GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – A fraternity at East Carolina University had their charter revoked due to “risk management violations” that included damaging a vehicle with a keg, setting furniture on fire and beer bottles being thrown at a home, a report from the fraternity’s national office said.
ECU Greek Life officials were notified late last month by the Sigma Phi Epsilon National Fraternity that ECU’s Sigma Phi Epsilon would have its charter revoked.
A Sigma Phi Epsilon National Fraternity representative said multiple hazing and risk management violations occurred during the 2016-2017 academic year.
In a statement, strategic communications director Andrew Parrish said the violations included:
- A party with another fraternity that required to the police to be called.
- A keg that was thrown over the fence and damaged a vehicle.
- Multiple occasions of burning furniture, including an instance in which a chapter member lit a couch on fire and threw it in a dumpster, causing the dumpster to catch fire and fire department to be called.
- A charter member drinking on the house roof and throwing beer bottles at a house across the street, causing police to be called.
In an email to Greek life, ECU Greek Life Director John Mountz said, “While we are saddened to lose an active chapter from our community, we agree with and support Sigma Phi Epsilon’s decision to hold the chapter accountable to the Fraternity’s expectations.”
Mountz went on to say he fully expected Sigma Phi Epsilon to return to ECU in the future as they expand.
ECU’s Sigma Phi Epsilon took to their Facebook page to post the following statement:
“The actions of a few brothers, some of whom have moved on in life and no longer are associated with the fraternity, were included in the reasoning for our chapter’s closure. These dates of allegations were traced back to 2010, before our oldest active member had even graduated high school. We as the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon do not post this to ask for forgiveness nor pity, but to let everyone know that we will be closing our doors, and we will be falling on the sword together, as one.”
Back in 2015, the chapter was temporarily suspended after a rape allegation. It reopened after an investigation.
The national fraternity, which owns the house, did say they were committed to seeing Sigma Phi Epsilon return to the East Carolina University campus. WNCT-TV reached out to the national fraternity to see if that means they will keep the house.