University officials say fraternity members not meeting standards
The decision was announced on Tuesday by Dennis Pruitt, USC's vice president for student affairs, in the waning moments of a university Board of Trustees meeting. The announcement followed a unanimous vote on Monday by the fraternity's national Board of Directors.
Pruitt said the university had received incident reports on the chapter, some of which included violations during rush earlier in the year. It's all part of what the fraternity described in a statement as "a pattern of unacceptable behavior." Officials were not immediately available to describe just what that behavior entailed.
Pruitt also noted that the chapter had not been implementing Sigma Phi Epsilon's Balanced Man or Resident Scholar program. An extra apartment had been built in the fraternity house specifically for the Resident Scholar program, which is designed to have a full-time graduate student live in the house and develop the local chapter.
"They built the house [under the assumption that] both of these programs would be put in existence," Pruitt said. "Neither of these programs materialized, even when they came in 2009 and they got a promise from the local chapter they would do so."
The chapter intends to recolonize at the university in 2015, according to Pruitt. In the mean time, Sigma Phi Epsilon will still own the Greek Village house where members currently reside, but it will temporarily lease the building out, likely to another fraternity. The house will sit vacant throughout next semester.
In 2009, Sigma Phi Epsilon gave its USC chapter the opportunity for reform, and then reinvested in the group. Since that didn't happen, Pruitt said, the national association plans to let the current group graduate and move on, then start fresh with a group of new members.
Jerry Brewer, USC's associate vice president for student affairs, said officials from the national fraternity held joint discussions with him and Fraternity and Sorority Life staff when coming to the decision to close the chapter.
"In this situation, their social lives and the ability to want to conduct social activities became their whole existence, other things did not," Brewer said. "When you get too into the social part of it, it leads you to neglect other aspects of your chapter."
Sigma Phi Epsilon's USC chapter president Matt Barnhill couldn't be reached for comment after multiple attempts Tuesday, and the chapter counselor on the fraternity's alumni board declined to comment.
UPDATE (7:00 PM): Statement received from Sigma Phi Epsilon's national office.