Two former Mizzou fraternity members charged after hazing incident left student paralyzed
The pledge, Daniel Santulli, was left blind, and unable to walk or communicate following the incident
A University of Miami fraternity has been shut down after a video surfaced purportedly showing its members saying an explicit chant at a party.
In the video initially obtained by The Miami Hurricane, the Sigma Phi Epsilon members apparently chant about sexually assaulting a dead woman: "We dig her up every now and then, yo-ho, yo-ho. We dig her up every now and then. We f--- her once. We’ll f--- her again."
The fraternity's Florida Gamma social media accounts were made private, and the website for the University of Miami chapter was shut down.
"The University of Miami continually communicates a clear set of policies and expectations to all of our Greek organizations that are designed to encourage a safe, healthy and positive experience for UM students," University of Miami Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia A. Whitely said in a statement, adding that the school "received allegations the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter violated university policy and participated in behavior that is inconsistent with the values and expectations of the university community and their national fraternity."
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The home where the University of Miami chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon hosted a pool party on Oct. 1 from which a video surfaced showing frat brothers chanting about having sex with a dead woman. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Whitely continued: "We have partnered with Sigma Phi Epsilon for 73 years, and we support their decision to close the chapter effective immediately."
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Sigma Phi Epsilon National Headquarters chief communications officer Heather Matthews said the fraternity's national board of directors on Friday "unanimously decided to revoke the charter of the chapter at University of Miami. "
The headquarters received the video "demonstrating SigEp members violating policy and engaged in misogynist actions that are not aligned with the values of this Fraternity," Matthews added.
"We expect SigEp chapters to provide their members and campus community a safe and supportive environment," she said. "That’s the cornerstone of a positive Fraternity and university experience, so we take that expectation seriously and hold our chapters to that standard."
A "cornerstone" program of the national fraternity aims to "build balanced men," according to its website.
"For our brothers, much of this time is spent with their chapters — it’s where they build close bonds of friendship and learn how to communicate and work with others, to lead, and to speak in front of a crowd," the website states. "Our brothers accomplish all of this through the Balanced Man Program (BMP)."
