Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno State Suspends Sigma Chi Fraternity for Underage Drinking, Assaults at 'Cinco de Drinko'
gvw_nancy_price
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
August 30, 2019

Share

Fresno State has suspended the Sigma Chi fraternity chapter due to underage drinking, physical assaults, and noise complaints at a fraternity-sponsored event on May 5, the university announced Friday.
The suspension will end Feb. 3, 2020, and the fraternity will be allowed to resume most activities if it satisfies conditions levied by the university, including completing a risk-management program.

Portrait of Frank Lamas
“We expect our students to be responsible and comply with university policies while ensuring the safety of other students. We hope our students — future leaders of our communities — will learn, grow and develop from this situation.” — Frank Lamas, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Fresno State
But the fraternity will be barred from serving alcohol to students of legal age until May 25, 2020.
The university and the Department of Athletics also have taken undisclosed action against student-athletes who allegedly were involved in the event. The students are not being named because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and university policy.
“We expect our students to be responsible and comply with university policies while ensuring the safety of other students,” said Frank Lamas, vice president of the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Fresno State. “We hope our students — future leaders of our communities — will learn, grow and develop from this situation.”

Fraternity Party Was Called ‘Cinco de Drinko’

Lamas said the incident that sparked the investigation and ultimately the suspension was held on May 5, or Cinco de Mayo. Sigma Chi promoted its party as “Cinco de Drinko,” which Lamas said that from “my perspective, certainly is not a great name for something for any group on our campus, and (is) disrespectful.”
A Baylor University fraternity was suspended in 2017 after hosting a “Cinco de Drinko” party in May 2017.
After learning about the May 5 incident, the fraternity immediately was placed on interim suspension pending an investigation. The university notified the Sigma Chi national headquarters, which also placed the chapter on interim suspension pending investigation.

Suspension Ordered After Hearing and Appeal

The Sigma Chi incident was investigated over the summer. At an Aug. 5 hearing, the investigation findings were presented, and the students had the opportunity to weigh in, Lamas said. At that time, a decision was made to suspend the fraternity through May 2020, he said.
The fraternity filed an appeal, which was heard by Lamas and two other hearing officers on Monday. He said officials decided to reduce the suspension after weighing the severity of the incident, information from the national headquarters, and whether any precedence was set by other incidents at the university.
But the fraternity will need to meet the conditions established in the sanction, including 100% participation by fraternity members in risk-management education. If that doesn’t happen, the suspension will revert to the original decision, Lamas said.
He said Sigma Chi had had no major incidents in his six years at the university before the May 5 party.

Some Activities Will Be Allowed

During the fall semester, the fraternity will be allowed to conduct two chapter meetings monthly to discuss the risk-management programs, chapter business, and philanthropy/community service projects. Those modifications were made to the suspension after the appeal hearing, Lamas said.
“The philanthropy was to get them the opportunity to continue doing the good work they’ve done in the past,” he said.
As to allegations that a fraternity member was injured, the investigation was unable to substantiate findings against anyone because of insufficient reliable evidence.

Education of New Greek Members Is Ongoing

More than 1,100 Fresno State students belong to 40 Greek organizations, which are overseen by the Greek Life Office in the Student Affairs Division. The university provides programs on risk-management and other topics for all new fraternity or sorority members and to group, to help students understand their responsibilities as leaders in an organization, Lamas said.
“We want to keep our students safe,” he said. “We want them to learn from mistakes, and we hope their mistakes are small so that there isn’t some of the stuff that’s happened in other places of the country.”

Past Fresno State Actions Against Fraternities

Officials with the Sigma Chi national headquarters in Evanston, Ill. and the local chapter could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. The fraternity was chartered at Fresno State in 1952.
The suspension is the latest action taken by the university against a Fresno State Greek organization. In 2006, Fresno State suspended Phi Gamma Delta for five years after a 19-year-old student died in his room with a blood-alcohol level that was more than four times the legal limit for driving. In 2012 the university revoked the charter of the Theta Chi fraternity chapter after an 18-year-old pledge died in an alcohol-related hazing incident.
 

DON'T MISS

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

No data was found
Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

12 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

13 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

14 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

14 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

17 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

17 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

12 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

12 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

12 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

12 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

13 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend