The Sigma Pi fraternity is under investigation after allegedly hosting a party where minors were present and alcohol was served, Student Life and Leadership (SLL) Director Stephan Lamb said.
The fraternity was placed on cease and desist Friday after Lamb heard from several university staff members about an alleged party, held at a Foothill property leased by some of the fraternity’s members, Lamb said.
“They’re under a cease and desist order,” Lamb said, “which basically is the terminology that we utilize when I have cause to believe that an investigation of a situation or an event warrants my review and that’s the case with them.”
Lamb was unwilling to go into the details of the current investigation but did express his dismay that the cease and desist order brought an end to Sigma Pi’s participation in Greek Week last week.
“It’s regrettable that this happened in the middle of Greek Week, because it affected the black team (Sigma Pi’s team),” Lamb said.
Lamb said he felt investigating Sigma Pi was necessary in order to be fair to all fraternities, he said, especially after Delta Sigma Phi was placed under cease and desist two weeks ago for a party.
“To be consistent with how I handled Delta Sigma Phi — basically removing them from Greek Week — I felt I had to be consistent, so I needed to do that to Sigma Pi as well,” he said.
Though both incidents occurred relatively close together, Lamb didn’t think this was unusual.
Warmer weather means more events and activities, and Lamb said SLL often sees a rise in parties when this happens.
“In spring quarter, we become aware of more student activity out in the community, and I think that’s linked to the weather,” Lamb said.
The investigation is news to the Interfraternity Council (IFC), of which Sigma Pi is a member, IFC director of public relations Jason Colombini said. The investigation was announced at the IFC meeting Monday night, he said.
“It’s a new investigation,” Colombini said.
The Sigma Pi president and vice president could not comment as of press time.
Victoria Billings and Allison Montroy contributed to this article.
Editors Note: This article has been updated since publication. We originally reported that Sigma Pi leased a property on Foothill, when in fact the property is leased by some of the fraternity’s members, not the fraternity itself. We apologize for any confusion. Please email mustangdaily@gmail.com with any questions regarding our updates policy.