.

“If anything, our colony members work harder and have a stronger passion than brothers who come from historic chapters because they are working in pursuit of a charter,” Weghorst said. “The students and community at SIU are partners in education with us, and we are confident a Sigma Alpha Epsilon group will raise the bar for everyone. We currently have 23 colonies that are thriving on the campuses where they have joined the Greek system.”

With an interest group already formed, the next step to take toward colonization is to become a campus RSO.

Roessler said the group is still recruiting members and does not believe an actual date for colonization is set.

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