May 19, 2021 — The Executive Committee (EC) of the Sigma Chi International Fraternity has voted to close the organization’s Illinois Wesleyan University chapter. The closure is effective immediately and for an indefinite period of time. The General Fraternity made the decision due to hazing and member accountability issues within the chapter.
Undergraduates of the chapter have been moved to suspended active status and will be unable to participate in anything that could be conceived of as a Sigma Chi activity until 2025.
The Fraternity’s goal is to eventually return the chapter to campus; however, the organization will not attempt to do so prior to 2025. It also will partner with Illinois Wesleyan University in that process, in hopes of ensuring that future chapter members will have a positive environment where they can be successful in their endeavors.
“The Executive Committee considers closing a chapter to be its last available option when resolving member accountability issues,” says 71st Grand Consul (international president) Steve Schuyler, ARIZONA 1979. “In this instance, however, our members' actions and the severity of the circumstances made our decision for us. The Sigma Chi International Fraternity has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing. It is only by closing the chapter that we will be able to one day reestablish an environment at Illinois Wesleyan University that supports its students and our future members.”
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Sigma Chi is one of the largest collegiate fraternities with undergraduate chapters at 237 universities and colleges and more than 265,000 living alumni members. Sigma Chi provides a welcoming environment for young men of different temperaments, talents and convictions to enjoy a unique lifelong bond that extends far beyond college. Through world-class leadership training, extensive mentoring programs and a strong focus on academic achievement, Sigma Chi sets itself apart as the preeminent collegiate leadership development organization, challenging members to live by its core values and exemplify Character-in-Action™ in every aspect of their lives, and the lives of others.
