Sigma Chi - University of Memphis

The WISE OLD OWL Epsilon Kappa ChaptEr of sigma Chi fratErnity at thE UnivErsity of mEmphis Spring 2019 FEATURES: Keith Carver '92 Spotlight - 2 • Alumni Chapter Update - 2, 4 • Undergraduates Work Toward a Bright Future - 3 (Continued on page 4) Sigma Chi Risk Management Foundation Adopts New Policies to Improve Chapter House Experience Epsilon Kappa Chapter House Receives Excellent Rating H opefully, by the time you read this, the weather will be warmer and the rain will have stopped. Things are going well for the Memphis Sigma Chi House Corporation. I want to update all of you concerning recent renovations and inspections that have been per- formed at our fraternity house. Sigma Chi policies require all house corporations and active chapters to maintain certain insurance coverages. To that end, the Sigma Chi Risk Man- agement Foundation (RMF) has, for many years, enforced those policies and collected premiums. In recent years, claims and premiums have in- creased. One of the suspected causes of these increases was the deterioration of fraternity houses. The RMF determined that preventative maintenance should be prioritized. Recently, the RMF created the Constantine Housing Initiative (CHI) to work as a consulta- tive partner with local Sigma Chi House Corpo- rations to conduct housing assessments, offer recommendations for upgrades and improve- ments, design property conservation initiatives, and address life-safety issues in chapter houses. CHI's goals are to increase safety, lower risk management and insurance costs for local house corporations, and make housing a competitive advantage for the fraternity overall. The RMF now requires CHI to conduct inspections of chapter houses. Our CHI inspection was scheduled for February 12, 2019. Although we had participated in RMF inspections in the past, CHI instituted a more stringent inspection process. A member of the CHI Board of Directors, along with a certified inspector, attended these inspections. Prior to the inspection, our Housing Corpora- tion, working with the active Chapter and mul- tiple contractors, performed renovations to the interior of the house and addressed a number of relatively minor issues. This work was very helpful in ensuring a successful inspection where only minor problems were noted. In fact, Justin Brandt, the CHI property operations director, congratulated us on the condition of the house, and determined that it was not necessary for us to have additional oversight with respect to the correction of the minor problems. A special thanks is owed to board member Bunky Wingfield '68, who served as the board liaison with the contractors concerning this project. Bunky spent a considerable amount of time meeting with contractors and inspecting the work performed, and we appreciate his dedica- tion and service. In Hoc, Kirk Caraway '94 President Memphis Sigma Chi House Group, Inc. kcaraway@allensummers.com Sigma Chi Stands Up to Harvard Fraternity Joins Federal Lawsuit Protesting School's Single-Sex Organization Policy O n December 3, 2018, sororities, frater- nities and students filed a pair of law- suits challenging a Harvard sanctions policy that punishes students who join off-campus, single-sex social organizations. The law- suits describe how Harvard used a cam- paign of threats and intimidation to scare students into abandoning their fundamental rights to free association and to live free of sex discrimination. The new rules would take effect and cover the incoming class of 2021. Some of the disincentives include barring members from leading sports teams and receiving the school's endorsement for coveted prizes such as the Rhodes and Mar- shall scholarships. In the federal suit, a broad coalition of stu- dents and women's and men's organizations impacted by Harvard's sanctions—two international sororities, two international fraternities, a Cambridge fraternity chapter, and three current Harvard students—assert that through the sanctions policy, Harvard has interfered with students' right to be free of sex discrimination, as guaranteed by Title IX and the U.S. Constitution. According to the article, "Sigma Chi Stands Up To Harvard," on sigmachi.org, Sigma Chi International Fraternity, along with other Greek-letter organizations and plain- tiffs, filed parallel lawsuits against Harvard University in federal and state courts in re- sponse to the school's policy blacklisting students who choose to join single-sex orga- nizations, regardless of whether those orga- nizations are recognized by Harvard. In the article, 70th Grand Consul Tommy Ged- dings, South Carolina 1985, noted, "This is an untenable example of overreaching insti- tutional policy and Sigma Chi has chosen to 'Stand Up To Harvard' to fight for the rights of our men, as well as students everywhere who find great value in the experience pro- vided by a single-sex organization."

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