Infamous Arizona State ΣAE Chapter Removed From Campus

BlutarskyTFM12 years ago

It always sucks to see a fraternity get kicked off campus. Years of history and tradition are essentially erased from the campus when a house shuts down. People from headquarters come down and take the physical charter, composites are either kept by alumni or given to sororities, and what once was the iconic home of a campus powerhouse becomes the dwelling of some bottom tier losers.

Another chapter has lost its charter. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at Arizona State University has had its status as an officially sanctioned organization removed by the university.

According to Julie Newberg, an ASU spokeswoman, SAE had its status revoked as a result of continued misconduct, disregard for university policies, and actions that are in conflict with the values of both the school and the fraternity.

If you didn’t know, this particular chapter has been in the news for several incidents that don’t really put the chapter in the best light. This past December, a rushee was found dead in a nearby river as a result of drowning after a drinking heavily at an SAE event at Cadillac Ranch, a local bar.

If the school had decided to kick SAE off campus after someone died, I’d understand. I’d argue that since the event was held at a third party vendor, the fraternity wasn’t wholly responsible, but like I said, I’d understand. As an academic institution, you really can’t be letting that kind of stuff fly. I get that.

However, ASU did not decide to kick the SAE chapter off until mid-June. What on earth could have transpired between the death in December and now? Whatever it was, it surely must have been something horrific. After all, what could possibly be worse than the death of a young undergraduate?

As I’m sure you’ve heard, in May, a heavily intoxicated member of the chapter was dropped off at a local hospital with a Post-It note attached to him, explaining his situation. While the underage student did drink enough that his brothers thought he needed medical attention, he did not die.

Is a drunken student being dropped off at the ER worse than a death? Obviously, it isn’t. Why did the school decide that the events of the Post-It story were reason enough to remove that chapter from campus? I’m afraid I can’t give a definitive answer on that one. Perhaps the straw-camel’s back situation applies here.

Honestly, I think the school was fed up with bad PR. The Post-It story was covered in many major newspapers and online media outlets, both domestically and abroad. Personally, I think the school didn’t want to be associated with the image the story created, and thus decided to remove the chapter from campus.

No matter the specific reason, SAE at ASU was removed because the school thought they fucked up. What’s the moral of the story here? Don’t fuck up.

[via My Fox Phoenix ]