The Greek Life Office’s decision, in coordination with Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students Jill Carnaghi, to grant Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) full University recognition was solidified Wednesday by the Interfraternity Council’s (IFC) unanimous vote to give the fraternity membership in the council.

“Sigma Alpha Epsilon, come spring semester, will be treated like the other fraternities on campus,” Carnaghi said. “They will become members of the Interfraternity Council. They will abide by all the rules, regulations, responsibilities and opportunities that other Greek chapters are afforded on this campus.”

The University’s July 2007 decision to strip SAE of its recognition stemmed from a series of incidents, including improper conduct at the SAE formal in Nashville, Tenn. and insufficient improvement of its conduct since being placed on probation in 2006.

Carnaghi, who made the decision to terminate the University’s recognition of SAE—though its national charter was never terminated, said that this recent decision resulted from SAE’s renewed interest in working with the University.

According to Carnaghi, with new leadership at the fraternity’s national headquarters, the University has been in constant communication with SAE this semester. This support has enabled the University to restore SAE as an official campus organization.

“We were not ready to take that next step with them at any time last year because we did not have the support of the leadership at their headquarters,” Carnaghi said. “There’s new leadership at the national office and I think it has shown a marked change in being responsive.”

Junior Matthew Furnas, SAE president, said that the chapter understands the importance of working with the University.

“The brothers who are in the chapter now are committed to working with the University and understand the key to being in a successful fraternity—and a strong fraternity—with a strong presence on campus is working with the University,” Furnas said.

Since the SAE Missouri Beta Chapter lost recognition, its enrollment has dropped from about 50 members to 20 members and two pledges.

Despite this smaller enrollment than any other campus fraternity, under the leadership of Recruitment Chair Jonathan Bremer, last year’s chapter president and SAE Missouri Beta Chapter Adviser Ray Sobocinski, the chapter issued an assessment and strategic plan.

“In assessing the status of the chapter at that time, it was critical to implement fundamental aspects of what the SAE experience is and has been at Washington University since obtaining our national charter in 1892,” Sobocinski was quoted as saying in a press release.

Now that SAE is once again a fully-recognized University fraternity, Carnaghi said that it would be held to even higher standards than other Greek organizations on campus. She said, however, that she and Greek Life officials would be working with SAE to ensure the chapter’s success in fulfilling these expectations.

“They will have a plan in place that we will work with them on for them to meet our expectations as well as to ensure their success as a fraternity,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is to bring them back and allow them to fail.”

Bremer said that he is aware of these expectations and said that the fraternity fully plans to commit to these standards.

“We do realize we will be under a microscope,” Bremer said. “We aim to take complete accountability for everything.”

As a fully recognized fraternity, SAE will be able to participate in campus traditions like Thurtene Carnival and will participate in Greek Life’s official recruitment process as established by the IFC.

Under the constitution and bylaws of the IFC, SAE will not have voting rights on the council and will be a provisionary member. But according to senior Dan Cate, IFC president, this will not hinder SAE’s ability to act as a normal fraternity on campus.

“All of the things that we really thought were important for them to be a part of in the Greek system, they will be a part of those things,” Cate said. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to add another strong, healthy fraternity back on campus.”

The fraternity will be participating in spring recruitment, and Bremer, the current recruitment chair, noted its importance to the future of the chapter.

During the three-semester period in which it was not a recognized fraternity, SAE recruited members independently, and last spring it had a pledge class of five. This spring, Bremer said he hopes to recruit a pledge class of 16 to 20 members, and to eventually reach the quota that would enable the fraternity to have a house on campus.

Before losing its recognition, SAE occupied the house on Upper Fraternity Row closest to the Athletic Complex. The building is now known as House 6 and houses upperclassmen transfer students.

According to Carnaghi, the possibility of on-campus housing will not be negotiated any time soon.

“We will not even discuss the status of their house for quite sometime. That is much further down the road,” Carnaghi said.

Bremer hopes that underclassmen are attracted to the unique leadership opportunity the current state of SAE will offer them.

“We are really trying to sell the fact that it’s a great opportunity for younger classmen to really take something and make it their own,” Bremer said. “Our brotherhood has reduced in number, and it’s a great opportunity for people to get involved right away with leadership opportunities.”

SAE will work next semester on completing a substantive list of its chapter’s goals. Furnas said that the chapter would also continue its philanthropy projects—such as Dodge for Depression—that they held as an unrecognized fraternity last year.

“[Philanthropy] is one of the strong points we have been able to continue to do even though we haven’t had recognition,” Furnas said.

Ryan Jasen Henne, director of Greek Life, said that he has been impressed with the local leadership of SAE. While he anticipates a successful relationship between SAE and Greek Life, both parties will have to “reacclimate” to one another.

“[Greek Life] is very much on board and very excited that SAE is going to be coming back into the greater campus community and the greater Greek system,” Henne said. “I think the guys are at a place where they understand the responsibility that comes with affiliation and that what they bring to the Greek community is something that is great.”

Bremer said that the decision to recognize SAE as a campus organization is reflective of all of the brothers’ hard work.

“There were so many times last year when I thought we might not make it, almost lost hope,” Bremer said. “Last year I would never have thought that we would have recognition at this time.”