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Suspended and Unrecognized Student Organizations

Suspended Organizations

The following organizations are currently suspended as a result of a sanction imposed by the University’s conduct process or are under interim suspension by the University pending investigation for alleged violations of the University’s Code of Conduct. During the period of suspension, the student group or organization must cease all operations, including but not limited to, recruitment/intake activities, meetings, competitions, philanthropy, or social functions.

Kappa Sigma

Date of Incident: February 22, 2025

Date Reported: February 23, 2025

Date of Responsible Finding: March 25, 2025

Policy Violations:

  • F.3. Hazing - Any activity for human degradation, or public embarrassment and by its nature has the potential to cause severe anxiety, distress, or panic
  • J.5. Violation of University Policies, Procedures and Rules - Student Organizations Policies and Procedures

Sanctions:

  • Organizational Suspension (2/22/2025-2/22/2026)
  • Organizational Probation (2/22/2026-2/22/2027)
  • Hazing Education
  • Recruitment and New Member Education Plan

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Kappa Sigma responsible for violations listed above based upon the following behaviors:

  • The fraternity hired two female strippers to dance nude on members, including new and existing members, at an event held off-campus as part of the new member education process;
  • The organization held multiple new member education events off-campus where new members were blindfolded and instructed to perform a dance in front of existing new members.
Oswego State Cheerleading

Date of Incident: October 9, 2022 - October 16, 2022

Date Reported: October 26, 2022

Date of Responsible Finding: February 17, 2023

Policy Violations:

  • B.1. Misrepresentation - Knowingly or willfully providing false or misleading information or statements to the College, college official or law enforcement officer
  • C.6. Acts of Violence - Creation of or participating in a condition or situation that endangers the mental or physical wellbeing of self or others
  • F.2. Hazing - Activities which harass or intimidate
  • F.3. Hazing - Any activity for human degradation, or public embarrassment and by its nature, has the potential to cause severe anxiety, distress or panic
  • F.5. Hazing - Activities that involved tests of endurance including leaving a person in a location without means of identification, communication or ability to return
  • F.8. Hazing - Activities which have a foreseeable potential for personal injury, impart pain or cause mutiliation or alteration to the body
  • F.9. Hazing - Activities which involve illegal acts
  • L. Violation of Law - Behavior that would constitute a violation of any federal, state or law law including city or county ordinances
  • M.3. Alcohol Policy - Purchasing, providing or serving alcohol to an underage person
  • M.6. Alcohol Policy - Creating or possession of drinking games or engaging in drinking games that induce, encourage, or result in rapid consumption

Sanctions:

  • Group Suspension (2/17/23-5/31/26)
  • Group Probation (for 2 years, begins upon reinstatement to University)
  • Hazing Prevention Plan & Presentation

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Oswego State Cheerleading responsible for the violations listed above based upon the following behaviors:

  • Cheerleading ran a "Hell Week" style initiation process for new members. New members were coerced into engaging in hazing activities and it was implied they would not be selected for nationals competition if they failed to do so.;
  • Cheerleading provided alcohol to minors and forced new members to consume alcohol during Hell Week;
  • New members were forced to engage in sexual acts (i.e. "scissoring") at Kappa Sigma in the presence of fraternity members;
  • New members were blindfolded, placed into cars, forced to crawl on their hands and knees into Kappa Sigma, Sigma Gamma, and Sigma Tau Chi fraternities and quizzed on information regarding senior members while being berated/screamed at;
  • New members had their mobile phones confiscated by senior members before entering Theta Chi fraternity where they were quizzed, screamed at, forced to perform humiliating acts, and forced to consume alcohol in the presence of fraternity members;
  • New members were degraded by having male genitalia drawn on their faces and were forced to hold a pacifier in their mouths.
Sigma Tau Chi

Date of Incident: November 11-12, 2023; December 9, 2023

Date Reported: December 9, 2023; December 10, 2023

Date of Responsible Finding: February 1, 2024

Policy Violations:

  • J.5. Violation of University Policies, Procedures and Rules - Student Organizations Policies and Procedures
  • D.3. Disruptive or Disorderly Behavior - Disruption to the community including, but not limited to excessive or unreasonable noise, excessively large parties, throwing of projectiles or rude and abusive behavior.
  • H.3. Failure to Comply - Failure to comply with administrative or interim actions, including no-contact orders, no-trespass notices, building or campus ban/restriction, removal from campus housing facilities or interim suspension.
  • M.6. Alcohol Policy - Creating or possession of drinking games or engaging in drinking games that induce, encourage, or result in rapid consumption.

