SIGMA NU FRAT SUSPENDED FOR 3 YEARS

The North Texas Daily reported on March 26 that the Sigma Nu Fraternity received a 3 year suspension.

COMMENT

I am sad to hear that a fraternity has received a lengthy suspension on campus. Based on the story it appears some members of the Sigma Nu Fraternity have had a lengthy problem with disciplinary problems, in particular the serious offense of hazing, alcohol abuse, and not getting better clarification about specific rules regarding campus fraternities on a probation status.

This is negatively grouping the fraternities and sororities that adhere to the standards for Greek life on campus. As stated in some online comments to the story, these organizations do positive things such as come up with creative ways to fundraise for some well known charities. I remember one organization staying out all night long during the worst of Texas weather last semester trying to make a significant difference in the charities they represent by having their members taking shifts balancing on a see-saw. Who here have seen men secure enough in their manhood to wear pink on the days that sororities raise money for breast cancer awareness?

The sad reality is that we hardly hear stories like these on a regular basis. We hear stories, not just in the newspaper, but around campus. Facebook, Twitter, youtube, text messaging, and the old fashioned method of word-of-mouth are quicker media sources than the school paper. A person on Fry Street can take a camera phone recording of drunken members of Fraternity x outside of the bars and instantly post that to youtube to where the entire community can see. A person may live in an apartment below members of Organization y that are having a party that is extremely loud. The person may either: calmly confront his neighbors about the problem; contact the head of the student organization office to inform them about the incident and keep it within the university; or if the noise is extremely excessive, call the police to report a noise violation and could potentially reveal that there are more activities going on such as underage drinking. At that point, the organization has lost control of supervising itself and now the incident is made public. It is outside of the sphere of the university, and it is now at the mercy of the local authorities. The university has no choice but to exercise the maximum punishment it can administer or else the organization can face criticism from the community on how it disciplines its members.

If there is any good that comes of this, campus organizations will take the time to review and inform their members of their disciplinary procedures in order to get a better understanding of what organizations can do while in a probationary status. This should also serve as a reminder to the members of organizations that not only they represent their organization, but they also represent the university which allows their organization to charter there.