Michigan State University has sanctioned five fraternities for violating student organization code of conduct policies, though more specific details are minimal on why the disciplinary actions were taken and what exactly they entail.
Among the affected fraternities are Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, according to the university’s web page listing the fraternities and sororities under disciplinary statuses. A day before the sanctions went into effect on Jan. 31, The State News published a story detailing police reports of hazing and sexual abuse allegations at those fraternities and others.
The other three fraternities sanctioned by MSU late last month were FarmHouse, Phi Kappa Psi and Psi Upsilon.
MSU student life and engagement administrators did not directly answer questions from The State News on what the implications of the disciplinary actions on the fraternities are. However, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life ShirDonna Lawrence did say fraternities on probation are subjected to heightened “observation and evaluation.”
Sigma Alpha Epsilon was the only fraternity in the group to receive a disciplinary status other than probation. Rather, the fraternity was placed under “deferred loss of registration,” which Lawrence said means the fraternity will lose its affiliation with the university if it commits any further infraction or fails to comply with sanctions MSU placed on it. Lawrence declined to say what those sanctions are.
SAE will maintain its deferred loss of registration status until Dec. 31, 2026, according to the MSU web page.
Lawrence said the disciplinary action was taken because SAE was found, “based on a preponderance of evidence, to be in violation of the Student Organization Code of Conduct,” but declined to provide further information on the nature of the violations.
Kat Cooper, the chief communications officer for the office of Student Life and Engagement, said that information can’t be disclosed because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. That law prevents educational institutions that receive federal funding from releasing information from students’ education records without their consent.
Reached for comment by email, SAE’s listed-president, Max Cibor, said to contact the fraternity chapter’s national organization. The State News emailed a list of questions to the national organization and did not receive a response.
The four other fraternities were placed on probation. That status will last until Dec. 31, 2025, for FarmHouse and Phi Kappa Psi, and until Dec. 31, 2026, for Pi Kappa Alpha and Psi Upsilon.
Cameron Lynch, Lukasz Strzelczyk, Frederic Fresard and Austin Idziak — the respective listed-presidents of the fraternities — did not respond to requests for comment.
Senior Reporter Alex Walters contributed reporting.
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