A day after Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity announced it would disband, national fraternity and University officials were contemplating why fraternity members made their decision and how it would impact the future of SAE at Duke.
Christopher Mundy, director of communications for SAE's national office, said an alumni commission appointed last summer and the national supreme council would make the final determination about closing the chapter, even though all the members have deactivated.
"We worked closely with them and extended a lot of our resources, considering we're a not-for-profit organization," Mundy said. "The time and expense we've spent on this chapter, [because of tradition and] respect for Duke University, this comes as somewhat of a surprise."
David Buckingham, chair of the alumni commission, said the charter had been removed from the undergraduate members and placed under control of the commission.
"I've talked to a few alumni today, and everyone is, at this point, still collecting info and considering options," Buckingham said. "What we have is a group of students who don't appear to be interested in belonging to the fraternity, and you have to accept that for what it is."
Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and interim dean of student development, had begun working closely with the chapter two weeks ago. "There had been some incidents last semester that were of some concern, and yet because individuals [committed the actions], because of the nature of the incidents, the decision was made not to take disciplinary action against the fraternity, but instead heighten the involvement of nationals and alumni."
The chapter was fined $7,500 by the national organization last semester as well because of continued behavior problems. "I think they just felt we, as a chapter, didn't do enough to prevent some of the things that had happened in the past," said SAE President Will Brown.
Wasiolek said the University is still in conversation with the national office to determine the next stage.
Rush efforts, SAE leaders said, were severely hindered by pressure from nationals and alumni, but the fraternity was supposed to have finalized a recruitment plan before they disbanded.
"There was a requirement that their recruitment process and pledging process be a collaborative effort," Wasiolek said. "They were certainly not going to be in a position to design those programs or implement those programs independently. Perhaps that was something [SAE] did not find... to be a positive direction."
The fraternity was set to finish a recruitment plan before they disbanded. Brown said any plan would have been difficult to carry out because of Duke's rush process.
Todd Adams, newly appointed dean for greek life, said freshmen who were attending SAE recruiting events were most likely rushing other fraternities.
"From our standpoint, we're just trying to help the rushees that were rushing SAE," said Michael Wick, president of the Interfraternity Council. "It's really unfortunate this happened and they're no longer here. At the same time, the greek system is still here."
The fraternity's space, which would have been in Edens Quadrangle under the new residential life plan, will become available to other existing groups on campus, said Bill Burig, assistant dean of student development.
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