Kappa Sigma suspended

Following the alleged hazing incident that occurred August 28, University officials announced Friday that the Kappa Sigma fraternity's USM charter was revoked and their fraternity house closed.

Friday afternoon, 19 males moved out of the house, supervised by a patrolman of the university police department. The house and the property on which it stands are owned by the university.

Associate Dean for Greek Life Trey Skaggs, a native of Gulfport, said there is no room to house the students on campus since there has been a waiting list for residence halls since the start of the semester.

"When we went over Friday, we provided them with a list of every apartment complex in Hattiesburg with a vancacy," Skaggs said. "I've heard that some have already moved into two different apartments, so I know that they are in the process of doing that."

George Napier, president of the Interfraternity Council and native of Mandeville, La., said many of the ousted students preferred to move off campus, and that it was fortunate that there are newly built complexes near campus for them to move into. He added that while moving off campus might be inconvenient for the students, losing their charter was much worse, even to members of other Greek organizations.

"For some people ... this is all they have. This is their four years of college. To take that away is really a scary thing," Napier said. "It might be hard to understand for people not in fraternities and sororities, but it is not just a student organization, it is not just the partying you see. It's much deeper than that -- much more meaningful to the members."An investigation into the alleged hazing incident began after an event to welcome new little sisters to the Kappa Sigma fraternity, according to Hattiesburg American reports. Two female students who attended the event were transported to a local hospital for treatment of alcohol poisoning. One of the students was released the next day.

The other student, a sophomore from Waveland, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.47 -- more than five times the legal limit of 0.08 -- and was kept in intensive care for further observation and treatment. She has since been released from ICU, but remains at Forrest General Hospital. President of the Student Government Association Melissa Cirino said "there are so many different emotions with this situation," but her primary concern is with the student and her family.

"I think we could argue all day about whose fault it is and where to place blame," Cirino said, "but I think if we go back to the fact that rules were broken and people are hurt because of it ... things need to be changed."

Cirino added that while she is a representative voice of the student body, she has never been involved in Greek Life, which makes up less than 10 percent of the student population with approximately 1,200 members.

"I think our administration and our student affairs division has been very, very generous with giving [Greek] organizations the opportunity for self-governance," Cirino said, "but when that doesn't happen ... and they get out of control, then what we're seeing is a lack of self-governance."

Skaggs said the executive members of Greek Life are in charge of enforcing policies on an organizational level, while individuals who break the code of conduct are referred to the Dean of Students Office. Greek Life has its own judicial board that adheres to its own constitution and bylaws in addition to university policies.

"This - what occurred two weeks ago - was on a magnitude that was above the [IFC]. That's something that the university has to deal with," Skaggs said.

Skaggs said the scandal has created dialogue between different chapters on campus regarding alcohol education, risk management and prevention, and has led to the research and creation of a new policy in Greek Life regarding little sisters. He said most national fraternities and sororities suggest that little sisters be prohibited.

Little sisters are generally female friends or girlfriends of active fraternity members and may or may not be involved in a sorority. Often, their responsibilities include painting party signs, cooking and cleaning in the fraternity house. Active members vote on whom to induct as little sisters each year.

"We've had little sisters on this campus for a while," Skaggs said, "and that is something the Office of Greek Life is addressing ... We have put a suspension on all activities regarding little sisters at this point and in the upcoming week we're going to be working on getting that policy, but right now we're kind of in the research part of it."

A revised fraternity/sorority alcohol policy was introduced this semester, and has been posted on all of the doors of chapter houses. Skaggs said the Greek Life is in the process of educating all of its members about the new policy, which was reworked to prohibit beer pong, quarters, funnels and several other techniques and devices that encourage rapid alcohol consumption.