SAE back on campus after 7 years

After losing its charter almost seven years ago, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is back.
But fraternity president Tyler Mikev said he wants to show the campus that the new Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which regained its charter in a ceremony April 18, is here to stay.

“We can go back to our alumni and show them that we’re not the guys who got kicked off campus in 2002,” Mikev said. “Now, we’re everything that SAE should be.”

The off-campus fraternity lost its charter in 2002 after what former president and senior Zach Garrison said were behaviors that didn’t reflect what SAE stands for.

SAE was kicked off campus in 2002 after the IU Police Department busted a party in which fraternity members were serving alcohol to minors and after they accumulated $125,000 in payments, late fees and interest on their house, according to a July 17, 2006, Indiana Daily Student article.

“It was a situation where, on a monthly basis, something was going wrong with the house,” Garrison said. “The University shut it down before it got too out of hand.”

In 2007, Garrison and a few friends got together to start a colony.

“It means a lot to get the charter,” Garrison said. “It’s one of the biggest things I’ll do in my college career.”

Mikev said the chapter has grown to nearly 40 members since 2007.

“The charter comes after two years of really hard work,” Mikev said. “We were off campus, and it was like we were restarting the chapter.”

Now that the fraternity is back on campus, Mikev said it plans to focus on the basics of the organization, including philanthropic events. On Saturday, members will participate in the True Gentleman Day of Service with Middle Way House.

Last year, members painted houses for Middle Way House, and Mikev said that this year they will do “whatever they ask us to do to help.”

Garrison said the new SAE will be doing philanthropic and social events, like the service day, to uphold the chapter’s tradition, which includes alumni such as journalist Ernie Pyle and NBA players Tom and Dick Van Arsdale.

“We’re continuing a tradition that went away in 2002,” Garrison said. “SAE has been at IU since 1907, and it means a lot to carry on that tradition and say that you’ve made something for future generations.”