In a decision unannounced to the public, Dean of Students Mike Edmonds has granted approval for the Sigma Chi Fraternity to return to the Colorado College campus.
“It’s important for students to know that the fraternity was suspended by the national organization and the college, and that both the national organization and the college have given them the opportunity to start recruiting block six,” Edmonds said. However, he declined to comment on why the organization was suspended. The college also declined to release information pertinent to the fraternity’s suspension.
Dean Edmonds repeatedly stressed that he was not going to discuss discipline matters with the Catalyst and implied that continuing to ask, “Why was Sigma Chi suspended?” was a fruitless endeavor. He seemed to say that since the administration had handled the situation, everything has been resolved and absolved. The student body at large, however, has had no voice in the process.
In the interest of full disclosure, I mention this only because I feel it is integral to the understanding of what has unfolded. Silence on the part of the CC administration, rather than an authoritative account of what happened, led to rumor and gossip. In my experience, when that happens at CC, the truth is never nearly as bad as its administratively fomented cousin.
I have argued, privately, that for the campus to cognizantly welcome back Sigma Chi, or any previously suspended organization, the student body must first understand why Sigma Chi was suspended in the first place and what safeguards, if any, have been put in place to prevent the presumably intolerable event(s) from happening again.
There were a number of incidents that led to Sigma Chi’s suspension but it doesn’t seem as if any one incident was the cause of the suspension. Mike Dunn, Executive Director of Sigma Chi International Headquarters, attributed the suspension to violations of policy by way of not adhering to the rules of student behavior on campus.
A “do anything we want” culture emanated from Sigma Chi before the fraternity was suspended, said David Spatt, current President of Sigma Chi, and Eric Orenstein, current Vice-President of Sigma Chi. Members of the fraternity had fingers in everything on campus and that fostered a sense of entitlement to aspects of the school. Bluntly, they “didn’t give a shit” and had an “us against them,” fraternity against administration, mentality.
Although Sigma Chi’s suspension was undoubtedly the result of many things, there are a few specific incidents that seem to have had more of an impact than others.
The Catalyst reported on March 26, 2010 that former Sigma Chi President Troy Deichen and former Vice-President Tristan Kanipe described the events that lead to Sigma Chi’s suspension as “a series of incidents, most of which involved social events with alcohol.” An underage student “in attendance at one of the fraternity’s all-school parties ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning” and after that incident, the group was put on probation.
Dunn agreed that excessive alcohol and underage drinking were the biggest factors in the suspension.
On April 26, 2008, Tenzing Tashi, a CC freshman not affiliated with Sigma Chi, sexually assaulted a female freshman student, 19, in the basement of the Sigma Chi Fraternity House during a fraternity party. Tashi pled guilty to sexual assault of a victim incapable of appraising the nature of the victim’s conduct. He pled down from a more severe charge. Tashi, an international student from India, was deported on June 2, 2009.
“I’m sure [the sexual assault] factored into the administration’s decision [to suspend the fraternity],” said Orenstein about the incident. He was quick to note that it wasn’t “your usual CC house party” as security was present and sober fraternity members were charged with making sure it went smoothly.
Regardless of the fact that it wasn’t a Sigma Chi that perpetrated the crime, it happened in the Sigma Chi house and thus contributed to the fraternity’s suspension. The assault was not the final straw, said Spatt and Orenstein, but was one event that contributed to the suspension.
Another event the contributed to Sigma Chi’s suspension was an incident in which Spatt, a pledge at the time, was carried out of Mathias, handcuffed with plastic raid bands, by fraternity brothers.
Spatt confirmed that the incident occurred and said parts of the story were missing. He declined to comment any further as people connected to the event, and their family members, are still at CC.
Spatt said that in moving forward, he wanted to make sure that “stuff like that” didn’t happen but that the incident was blown out of proportion. Although it wasn’t acceptable, Spatt said it wasn’t malicious.
Ron Smith, Director of Campus Safety, also confirmed that the event occurred but couldn’t find a record of it in Campus Safety’s logs.
A student that witnessed the events stated that the incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back, in terms of the fraternity’s suspension, but said that the incident was not serious, Spatt was not injured and Spatt laughed as he was carried out.
There were undoubtedly other incidents that contributed to Sigma Chi’s suspension but these seem to be the most significant.
When talking to me, Orenstein was guarded and mentioned his preference to keep his private life private. That seems like a departure from the Sigma Chi that maintained a “do whatever” culture.
Spatt and Orenstein said they will use the past as an example of what not to do in the future. The International Headquarters was involved with every aspect of the reinstatement process that dates back to when Jeff Cathey was still Associate Dean of Students.
In allowing the fraternity back on campus this year, the CC administration, in conjunction with Dunn, has created a list of stipulations by which the fraternity must abide.
All Sigma Chi-sponsored events are mandated to be alcohol-free and all recruitment events and locations must be pre-approved by the CC administration. Any location where a group of brothers live will not be considered a chapter house and will not be the site of any Sigma Chi events.
Kent Shackelford from Sigma Chi headquarters staff will prepare the fraternity for recruitment and will be on campus to make sure it is successful. Recruitment will start on Feb. 21.
The fraternity must sponsor two philanthropic events this year and each member must do 10 hours of community service. Each member of the fraternity must participate and affiliate in at least one other campus or community organization.
The fraternity will work with Gerrit Conover, Student Life Specialist, to begin to build the framework for an inter-fraternal council. The fraternity will meet with school officials each week and housing for the chapter will be up for discussion after this process.
Spatt and Orenstein said the real challenge will be getting a pledge class. They plan on telling new pledges what has happened in the past but don’t want it to be part of the fraternity’s legacy.
Their mindset moving forward, they said, is 180 degrees different than what it was at the organization’s trough. There are a lot of skeletons in the closet but they are trying to move forward as an organization.
Spatt and Orenstein stressed some sensible advice. If you are curious about Greek Life, just ask. There is no reason to rely on rumors and gossip. If there’s something you’d like to know more about, they are open for questions and you can make your own judgment.
There doesn’t seem to be a Sigma Chi boogyman lurking as the group is reinstated. Just a few seemingly sensible, nice guys.
What’s ironic is that the CC administration is working against Sigma Chi’s “just ask” advice. When the Catalyst had an honest question about the fraternity, instead of being forthcoming, Dean Edmonds left Sigma Chi mired in rumor and gossip. This administration, which actually has worked hard to bring the fraternity back, owes Sigma Chi a shot at being successful. The fraternity doesn’t have that chance if it isn’t treated with honesty and transparency.
Alex Kronman 