The Pennsylvania Omega chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is attempting to mount a bid to return to Allegheny College. A group of individuals affiliated with the national governing body of SAE, as well as alumni of Allegheny, are leading the effort.

Gretchen Beck, director of student leadership and involvement and associate dean of Allegheny, stated that no formal expansion bid has been accepted by Allegheny’s Board of Trustees, a required step for the fraternity to expand.

“They’re not coming back,” Beck said. “They haven’t been given permission to come back.”

Logan Cala, ’18, president of Allegheny’s Interfraternity Council, stated that the fraternity attempted to get its expansion put on the ballot for the May Board of Trustees meeting but was unsuccessful.

“I don’t know why they were not on the ballot in May, but I guess they were not brought up. I think they’ll have to wait again until another meeting to be brought up,” Cala said.

The Board of Trustees holds three meetings every year, two of which occur on campus. The next meeting is scheduled for October 13 and 14.

According to Cala, the trustees asked IFC to write a letter of concern stating whether or not the council supported SAE’s bid. Cala wrote a letter, but the issue was dropped from the board’s agenda before the letter was received.

“I wrote up the letter of concern, but I guess they got turned down before I could submit that letter of concern for the trustees to use,” Cala said.

Cala said after being approved by the Board of Trustees, the fraternity would need approval from Allegheny President James Mullen, as well as from IFC. The fraternity would then have to follow the expansion policies of both Allegheny College and SAE.

Beck said that if successful, the new branch would be considered a continuation of the old organization.

“It would be a reactivation of the chapter,” Beck said.

Cala said that before its suspension, the fraternity had been on campus for a number of years.

“They were an established chapter here, up until the spring of 2014, when they were kicked off with a three-year suspension and that’s why this past semester it was brought up for the possibility of coming back,” Cala said.

Cala said that the fraternity was suspended from Allegheny College in 2014 due to allegations of hazing, as well as drug and alcohol violations. He also said that the fraternity would take steps to ensure that no similar incidents would happen again.

“What the guy from SAE said was that they would want some sort of [resident advisor] living in their house, who would monitor their actions to make sure that no incidents that happened in the past would happen again,” Cala said.

Cala stated that if the Board of Trustees approved the return of the fraternity, the fraternity would be considered a colony. Allegheny’s expansion policy states that “the colony may apply for college recognition following a minimum of two academic years of fulfillment of the responsibilities of a colony as specified in Article III, Section A.”

On its website, the national governing body of SAE states that “[its] goal is to install a new chapter 12-18 months after the colonization, but that time frame is dependent on the overall success of the colony.” Additionally, the organization states that “The colony will be evaluated on a monthly basis using monthly reports located in the colony’s manual.”

Caitlin Deubell, ’18, president of Allegheny’s Panhellenic Council, said that members of the national SAE governing body have been holding informal conversations with administrators about the current state of Greek life at Allegheny, as well as more formal presentations regarding the expansion process.

“It might be a little more formal now that they’ve stepped in the door,” Deubell said.

While the Panhellenic Council is comprised of the sororities at Allegheny, the organization has also been following the return bid.

“IFC and Panhell work a lot together,” Deubell said.

Cala stated that the effort to bring back the fraternity is being led by alumni, as well as national representatives of the fraternity. Due to the three-year moratorium, any student affiliated with the fraternity has graduated from Allegheny.

“It’s all people who are off campus, alumni and people from the headquarters,” Cala said.

Beck, who has been involved with SAE’s bid from the very beginning, said she had not had any current students come into her office asking about how to get involved with the expansion bid.