Sigma Phi Epsilon Leaves North American Interfraternity Conference, Saying Its Reforms Fall Short

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity announced on Thursday that it had severed ties with the North American Interfraternity Conference, accusing the reorganized advocacy group, known as NIC 2.0, of doing too little to curb alcohol abuse and hazing.

“The original vision of NIC 2.0 was one that could have been transformational for fraternity communities, but the conference is no longer proceeding toward those goals,” Sigma Phi Epsilon’s chief executive officer, Brian Warren, said in a prepared statement. The statement went on to contend that many of the national conference’s health and safety initiatives had suffered significant cuts in staffing and resources, “and there is little to no accountability to ensure policies that have been adopted across the conference are implemented.”

The NIC responded by chastising the fraternity for how it had chosen to communicate its departure. In a statement, the conference listed some of its efforts to enact stricter health and safety guidelines, including banning hard alcohol from chapters and working to strengthen antihazing laws.

“NIC understands Sigma Phi Epsilon’s right to make decisions they feel are in the best interest of their members,” it said. “However, we question their method of departing the NIC and reject their assertion that the NIC and its members are not aggressively promoting a positive and safe fraternity experience.”

A spokesman for the organization declined to comment beyond its written statement.

The decision by one of the nation’s largest fraternities, commonly known as SigEp, to sever ties with the NIC is being closely watched by other Greek organizations, said Gentry McCreary, a Greek-life consultant. He said SigEp was probably putting its values first by leaving the NIC and hoping to lead by example. There is a “high likelihood,” he added, that more fraternities will follow SigEp’s lead in coming months.

Reform and Controversy

SigEp has been well acquainted with controversy in recent years despite its comprehensive “Balanced Man Program,” which is intended to rein in heavy drinking and restore core values of brotherhood, scholarship, and leadership.

In 2017 it made its houses substance-free, three years after it banned pledging from its initiation rituals. The decision to end pledging followed the death of Tucker Hipps, a Clemson University sophomore who was found dead after going on a “pledge run.” Also in 2014, three SigEp members at the University of Mississippi were expelled from the chapter for hanging a noose around a statue of James Meredith, that university’s first black student.

Making Fraternities Safer

Bringing problems out into the open and promoting confidential reporting have helped lift the veil of secrecy that perpetuates abusive behavior.

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SigEp’s statement quoted Edward H. Hammond, a retired president of Fort Hays State University, who was chair of the NIC’s Commission on Alcohol Abuse.

“The NIC’s hard-alcohol ban was a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough to address the underlying issues of alcohol and substance abuse, underage drinking, and their connections to issues like hazing and assault,” Hammond said. “We had hoped this collective of fraternities, with a renewed sense of purpose, would take the necessary steps to challenge archaic thinking and antiquated practices.”

The fraternity also criticized what it called the conference’s “increasingly antagonistic approach to campus advocacy” and the establishment of independent interfraternity councils that sever ties with host campuses.

By leaving the organization, SigEp can refocus the resources that it would have put toward NIC membership dues to its Balanced Man Program and other reforms instead, said James Barber, a professor at the College of William & Mary who teaches a course on Greek life and serves as its Sigma Phi Epsilon faculty fellow.

Barber added that SigEp’s decision differed from other recent departures in that it took a stand on values, not solely on financial obligation. “They seemed to expect a more revolutionary outcome from NIC 2.0,” Barber said.

Warren told The Chronicle that the fraternity’s decision to leave was not rushed and that he believes it can be most effective by working closely with campus professionals.

He said the decision wasn’t meant to indict anyone. “It’s unfortunate that they feel that way,” he said. “Again my responsibility, our staff’s responsibility, and our board’s responsibility is to deliver the best and safest experience we can, and that’s why we reached this outcome.”

Lianne Kowiak, who became one of the nation’s leading antihazing advocates after her son, Harrison, died during a brutal beating ritual at Lenoir-Rhyne University, said she believes the NIC is committed to change. The conference is a member of a new antihazing coalition she helped form, and over the past year its leaders have walked the halls of Congress with her and other families, she said, to push for federal antihazing legislation.

With SigEp’s departure, “I worry that there might be a domino effect, with more fraternities essentially going rogue,” Kowiak said. When it comes to tackling the abuses that have devastated so many families like hers, she added, “a united front is so important.”

Wesley Jenkins is an editorial intern at The Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter @_wesjenks, or email him at wjenkins@chronicle.com. Katherine Mangan writes about community colleges, completion efforts, and job training, as well as other topics in daily news. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMangan, or email her at katherine.mangan@chronicle.com.