Allegations of sexual assault, possible druggings
Northwestern Chief of Police Bruce Lewis sent an email to students on Feb. 6, 2017, announcing that the Sexual Harassment Prevention Office had received a report saying four female students were possibly given a date rape drug at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity during an event on Jan. 21. The report alleged that two of the female students believed they were sexually assaulted.
Lewis said the University had also received an anonymous report alleging that a female student was sexually assaulted, possibly with the use of a date rape drug, after attending an event at a second, unnamed fraternity house.
The Sexual Harassment Prevention Office launched investigations into both reports.
University spokesman Bob Rowley told The Daily that the report related to SAE came from a third party, and that the University did not know the identities of the alleged survivors in the reported incidents at the SAE house.
One day after Lewis’ email, the Interfraternity Council executive board and chapter presidents decided to suspend social events indefinitely. Events that already had contracts signed, such as formals and date nights, would still occur, but no other events would be planned or held, IFC president Rodney Orr said.
In a Feb. 7 statement, an SAE national organization spokesman said staff at the headquarters were working with the University and chapter leaders on the investigation, and had launched their own investigation into “separate sexual-assault and alcohol violations regarding the group.”
SAE national headquarters decided on Feb. 9 to order NU’s chapter to halt operations. SAE spokesman Brandon Weghorst said the national organization issued a “cease-and-desist order” to the chapter as “routine protocol” until its own investigation was complete. Weghorst said SAE would be prohibited from participating in any social activities or university events under the order, but chapter members would be able to stay in the SAE house.
Meanwhile, Associated Student Government released a statement calling for the suspension of SAE and the unnamed fraternity. On Feb. 10, more than 300 students staged a protest, marching from the SAE house on North Campus to the fraternity’s national headquarters on Sheridan Road. Demonstrators presented a list of demands of the administration and national headquarters, including the removal of NU’s SAE chapter.
Some said the University community rushed to judgment too quickly in response to the reports. In a Feb. 13 letter to The Daily, Communication Prof. Laura Kipnis wrote that “leaping to action — especially in the absence of verified (or perhaps even verifiable) complaints — is at best a failure of due process, and at worst vigilantism.”
But the allegations remained at the center of student activism on campus in the month after they came to light. Dozens attended a Political Union event to debate whether to ban Greek life at NU, voting by a slim margin to hypothetically remove fraternities and sororities from campus. About 50 students later signed a petition calling for increased supervision over Greek life and additional resources promoting sexual and mental health.
On Feb. 22, ASG Senate failed to vote on a resolution promoting accountability for sexual assault after four students walked out, leaving the room short of the 25 senators needed for quorum.The four students — then-IFC senator Mike Seethaler and three substitute senators — were all members of SAE. Seethaler told The Daily he believed Senate should consider the “rights of the accused” as well as those of possible survivors.
IFC’s executive board condemned the walkout in a statement the next day. Senate passed its resolution a week later, demanding accountability for campus sexual assault and calling for students and organizations found responsible to be removed from NU.
As students reacted to the allegations, the University did not publicize any developments in its investigation for nearly two months after the initial notification. But on March 30, vice president for student affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin announced that no disciplinary action would be taken against SAE and the second, unnamed fraternity.
Many students said they were disappointed by Telles-Irvin’s email, and more than 100 people signed a letter in early April condemning the University’s decision.
Although the University had concluded its review of the reports, Telles-Irvin said NU would continue to look into other potential violations — revealed during the initial investigation and unrelated to the reports — of the Student Code of Conduct by the SAE chapter.
The chapter was suspended from campus shortly after, The Daily reported on April 21. Rowley said an investigation had found SAE “knowingly violated” its disciplinary probation by “repeatedly hosting parties and providing alcohol to minors.”
SAE members living in the fraternity house were told to move out by May 6, and the suspension was set to run until September 2018. The chapter filed an appeal against the suspension, however, and members were allowed to remain in the house until the end of the academic year, pending the appeal process.
NU upheld the suspension after an appeal hearing for the fraternity determined no procedural errors of the University’s findings and offered no new evidence to present a case against the suspension, University spokesman Al Cubbage said.
No more developments were publicized for the rest of the summer. In October, however, IFC chapter presidents voted to cease recognizing SAE until 2021 after the chapter allegedly violated its suspension by recruiting new members and engaging in actions that have “continued to make the Northwestern community less and less safe,” an IFC statement said.
IFC’s decision prohibits SAE from recruiting, hosting events or receiving financial resources from the council. Fraternities, however, can be recognized on three levels: from their international headquarters, from their universities and from their schools’ fraternal governing bodies.
Despite IFC’s decision, the University will allow SAE to return to campus in 2018 if it “successfully completes” its suspension, Cubbage said in late October.
The SAE chapter may resume on-campus living and participation in student life if it comes back in September. In a statement, the Panhellenic Association executive board expressed concerns about the long-term consequences of IFC’s vote, saying SAE will not be subject to the council’s educational requirements, community regulations or recruitment event supervision if it returns next year.
Another protest was held on Nov. 3, with about 40 students sitting on the lawn of SAE’s national headquarters. The students, who expressed concern about sexual assault on campus, said they gathered to show support for survivors.
In a letter to The Daily, former SAE member Jimmy Wester wrote about his experiences in the chapter and apologized to survivors for staying silent since the allegations came to light. Wester said he knows of women who have been sexually assaulted in the fraternity’s spaces, and asked his former brothers to stop recruiting new members.
The following week, PHA’s executive board encouraged students to notify the Office of Student Conduct or PHA if they see SAE continuing to operate or recruit new members.
Latest stories on this topic:
PHA encourages students to report safety concerns, possible SAE recruitment efforts
Students gather on SAE headquarters lawn to protest rape culture on campus
University to allow SAE back on campus in fall 2018 if chapter ‘successfully completes’ suspension
IFC ceases recognition of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity until 2021 following ‘unbecoming’ actions, continued recruitment
Page by Peter Kotecki/Daily Senior Staffer
