After a 20-year hiatus, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity is hoping to return to ETSU.
The Tennessee Alpha Chapter of SAE left ETSU in 1982. Several factors, including the SAE house fire and a diminishing Greek population, contributed to the fraternity’s decision to leave campus.
“The chapter just didn’t survive the population decrease,” said Thomas Dement, province archon for SAE chapters of East and Middle Tennessee. “A national goal of ours is to revitalize old chapters and give special attention to alumni from those chapters.”
SAE has over 200 chapters nationally and more than 260,000 alumni, making it the fraternity with the largest number of initiates in the nation, Dement said.
SAE chose to come back to ETSU because the campus and student population have grown and the Greek system as a whole has gotten stronger.
“We want to expand the Greek system,” Dement said. “We don’t intend to recruit men who are interested in other chapters, we want to offer additional opportunities.”
Dement said getting alumni involved is another major reason to come back to ETSU. SAE wants Tennessee Alpha Alumni to have a reason to again feel like part of the university and to give back to the community.
Re-establishing the fraternity on campus won’t happen overnight. SAE has to go through a lengthy process to officially become a fraternity within the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC).
Kim Lowe, director of student activities and student affairs marketing, said SAE is considered an interest group during these first stages of their rebuilding process.
Interest groups can be established if they have five enrolled students, a faculty adviser, a leadership board and a written constitution. They must have a goal or purpose and it must not conflict with those other groups.
“For example, you can’t have two SGAs,” Lowe said. “They would have to compete and it wouldn’t be beneficial to the students.”
Leah Adinolfi, coordinator for leadership and Greek life said that SAE began taking steps toward colonization last spring by approaching the IFC for permission.
The IFC Council members, who consist of the six fraternity presidents and a leadership board, voted to allow SAE to begin the colonization process.
IFC then set guidelines that SAE must follow to be granted full fraternity status. These requirements include a minimum 20 members with an average GPA of no less than 2.5.
Dement expressed hope for the future. “We are very pleased with the response,” he said, referring to the attendance of an informational meeting held last Tuesday.
Ten men have indicated an interest in joining the fraternity.
“The men interested were already leaders in other organizations,” he said. “We want to encourage a cross section of men, those in ROTC, drama and sports. We don’t want the fraternity to be their life, we want the fraternity to be a part of it.”
“The last colonization I worked with was at Vanderbilt during March 2001,” Dement said. “They installed 65 men with the interest group, initiated 80 members and within six months won the Top Greek Award at Vanderbilt.”
The next steps for SAE include another informational meeting on Tuesday in the East Tennessee Room in the Culp Center. Dement said they will be meeting with the same individuals and hopefully other men.
After the installation of the interest group members, SAE will begin colonization.
“We will hopefully participate in rush in the spring,” Dement said. “It usually takes 18 to 24 months to get a full-blown chapter.

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