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UNM has revoked the chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) following allegations of sexual assault against the fraternity and its subsequent suspension last month.
In a press release published by UNM Friday, the University stated the SAE chapter was disbanded because of two student code of conduct violations committed during a party in the fraternity house on April 1. Violations included the use of alcohol on campus and consumption of alcohol by minors.
The fraternity chapter will not be able to be reinstated until Aug. 1, 2017. The fraternity has until June 5 to appeal the decision to the dean of students.
According to the press release, SAE members admitted consuming alcohol at the party and did not register the party with the University prior to the event. Two underage women also confirmed that members of the fraternity provided them with alcohol, which they consumed.
The fraternity was not found responsible for the sexual assault allegations by the University. The release stated that the allegations were merely “results of the action of an individual and not the chapter as a whole.”
Robert Burford, student conduct officer of UNM’s Dean of Students Office, said the sexual assault allegations are still under investigation. He said the office decided to disband the chapter because less harsh punishments imposed by the University on the chapter in the past did not change the chapter’s habits.
“One thing that our office had to do is to work with them in previous years,” Burford said. “It doesn’t seem that the sanctions that we took in the past were effective. So we had to take a more severe approach to sanctioning.”
The fraternity, which was immediately suspended following the party it held in April, had received a social suspension until December last year because it held an unregistered party last fall. This meant they weren’t allowed to hold social events in the fraternity house until the end of the social suspension.
In October 2006, an SAE member was arrested for charges of rape, which allegedly occurred in the fraternity house. In August 2007, another member of SAE was arrested and was charged with criminal sexual penetration and sexual contact with a minor. UNM suspended the fraternity after the second incident.
UNMPD Public Information Officer Tim Stump said police are conducting a separate investigation about the sexual assault allegations. He said UNMPD is currently conducting laboratory work to assess collected evidence.
Stump said UNMPD does not have a specific timeframe for its investigation of the fraternity.
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Burford said he expects to see changes in the actions of the SAE chapter because of its revocation.
“I hope that during their time away, they would reflect on what they’ve done in the past,” he said. “So if they’re back in the future, they wouldn’t do it again.”
