Sigma Chi officials will hold a welcome celebration at 7:30 p.m.Wednesday in Ryan Family Auditorium to formally introduce thereturning fraternity to Northwestern students and begin recruitmentefforts.
Presenters will discuss the goals of the fraternity, which waskicked off campus nearly four years ago, expectations for potentialmembers and benefits of the fraternity’s presence on campus, saidAndy Hughes, associate director of expansion for Sigma ChiInternational.
Hughes said an inspirational video will play a role in”(providing) enlightenment on what Sigma Chi is.”
“Sigma Chi is an organization based on values whose sole purposeis to improve the collegiate experience of our members in avalues-based environment and help them understand how to act asgentlemen and as Sigma Chi members,” he said.
The Evanston-based fraternity is returning to campus after itscharter was suspended by NU administrators and the internationalorganization in August 2000 for alcohol violations. Hughes saidSigma Chi officials hope a fresh start will allow them to “createthe ideal fraternity.”
“Sigma Chi’s history at NU in recent years has not been a truereflection of what Sigma Chi is,” Hughes said. “We intend to createthe ideal Sigma Chi chapter and make it emblematic of Sigma Chi’strue purpose.”
A Sigma Chi policy stated that the fraternity could return to NUafter a four-year suspension or after all its members hadgraduated. However, two fifth-year students who were members of thesuspended chapter are still enrolled at NU.
The international organization waived its rule to pursuerecolonization efforts, said Mitch Holzrichter, president ofInterfraternity Council and advertising manager for The Daily.
“We’ve always been OK with them coming back this year,”Holzrichter said. “But it was up to Sigma Chi to decide whetherthey wanted to come back this year or wait for those two studentsto graduate.
“From what I understand, (the students) will have nothing to dowith the new chapter,” he said.
Hughes said the international organization hoped to reestablishthe fraternity quickly.
“Our executive committee decided that Sigma Chi needed to be atNU as soon as possible,” Hughes said. “We felt the time was rightto come back now.”
Holzrichter said NU was inclined to invite back fraternitieslike Sigma Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, another Evanston-basedfraternity that currently is applying to return to campus, due totheir past involvement with the university.
“The invitation is not always there,” Holzrichter said. “SigmaChi and SAE both have a long history at Northwestern. They bothhave strong communication with this university, so we’re happy towelcome them back.”
SAE, which has headquarters at Levere Memorial Temple, 1858Sheridan Road, was suspended for drug violations in 1994 and iscurrently about a year behind Sigma Chi in the recolonizationprocess due to financial obligations and logistic difficulties,Holzrichter said.
“They needed to begin looking for a chapter property,” he said.”Their old house had been leased to another fraternity, unlikeSigma Chi’s.”
Sigma Chi’s next recruitment event is an Alumni InspirationNight scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. on April 5 at ato-be-determined location. Hughes said the fraternity has invitedlocal alumni to speak about their experiences in thefraternity.
“I think it’s a great way for interested students to understandthe impact that Sigma Chi can have not only in college butthroughout the rest of your life,” Hughes said.
