SAE suspended while national headquarters conducts investigation

A Sigma Alpha Epsilon alumni commission moved to remove University of Richmond’s SAE chapter president from office, suspend the members of the senior class until they graduate, expel six men from the fraternity and place the chapter under social probation through at least December 2015, Brandon E. Weghorst, associate executive director of communications for SAE headquarters, wrote in an email.

The alumni commission, an advisory board charged with monitoring the members' operations, has overseen UR's chapter activities since spring 2014.

SAE headquarters supports the alumni commission's proposals, Weghorst wrote.

Additionally, SAE headquarters placed the Richmond chapter under a cease-and-desist order, which means all chapter activities are suspended while SAE headquarters performs an investigation.

The cease-and-desist order issued by headquarters, which resulted from an off-campus incident, is ongoing, so Weghorst could not provide many details. Although headquarters did not offer details on the incident, two Westhampton College women suffered serious injuries at an off-campus event hosted by SAE last weekend.

“There may be additional sanctions or measures imposed by the national organization depending on the findings and outcome of our investigation,” the email reads.

Meg Pevarski, director of Greek life, has not met with SAE headquarters or the alumni commission, so none of the proposed sanctions, other than issuing the cease-and-desist, have been approved, she said. A cease-and-desist order means the organization is on a pause, Pevarski said.

Pevarski is scheduled to meet with SAE headquarters and the alumni commission Wednesday afternoon.

"I don't foresee us making a call at that moment, because we have not done an investigation yet," she said.

Peter Donohue, SAE's new president, declined to comment.

SAE has received negative national attention in recent months after a video emerged of members of the now-disbanded Oklahoma University chapter singing a racist chant. After Oklahoma conducted an investigation, Oklahoma President David Boren said SAE members had learned the chant at a national convention.

SAE, however, has been a talking point since Bloomberg labeled SAE as the nation's deadliest fraternity. Nine people have died in events related to SAE between 2006 and 2013, Bloomberg reported.

Contact Editor-In-Chief Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu