A Westminster College chapter of a national fraternity has been suspended indefinitely due to hazing and offensive comments on a social media site.
The Sigma Chi International Fraternity suspended its Delta Tau chapter at Westminster College last week due to violations of academic performance, failures in chapter leadership, and hazing.
On Wednesday, Westminster College President George Forsythe said Wednesday there was new evidence of "offensive comments posted between Sigma Chi members on a private social media page," which led the College to decide to suspend the chapter indefinitely.
Rob Crouse is the director of media and public relations for Westminster College. He said the college received notification last week from the national organization that someone from within the brotherhood had made allegations about the house. Tuesday, Westminster was notified that the allegations were in fact true, and that Sigma Chi International would take action.
Crouse insisted that hazing was not the only charge – but that academic performance and chapter leadership also played a key role in bringing the sanctions forward.
“They made it clear that it was all three of these situations that caused them to take these particular actions,” Crouse said.
Still, Crouse said he wanted to make it clear that Westminster has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing.
“This college certainly in no way condones hazing,” Crouse said.
The university was not informed with many specifics regarding the allegations, besides that all chapter activities would be suspended for the rest of the semester. That suspension includes shutting down the fraternity house, where many of its members currently live. Roughly twenty members are now faced with the task of finding a new place to stay for the rest of the semester – this coming on the heels of spring break.
Crouse said that Greek Life is a vital part of not only Westminster’s community, but all college communities. He added that it is a positive experience for most students, not only for their personal and academic growth but also for the school because of community service they provide. He said that the work fraternities do with organizations such as Red Cross and the Central Missouri Food Bank is invaluable to the community, and that members learn a great deal about leadership, as well as how to be successful.
“It’s unfortunate that in this case, some individuals made a bad decision,” Crouse said. “Hopefully all the good things that have been done by this fraternity will not be lost.”
Crouse said that, ultimately – while some members obviously acted in an inappropriate manner – the suspension could serve as a valuable learning experience for the young men who comprise Westminster’s Sigma Chi chapter.
“On all college campuses, there are problems like this that arise. We’re talking about young people that are growing up and learning to make good decisions and bad decisions, and in this particular case, obviously, bad decisions were made and they have to deal with the consequences,” Crouse said.