Alpha Chi Omega members are looking to move past the emotional decision to close the Lambda chapter at Syracuse University.

‘My biggest desire is to try to support the women as they try to move on,’ said Marsha Grady, national A Chi O president.

Members of the Lambda chapter were informed of the decision to vote to close the chapter Jan. 27 because of ‘risk management issues’ after being put on probation last spring. The closure went into effect Jan. 28, the first day of spring sorority recruitment at SU. Grady would not reveal any specifics as to why the Lambda chapter closed.

A chapter closes either because of risk management issues, which includes hazing and drinking problems, or overall chapter issues, such as financial problems or low membership, Grady said.

A vote to revoke a chapter cannot be undone through an appeal, although the chapter can typically return through recolonization after four years, according to national A Chi O policy. The national organization is open to the idea of recolonizing at SU — an A Chi O was just recolonized at the University of California Los Angeles after not being on campus for 20 years, Grady said.

It was Grady who personally called former A Chi O Lambda chapter president Kate Sisco to inform her of the unanimous decision to revoke the charter. As with any announcement to close, it was a difficult job to do, Grady said.

‘It’s not going to be a happy moment,’ Grady said.

Sisco did not respond to The Daily Orange for comment.

The vote to revoke the chapter’s charter occurred 24 hours after the women were informed it would happen. Grady said the women had been informed in March, when they were put on probation, that the Lambda chapter may close. The national board decided to act before spring recruitment began to avoid dealing with closing the chapter while new women were potentially joining, Grady said.

Women on campus who were members of the Lambda chapter at its closure have transitioned to alumna status and cannot present themselves as active members of an A Chi O chapter.

The women are not forbidden from wearing their letters, Grady said, and they are treated just as they would be postgraduation.

The 40 women living in the house on the 700 block of Walnut Avenue will continue to live there until the end of the semester. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs has been involved with the university to ensure that women who planned to live in the house next semester will be able to find university housing if they desire.

As of now, it’s undecided what will happen to the house, which is owned by a board of Lambda members, Grady said. But she said the board would determine how to ‘best maintain the house in the interim.’

Should A Chi O look to recolonize on SU’s campus, it first must be invited back by the university, Grady said. It typically takes about four years before recolonization happens, she said. It is not possible to restart the chapter immediately, even though some former A Chi O Lambda members have wanted to do so.

Eddie Banks-Crosson, director of fraternity and sorority affairs, did not respond to requests for comment.

The closure has gained attention from SU students, women in other sororities and national A Chi O alumnae.

On the Tumblr website, Save the Lambdas, women from the University of Richmond’s A Chi O Iota Mu chapter have shared their experiences dealing with chapter closure. Iota Mu was closed by the National Council in November 2010.

Chelsea Prough, from the 2010 Iota Mu chapter’s spring pledge class, reached out to the Lambdas on the website. She said the Iota Mu chapter was closed unexpectedly, similarly to how the Lambda chapter was closed.

‘Hearing this decision from Nationals, women who introduced themselves as our sisters, was extremely devastating for us, as I’m sure this time is extremely devastating for you, too,’ Prough wrote.

The Iota Mu chapter closure became effective Nov. 17, 2010, according to an A Chi O press release obtained by The Daily Orange. The decision was also based on risk management policy violations, according to the release. The release specifically added that the decision did not involve hazing.

The Beta Lambda chapter of A Chi O at the University of Arizona closed in 2009 because of problems reaching quota, according to a Feb. 18, 2009, article in the Arizona Daily Wildcat. There were some problems regarding hazing in the late 1990s at the Beta Lambda chapter that resulted in ‘higher expectations’ for women in the chapter, according to the article.

Grady said the situations at the other closed chapters were ‘totally different’ from one another. Each chapter situation is analyzed individually, she said.

‘It’s never an easy decision,’ Grady said. ‘Especially when you have a 100-plus-year history.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

 

 

Published on February 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride