UW-Madison chapter of fraternity suspended for ‘hostile, discriminatory’ behavior

UW-Madison’s chapter of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) has been suspended until Nov. 1, 2016.

The suspension is a result of a complaint issued by a student member accusing the fraternity of having a “hostile, discriminatory environment,” according to a UW-Madison news release. The Committee on Student Organizations received the complaint March 3 and held the deciding hearing April 29. The final decision was made May 17, following an investigation of SAE that was conducted April 8, one month after the fraternity was informed of the allegations.

The report claims numerous members of SAE repeatedly used “slurs, jokes, and derogatory language directed at racial minorities, religions and sexual orientations.” The accusing member also stated in the report that a member of SAE was physically assaulted by other members in an act of racial discrimination. According to the report, the assault occurred in fall 2014, which is when the verbal acts of discrimination also began.

CSO voted and determined that the Greek chapter violated codes two and four of the Registered Student Organization Code of Conduct. According to the release, the fraternity attempted to “take action in response to certain complaints of the member,” which included the expulsion of a member who yelled racial slurs in the fraternity’s house, but these efforts were not sufficient. Despite action taken by the organization’s leadership, according to CSO’s investigation, the derogatory behaviors continued. Three pieces of evidence from the initial report and interviews of witnesses, who were mainly unidentified SAE members, provided information for CSO’s conclusion.

Suspension prohibits the fraternity from participating in Greek community events, performing fall recruitment and exercising privileges of an RSO. Members will be required to participate in training that will combat similar issues; 100 percent attendance is mandatory in order for the trainings to be considered complete. SAE does, however, have the right to make an appeal to the Division of Student Life within 10 days of receiving the notice from CSO.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank wrote in a letter to the executive director of SAE, Blaine Ayers, May 17, that she is “deeply disappointed in the chapter’s failure to address persistent reports of discriminatory behavior, as well as the national body’s inability to address discrimination within its chapters.” The “failure” refers to a video posted online March 7, 2015 by the SAE chapter at the University of Oklahoma that showed members singing racist chants. This particular chapter was closed after the incident, but, according to Blank, incidents persist and have not been adequately addressed.

Blank stated the necessity for the national organization to lead the Wisconsin chapter in the newly required diversity and inclusion training. She requested a meeting with Ayers and the UW-Madison chapter president before lifting the suspension to ensure preventative action will be taken against further occurrences of similar issues.

The SAE national headquarters responded with a statement, saying, “We disagree with the university president’s observation that Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national organization has an inability to address discrimination in our chapters. In fact, the fraternity has enacted a large number of initiatives in the past year to combat intolerance, discrimination or morally unacceptable behavior.”

The statement offered information on a “four-pronged initiative to address diversity and inclusion” that was given to all chapters and required training from all national members. It also mentions the hiring of a woman, Ashlee Canty, as director of diversity and inclusion.

SAE was on probation with alcohol restriction at the time of the report that was to end May 13, 2016, and a general probation that would last until Dec. 19, 2016. This was taken into consideration by CSO in addition to the recent RSO Code of Conduct violations to determine the fate of the fraternity.

The group will continue to be held on general probation until May 31, 2017, which requires the organization to comply with university rules and regulations and follow other standards set for them during the probationary period in order to remain an RSO.

UPDATE May 19 11:30 p.m.: This story has been updated to include additional details from official university documents.