Formerly-exiled fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu recently regained official campus and national recognition as a colony, according to Curtis Burrill, director of greek life.
Sigma Alpha Mu, better known as “SAMMY,” lost its charter in 2003 for administrative noncompliance and alcohol violations, The Eagle previously reported. Even without campus legitimacy, the group continued operating as a regular fraternity for the past seven years, Burrill said. Regaining charter is no common venture; it must be a collaborative effort between the campus, the national organization and the Inter-Fraternity Council, he said.
“SAMMY headquarters sent three men down to meet with the guys, find out what they’re doing … and there were two options for them,” Burrill said. “One, send out a letter to cease and desist and start a lawsuit, or keep the men and start a colony.”
For several years, SAMMY contemplated the decision to colonize, according to Rob Daley, member of SAMMY and senior in the School of Public Affairs. However, the fraternity’s autonomy was one main concern — some wanted to retain freedom from AU’s regulations, while others wanted to regain its legitimacy, Daley said.
“There was a very heated debate for awhile between some of the brothers here, and even the ones that were abroad last semester when we were debating whether to come back on campus,” said SAMMY president Chase Freeman, a freshman in the School of International Service. “But now everyone is on board.”
SAMMY proved that it is in-line with the positive goals IFC is seeking to achieve this semester, said Adam Tager, public relations chair for the IFC.
“We definitely want to clean up the image, because we get a bad rep that’s not really there,” Freeman said.
SAMMY is an addition to colonies Zeta Psi and Tau Kappa Epsilon on campus. The rapid expansion of AU’s fraternity world has sparked some controversy among chapters — some of which believe too many colonies would end up compromising existing, smaller chapters, Tager said. To ensure the longevity of each greek organization, Burrill acquired the power to delay the colonization process, according to Tager.
“It’s better to have them as an IFC chapter, governed by the rules the rest of the chapters are than be an ungoverned local chapter that just does whatever they want to the detriment of other greek organizations,” Tager said.
Because SAMMY has been functioning effectively for several years, it is expected to gain charter by the end of the semester, according to Burrill.
“They chose [to colonize] because they were running very well,” Burrill said. “They’re probably running better than some of our actual chapters on campus.”
You can reach this staff writer at srudnick@theeagleonline.com.
