Aaron Schaffer / Photo Editor
Sigma Alpha Mu was placed on probation after an internal hearing held on Friday but will be allowed to keep their on-campus house.
There were hazing allegations against the fraternity earlier in the semester after pledges required medical attention due to alcohol consumption at a pledging event. According to UR Communications, the fraternity was given sanctions because of a violation of the University’s anti-hazing policy.
The internal hearing gave the fraternity a chance to state their case and present a detailed folder of information to the administrative conduct board. This board consisted of three members of the faculty/staff of UR whose names were not disclosed. The panel is chosen on the basis of “fairness, objectivity and balance in the resolution process” according to the student conduct guide.
“The hearing process was long and tedious,” said President of the Fraternity Chris Anzalone. “For the most part, it was pretty fair for both sides.”
The policy handbook states that a violation of the hazing policy will be reviewed by the judicial officer and other involved University officials. In this particular infraction, Director of Fraternity and Sorority affairs, John DiSarro, was the faculty member involved. The investigation and hearing was led by Director of the Center for Student Conflict Management Kyle Orton.
Orton has the final say over the punishment for the fraternity, but it is unclear whether anything was changed from the panel’s decision.
“We were only given Kyle’s final decision, although he said he did not change much from what they recommended for our sanctions,” Anzalone said. The details of the charges were never released, but the fraternity was not found responsible for everything they were originally accused of, according to inside sources.
UR’s Anti-Hazing policy defines hazing as, “any activity related to joining, or ongoing membership in, any organization, which intentionally or recklessly creates a situation that can be expected to cause physical or psychological injury, discomfort, embarrassment or degradation.” The policy applies to all groups on campus including sports teams and SA-recognized clubs.
Examples of hazing behavior include forced consumption of any kind, activities that cause excessive fatigue, or any other actions or activities that disrupt the student’s pursuit of an education and their daily activities.
The fraternity is accepting of the panel’s decision. They stated that they look forward to working with University administration to “get back in good standing and to prevent things like this from happening in the future.”
This is not the first instance of probation for the fraternity, though details of other probation sentences were not available.
“I think that probation is a way to inflict punishment, but I don’t think it will help or hurt our fraternity other than making it more difficult for us to recruit and meet the quota to fill our house,” Anzalone said.
Sanguinetti is a member of the class of 2015.
