UM Allows Sigma Chi to Return for Fall

Sigma Chi House at Ole Miss / Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

Under the terms of a new appellate decision by the University Judicial Council,  Sigma Chi fraternity will be allowed to return to Ole Miss for the fall semester, Melinda Carlson, associate dean of student at Ole Miss confirmed today.

The Judicial Council’s decision to reverse the suspension of the fraternity was announced on Monday night, following the filing of a formal appeal by the Sigma Chi chapter.

“They (Sigma Chi) appealed the Judicial Council’s original decision and the Appellate Council Board granted them a new hearing,” Carlson said, adding, “The sanctions were different than those in the original decision.”

Carlson said Sigma Chi is  still prohibited from engaging in social activities and remains under probation through May of 2014. But under the new sanctions, Carlson said members of the fraternity can continue to live at the house on Fraternity Row, hold formal meetings, take meals together and participate in recruitment activities.

She attributed the Appellate Council’s decision to ease the sanctions against Sigma Chi to actions put in place by Sigma Chi’s international chapter ––  a plan she said the University fully supported.

The fraternity was suspended through the end of the fall 2013 semester on April 5 by the University Judicial Council (UDC) for violation of the University’s alcohol policy.

The suspension, which had prohibited Sigma Chi from participating as an organization in any Greek activities,  was the result of a UDC ruling that found the fraternity guilty of its second strike for illegal possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, disregard for University authority and failure to follow the guidelines found in the Student Organization Handbook.

At the time of the suspension, Sigma Chi was already on probation for its first strike stemming from an alcohol violation in the fall of 2012. –– Michael Harrelson, editor, HottyToddy.com

michael.harrelson@hottytoddy.com