Sanctions:

  • Organizational Suspension (2/2/2024-1/19/2026)
  • Five Year Risk Management Plan
  • Greek Expansion Process

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Sigma Tau Chi responsible for the violations listed above based on the following behaviors:

  • The organization failed to comply with an active disciplinary status and administrative actions (interim suspension) by hosting multiple gatherings at an off-campus residence;
  • The organization caused a disruption to the local community as a result of an event at an off-campus residence;
  • The fraternity made drinking games available to those that attended the gathering.
Tau Kappa Epsilon

Date of Incident: October 1, 2022; October 8, 2022

Date Reported: 

Date of Responsible Finding: November 28, 2022

Policy Violations:

  • B.5. Misrepresentation - Acts of dishonesty which harm an individual member(s) of the College, the integrity of the academic programs or the educational interests and mission of the Colelge, or a College activity or procedure whether by act or omission.
  • H.6. Failure to Comply - Ineligible pledging or association with a recognized student organization without having met eligibility requirements established by the College.
  • J.5. Violation of College Policies, Procedures and Rules - Student Organizations Policies and Procedures
  • C.6. Acts of Violence - Creation of or participating in a condition or situation that endangers the mental or physical wellbeing of self or others.
  • F.2. Hazing - Activities which harass or intimidate.
  • L. Violation of Law - Behavior that would constitute a violation of any federal, state or local law including city or county ordinances.
  • M.3. Alcohol Policy - Purchasing, providing or serving alcohol to an underage person.
  • M.4. Alcohol Policy - Manufacturing, distributing, or engaging in the sale of alcohol.
  • M.6. Alcohol Policy - Creating or possession of drinking games or engaging in drinking games that induce, encourage, or result in rapid consumption.

Sanctions:

  • Organizational Suspension (11/28/22-11/28/25)
  • Meeting with Student Engagement and Leadership

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Tau Kappa Epsilon responsible for the violations listed above based upon the following behaviors:

  • Tau Kappa Epsilon engaged in the sale of alcohol at off-campus parties and served alcohol to minors, resulting in the hospitalization of two undergraduate students;
  • Tau Kappa Epsilon ran an underground recruitment process to take ineligible new members, including first-semester freshmen and students below the minimum GPA requirement;
  • New members were made to clean the fraternity house prior to events and were required to ask permission from the president to be able to drink;
  • Tau Kappa Epsilon violated the terms of interim suspension by conducting informal business during the investigation process.

Unrecognized Organizations

The following organizations have permanently lost their University recognition as a result of a sanction imposed by the University’s conduct process. Despite losing recognition, some of these groups continue to operate independently of the University (ie, “underground”). The following organizations do not receive any resources, support, or advising from the University, nor may they participate in any University-sponsored activities or utilize our facilities. The University no longer has a relationship with the following organizations. 

We strongly urge students and families to carefully consider the safety risks of potential involvement in any unrecognized organization that may continue to operate.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Date of Incident: Fall 2019 Semester

Date Reported: October 1, 2019

Date of Responsible Finding: April 10, 2020

Policy Violations:

  • F.1. Hazing - Activities that disrupts or interferes with an individual's pursuit of academic endeavors
  • F.6. Hazing - Activities that expose members or prospective members to potentially dangerous or hazardous circumstances, including lockdowns, overcrowding rooms or locking exits
  • H.3. Failure to Comply - Failure to comply with adminstrative actions including No Contact Orders, or Interim Suspension
  • H.4. Failure to Comply - Failure to comply in, or abuse or interference with, College processes including academic and non-academic disciplinary meetings/hearings
  • H.6. Failure to Comply - Ineligible pledging or association with a student organization without having met eligibility requirements established by the College
  • J.5. Violations of Current College Policies, Procedures, and Rules; Student Organizations

