Following are an announcement issued this afternoon by the national headquarters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and a statement from the University of Iowa.

Headquarters closes chapter at University of Iowa

IOWA CITY, IA—Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national headquarters has suspended the charter of its Iowa Beta chapter at the University of Iowa, which means the chapter will close. In addition, all of its members have been expelled from the organization and have had their membership privileges removed. This decision by the national organization comes as a result of hazing and the chapter’s failure to comply with our standards, guidelines and policies set forth by the membership agreement and Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s governing laws.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s board of directors will not tolerate hazing or behavior that violates risk-management policies or the general guidelines for chapter operations. The organization expects its chapters to adhere to stringent policies and practices that help our members become gentlemen and leaders, and to live up to our creed and principles.

The chapter-house property, which is managed and owned by a private house corporation, will also be closed. Members will be asked to make other housing arrangements.

Both national staff and local volunteers will work with university administrators and the house corporation during this transition to close the chapter. We view the relationship with the University of Iowa as a partnership, and we hope to return to the campus in the future.

UI issues statement regarding Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter

The university does not tolerate hazing or unsafe and illegal consumption of alcohol in any of its student organizations. As such, we fully support the swift action taken this weekend by Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national organization, and a further university investigation into individual violations of the Code of Student Life is in progress.

We are fortunate to have a strong and vibrant Greek community at the University of Iowa, which collectively plays an active role in community service and significant philanthropic efforts. This incident is an aberration and perversion of the values that hundreds of fraternity and sorority members work hard to uphold, and should not reflect on the larger community of outstanding Greek students that contribute so much to our campus environment.

While SAE members independently entered into a private housing arrangement through the SAE fraternity corporation and are personally responsible for relocating, the university's student life office has resources available to assist displaced students with finding other off-campus housing options in the area. There are no university-owned housing spaces currently available.