Kappa Sigma investigation comes to end

Monica Kast

The investigation of the Theta-Theta chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity has concluded.

The fraternity’s suspension has also been lifted, according to Kappa Sigma chapter officials.

Kappa Sigma was suspended by its international headquarters on Nov. 2 and remained suspended until the investigation concluded. The fraternity was not allowed to participate in Homecoming events during its suspension. This decision was made by Kappa Sigma’s international branch according to Charley Pride, the director of Student Activities and Organizations.

Pride said the investigation began during Homecoming week and concluded near the end of the fall semester.

“It was an internal investigation done by the Kappa Sigma fraternity,” he said.

Because it was an internal investigation, Pride said the results of the investigation have not yet been shared with him.

He said he believes it involved “individual participants in the fraternity, who will face individual consequences.”

“We’re waiting to hear the results of the investigation,” Pride said.

Later, he added that the results could cause action to be taken through the Office of Judicial Affairs on campus.

Nolan Devine, the president of the Theta-Theta chapter of Kappa Sigma, said he had no comment on the topic of the investigation or the results of the investigation. Devine confirmed the investigation had concluded.

Mitchell Wilson, the executive director of Kappa Sigma, gave a statement regarding the investigation and suspension in an email.

“The Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Theta-Theta Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Western Kentucky University are in the process of reviewing allegations regarding actions by individual members of the chapter that are inconsistent with the values of Kappa Sigma Fraternity,” Wilson said. “The Fraternity as a matter of policy cannot provide information regarding individual discipline, which is a private matter.”

WKU’s Kappa Sigma chapter is not the only chapter of the fraternity that has been investigated in recent months.

The Lambda-Upsilon chapter of Kappa Sigma at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, was suspended and investigated in November following allegations of sexual assault, according to the school’s website. In November 2014, the Gamma-Phi chapter at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, was suspended after a pledge was found unresponsive in the fraternity house and died two days later in the hospital, according to the school’s website.