For the second time in three months, a fraternity at UC Santa Barbara has been shut down for violating the policies of its national chapter.
The Phi Sigma Kappa National Fraternity this week suspended the charter of its UCSB chapter at 6547 Cordoba Road in Isla Vista in a decision backed by university officials.
That move comes on the heels of another fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, losing its charter in December, allegedly due to disciplinary violations that culminated with alcohol hazing that sent two members to the hospital.
In this week’s case, the national Phi Sigma Kappa organization didn’t elaborate on what the “violations of policy inconsistent with the fraternity’s founding principles” were.
But executive vice president Michael Carey told Noozhawk they were “damaging enough that we thought the only recourse we had was to close the chapter.”
According to a statement from UCSB, the closure was prompted because of “unsafe new-member education practices,” creating a dangerous environment for Phi Sigma Kappa members and the entire UCSB Greek community.
The local Phi Sigma Kappa chapter was founded in 1966, closed in the 1990s, and reopened again in 2006, said Carey, who wasn’t sure why it closed previously.
“Over the years, they’ve been a relatively good chapter,” Carey said. “It was unfortunate that we had to close the chapter, but we hope to come back and be part of the Greek community.”
Undergraduates still living in the Phi Sigma Kappa house can stay through the end of the current academic year, assuming they fulfill lease obligations and conduct themselves appropriately, said Daryl Lu, president of Signet Housing Corporation, which owns the Isla Vista property.
What would become of the house after that wasn’t yet finalized, Lu said.
“For nearly five decades, the UCSB Phi Sig chapter has been a positive member of the campus community, providing leadership in student government, the Interfraternity Council, and other campus organizations; engaging in numerous philanthropic activities; and promoting scholarship, sportsmanship, and the personal and professional development of its members,” Lu said in an apologetic written statement.
“The reputation that we earned and valued has been seriously damaged by the failure of the chapter to abide by our principles.”
A fraternity typically must wait at least four or five years to regain a charter, Carey said.
Prior to this academic year, the last time UCSB had to close a fraternity was two years ago, when the national chapter shut down Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
It’s been a tough year for Greeks on campus, but UCSB Inter-fraternity Council President Carl Provenzano said sororities and fraternities plan to stay around a long time.
“The men in Phi Sigma Kappa are a phenomenal group of guys,” Provenzano said in an email. “They are leaders on campus and in the community. Many of them are and will remain close friends of mine.
“This is not the first time a Greek chapter has closed on our campus, and it probably will not be the last. IFC is always open for expansion, and we plan to continue to grow in the future.
“The (Phi Sigma Kappa) charter can be reinstated one day, but that day will probably not be for many years.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.