What luck. Possibly the first “Greek House” photograph I ever took, and it turns out to be the one that headlined the student paper during Rush Week. (I’m still having problems getting the hang of my camera at this point)
Also sort of segues into my little thematic juxtaposition of Fraternities with “Party Time City.”
But let’s let the students themselves tell their own little sordid story: …
Sorority in good standing after completing probation
Sigma Kappa was officially reinstated by Chico State as a recognized student organization on Feb. 2, after a suspension in spring 2009.
On Feb. 18, 2009, then 18-year-old Bethany Dixon was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, according to a Feb. 26, 2009, article in The Orion. Dixon had been attending a Sigma Kappa event prior to drinking at a house across from the Bell Memorial Union.
On March 11, 2009, a letter was sent to Sigma Kappa’s Chico chapter withdrawing university recognition, said Rick Rees, director of the student activities office. Other stipulations included the release of all new members recruited during spring 2009 and removing the letters from the chapter house. The university worked closely with the sorority’s national headquarters to review the situation and decide what measures to take, he said.
The sorority’s headquarters placed the Chico chapter on probation in March 2009 as well, said Jordan Duffie Bentlage, director of collegiate services for Sigma Kappa, in an e-mail interview. The headquarters did not suspend the chapter.
In January 2010, the chapter requested to become a recognized student organization, she said. Sigma Kappa was reinstated because they had completed all the conditions the university and their headquarters had required of them, said Connie Huyck, adviser and coordinator for Greek life. This means that they are now a chapter in good standing with Sigma Kappa, a fully recognized student organization with Chico State and a voting member of the Panhellenic Council.
The chapter had to do training, educational programs, reorganization within the chapter and a recommitment to the sorority’s values, Huyck said. Sigma Kappa was also not allowed to recruit new members through the formal Panhellenic process in spring and fall 2009, she said. All organizations have problems, Rees said. “If you have an organization that doesn’t have any problems, somebody’s fooling themselves,” he said. “They recognized that this was an opportunity, not just a punishment, for this group to try to make itself better.”
Rudro Roy can be reached at [email protected]
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