Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2003
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2003 The State
Contact:  http://www.thestate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426
Author: Jeff Stensland

FRATERNITY AT USC ON SUSPENSION

Numerous Drug Arrests Prompt Action Against Sigma Phi Epsilon, School 
Official Says

University of South Carolina officials say a prominent campus fraternity is 
under suspension because of numerous drug arrests involving its members.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity was suspended several weeks ago after USC 
officials contacted the chapter's national office about the arrests.

Since last winter, eight members have been charged with offenses ranging 
from possession of marijuana and cocaine to using fake identification, said 
USC spokesman Russ McKinney.

Some of the arrests took place on campus, and McKinney said USC police 
received information that established a possible pattern of drug activity 
involving the fraternity.

"There was enough smoke there that our law enforcement became concerned," 
he said.

Those eight members, plus a few additional Sigma Phi Epsilon members not 
charged with crimes, went before USC's student disciplinary board. None was 
expelled from USC, but some have since left the university, McKinney said.

Sigma Phi Epsilon, with about 80 active members at USC, is one of the 
university's oldest fraternities. It will celebrate its 100th anniversary 
on campus next year.

Scott Thompson, spokesman for the Sigma Phi Epsilon headquarters in 
Virginia, said the fraternity's national office conducted an investigation 
of USC's chapter. The national office lifted its suspension this week.

Thompson said all the members involved in drug arrests were expelled from 
the fraternity last semester and no longer have any affiliation with Sigma 
Phi Epsilon.

Twenty-eight members were expelled from USC's chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon 
last semester alone, according to chapter vice president Chris Halstead.

While some of those expulsions stemmed from members possessing small 
amounts of marijuana, others were related to failure to pay dues, Halstead 
said.

He didn't know the exact number that had been expelled for drugs.

USC's McKinney says the university hasn't been notified of the results of 
the national office's investigation.

And while he said the university is impressed with the fraternity's actions 
to expel members, the school will continue its suspension of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

"We'll have to evaluate whether all the concerns that were raised continue 
to be a concern," he said. "We would probably say that all the folks 
involved (with drugs) have not been expelled from the fraternity."

USC fraternities and sororities under suspension are barred from meeting as 
a group, on or off campus, unless they're gathering specifically to discuss 
the suspension.

Halstead, who served as the fraternity's president last year, says the 
university is on a witch hunt and is unfairly targeting the fraternity 
because of its raucous past.

"The university was looking for something that's just not there," he said. 
"They were trying to say we we're dealing cocaine in mass quantity, and 
that's crazy. They can look at us all they want, we know the allegations 
aren't true."

Sigma Phi Epsilon does not own a home in USC's new Greek Village. It moved 
out of the university's McBryde residence hall for fraternities last year.

Halstead said they moved out because McBryde was "not very clean" and 
members were embarrassed to bring girls and parents to their rooms.

USC rarely suspends Greek organizations, McKinney said, although one was 
briefly suspended earlier this year for a suspected hazing incident.

Despite the chatter on campus of drug activity at the fraternity, Sigma Phi 
Epsilon recruited a record 41 pledges this fall and took second place in 
this year's Homecoming festivities, Halstead said.

"We hope all this goes away, because we'd like to be here for our 100th 
anniversary," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman