For Immediate Release
December 16, 2015
Contact: Patrick F. Jessee, JD, Executive Director and CEO
Email: Jessee@deltasig.org
Delta Sigma Phi Closes Chapter at Towson University
On December 16, 2015, Delta Sigma Phi suspended our Eta Xi Chapter at Towson University. This decision, while extremely difficult, was made with critical insight from Towson University and done in the best interest of our Fraternity’s future at the university. The suspension of the chapter came as a result of the chapter’s multiple and egregious violations of university and National Fraternity policies.
Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity is committed to upholding our standards and fostering meaningful Fraternity experiences for our members. Despite the chapter’s strengths, a failure of undergraduate leadership and brazen disregard for the Fraternity’s policies prohibiting hazing activities ultimately prompted a strong response. There are good men from Eta Xi Chapter who now must pay a great price for the actions of other members; we are truly disheartened that those brothers will lose this undergraduate component of the Fraternity experience.
In October 2015, reports of serious and repeated hazing activities – later confirmed by a university investigation – highlighted behavior inconsistent with the high standards that Delta Sigma Phi demands. The Eta Xi Chapter accepted responsibility for harassing and humiliating men seeking membership within the Fraternity, and for hazing activities that included forced calisthenics and personal servitude. The National Fraternity determined, together with Towson University, it was not in the best interest of Delta Sigma Phi to continue operating Eta Xi Chapter. The Fraternity cannot, and will not, tolerate blatant disregard toward our policies and standards for members and chapters.
The National Fraternity and university have agreed to an initial period of suspension and disbandment of Eta Xi Chapter through the end of the 2017. Delta Sigma Phi is committed to providing a premier, values-based fraternity to Towson University and will utilize its resources to recruit new men who—upon our return to the university—will uphold our mission of Building Better Men. We are confident that we will once again have a chapter of men who are committed to the ideals of Delta Sigma Phi.
The news of the chapter’s suspension is—without a doubt—upsetting for all Eta Xi undergraduate members, Fraternity alumni and other supporters. While difficult in the short-term, the National Fraternity is committed to working diligently with our alumni and Towson community to restore Eta Xi Chapter with Men of Courage, Action and Excellence.