Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ) is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South. Its national headquarters, the Levere Memorial Temple, was established next to the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in 1926. The fraternity's mission statement is "To promote the highest standards of friendship, scholarship, and service for our members throughout life." The fraternity has chapters and emerging chapters in 50 states and provinces as of 2011. Sigma Alpha Epsilon had eleven deaths linked to drinking, drugs and hazing between 2006 and 2013, more than any other Greek organization in the United States according to data compiled by Bloomberg. During the 2010s, at least 18 Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapters were suspended, closed, or banned. In March 2014, the fraternity announced that it was eliminating the tradition of pledging following these deaths and other hazing incidents.