Sanctions:

  • Organizational Expulsion

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Sigma Alpha Epsilon responsible for the above listed violations, based on the following behaviors:

  • Forced underground pledges to dress in uniform clothing;
  • Blindfolded underground pledges while transporting them to undisclosed locations;
  • Prohibited underground pledges from using mobile devices;
  • Underground pledges were instructed to delete and remove all communication regarding Sigma Alpha Epsilon from their devices;
  • Encouraged under-aged underground pledges to consume alcohol and restricted them to one location.
Zeta Beta Tau

Date of Incident: Spring 2019

Date Reported: April 1, 2019

Date of Responsible Finding: N/A

Policy Violations:

  • N/A

Sanctions:

  • N/A

Description of incident:

Closed by Zeta Beta Tau National Headquarters (prior to investigation by SUNY Oswego) in September 2019.

Zeta Chi Zeta

Date of Incident: Fall 2020 through Spring 2023

Date Reported: April 3, 2023

Date of Responsible Finding: June 14, 2023

Policy Violations:

  • B.1. Misrepresentation - Knowingly or willfully providing false or misleading information or statements to the College, college official or law enforcement officer.
  • B.5. Misrepresentation - Acts of dishonesty which harm an individual member(s) of the College, the integrity of the academic programs or the educational interests and mission of the College, or a College activity or procedure whether by act or omission.
  • C.6. Acts of Violence - Creation of or participating in a condition or situation that endangers the mental or physical wellbeing of self or others.
  • C.7. Acts of Violence - Conduct which inhibits the peace or safety of members of the College community.
  • C.8. Acts of Violence - Retaliation, harassment or coercion of parties, including witnesses, participating in student conduct actions or proceedings.
  • F.1. Hazing - Activities that disrupts or interferes with an individual's pursuit of academic endeavors.
  • F.2. Hazing - Activities which harass or intimidate.
  • F.3. Hazing - Any activity for human degradation, or public embarrassment and by its nature, has the potential to cause severe anxiety, distress or panic.
  • F.5. Hazing - Activities that involve tests of endurance including leaving a person in a location without means of identification, communication or ability to return.
  • F.6. Hazing - Activities that expose members or prospective members to potentially dangerous or hazardous circumstances, including lockdowns, overcrowding rooms or locking exits.
  • F.7. Hazing - Activities that involved the forced or required consumption of food, beverages, alcohol, or other drugs.
  • F.8. Hazing - Activities which have a forseeable potential for personal injury, impart pain or cause mutilation or alteration to the body.
  • F.9. Hazing - Activities which involve illegal acts.
  • J.5. Violation of College Policies, Procedures and Rules - Student Organizations Policies and Procedures.
  • L. Violation of Law - Behavior that would constitute a violation of any federal, state, or local law including city or county ordinances.
  • N.3. Drug Policy - Possession and/or use of drug paraphernalia.

Sanctions:

  • Organizational Expulsion

Description of incident:

Following an investigation, the University found Zeta Chi Zeta responsible for policy violations listed above based on the following behaviors:

  • Zeta Chi Zeta blindfolded new members and forced them to stand in their underwear and hold bags of ice while being doused in ice water by current members for extended periods of time;
  • Zeta Chi Zeta forced new members to drink hot sauce to the point of regurgitation and consume other food such as baker's chocolate and twinkies with mustard;
  • Zeta Chi Zeta forced new members to smear marshmallow fluff and chocolate syrup on their bodies for current members to stick dry spaghetti and whip-it canisters to them;
  • Zeta Chi Zeta coerced members to intentionally provide false and misleading information during the investigation process with Student Conduct.

If this is an emergency or someone is in danger, call University Police at 315-312-5555. 
Organizational Misconduct Form

Office of Student Conduct

501 Culkin Hall

Oswego, NY 13126

Contact

315-312-3378, Fax: 315-312-2503

[email protected]

Hours

M-F, 8am-4:30pm

Summer Hours: M-F, 8am-4pm