The judicial board of the Greek system is set to issue a formal
ruling today against the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity for its
involvement in a fight at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house
last month, recommending a set of sanctions that includes payment
for half the damages to the DKE house.
The fight resulted in several minor injuries and extensive
damage to the DKE house, including 16 broken windows. Members of
Alpha Tau Omega were also involved, ATO president Joel Stone said,
and may also have to pay for damages.
In response to a complaint filed by DKE against SAE, the Greek
Activities Review Board ruled in a hearing on Tuesday that SAE was
partially responsible for the incident, said Jared Stasik,
Interfraternity Council vice president and GARP chief justice.
Stasik said he would not comment on the specifics of
GARP’s recommendation until the panel delivers a formal
decision today to the presidents of the fraternities involved.
But SAE president Dustin Nelson described the set of sanctions,
which he said had been given to him in advance of the formal
announcement.
“The ruling was that we were only half responsible for the
damages,” Nelson said.
In addition to paying for half of the damages to the DKE house,
SAE will be required to host a philanthropy event by next year and
issue a formal apology to DKE, Nelson said.
GARP co-chair Ariel Krantz, who is also judicial vice president
of the Panhellenic Association, confirmed that SAE would be
required to pay half the damages.
DKE president Alex Dengel could not be reached for comment, and
vice president Daniel Kochis refused to comment.
The third fraternity involved in the incident, Alpha Tau Omega,
may be the next to be brought to trial before GARP. DKE filed a
complaint with GARP against ATO on Wednesday, Stone said.
He said he conducted an internal investigation and concluded
Wednesday that two ATO members had been involved in the
incident.
“There will be severe consequences for the two brothers
who participated,” Stone said. “I will report the
consequences by Sunday to (IFC president) Casey
(Bourke).”
Stone added that he has apologized to DKE for ATO’s
contribution to the incident.
“I wasn’t forced to apologize; I apologized on my
own behalf,” he said.
Despite the penalties facing SAE, Nelson said he was satisfied
with the outcome of the trial.
“We were thankful to have an opportunity to dispel a lot
of the rumors and myths about what happened that night,”
Nelson said.
He added that SAE, like ATO, had decided before the trial to
punish the 11 members who it determined were involved in the
incident.
“The individuals who took part in this event are paying
for the damages as individuals; the house is not paying as a
whole,” Nelson said.
In addition, he said SAE had placed several of its members on
probation and required some to participate in community
service.
“We were very disappointed that it happened,” Nelson
said. “We’re just thankful to put this behind
us.’