Facing pressure and increasing regulation from national and University officials, leaders of Duke's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter announced the dissolution of the group late Sunday night.
In a statement released to the SAE national fraternity, SAE alumni, Office of Student Development deans and President Nan Keohane, the former brothers of SAE explained that the recent involvement of alumni, national and University officials has made their status untenable.
"We have decided to close our chapter and deactivate as members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon," the statement reads. "This is a regrettable decision and one that we do not take lightly. However, we strongly feel that this is the best decision for SAE at Duke and for us as individuals."
The decision caught Assistant Dean of Student Development Todd Adams by surprise.
"It's news to me," said Adams, the newly appointed dean of greek life. "I had not heard anything of the sort."
He said he did not know what actions would follow.
SAE has been on probation since the end of last year. Last summer, Student Affairs administrators sent a letter to national officials and alumni from three fraternities--Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Nu and SAE--asking them to take more of a leadership role and informing them of past judicial infractions.
"We wanted to be honest, we wanted to follow the rules, but this is not where we wanted to go as a fraternity," said junior Will Brown, SAE president.
In August, national representatives came to Duke and interviewed members. Seventeen brothers were suspended, but all those who appealed were reinstated, Brown said. He added that when 17 more fraternity members returned to Duke this semester after studying abroad, 16 of them were suspended Jan. 8, but so far none of them had been reinstated by the national fraternity.
Since that time, however, fraternity members have worked closely with nationals, alumni and University administrators.
"I feel like the regulations and restrictions put upon SAE weren't compatible with Duke's environment socially," Brown said.
SAE leaders cited campus climate as a factor in the decision, but they also mentioned a disconnect between University and national rules. For instance, SAE rules mandate that all parties be closed; Duke fraternity parties are traditionally open.
Such strict enforcement of national rules, Brown said, made the rush process difficult. SAE could not have section parties, a quad band or any parties in which alcohol might be involved.
"Certainly, they had been asked by alumni and nationals to recruit in a certain matter, and they had been working with them to recruit new members," Adams said.
A string of campus incidents had kept SAE in that spotlight even before the current members had arrived at Duke--in Nov. 1996, the fraternity was reported for openly distributing alcohol; in March 1998, a 16-year-old visitor alleged she was raped at the SAE section; and in Nov. 1998, two independents living in the SAE section filed a complaint and alleged, in part, that fraternity members kicked in their door, broke bottles outside their room and yelled disparaging remarks about independents.
Brown said the fraternity had grown in the past semester, and Adams said the presence of alumni had been beneficial to the group.
"We worked closely with the alumni to develop an alumni commission that the nationals mandated," Adams said. "The alumni have been highly involved, and that has been a good thing in that they've made some connection with the undergraduates and been a resource to the undergraduate chapter."
The dissolution marks the third at Duke in three years. Old House CC, a selective house, and Phi Kappa Psi, a fraternity, were both dissolved by the Annual Review Committee. SAE has 200 chapters nationwide, and Duke's North Carolina Nu chapter was founded in 1931, making it one of the oldest members of the Interfraternity Council.
David Ingram contributed to this article.
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