U of A fraternities put on probation, fined over hazing claims

Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Delta Theta also must pay fines of $25 per fraternity member and conduct hazing awareness workshops, among other measures, the school said.

Sigma Phi Epsilon, which was placed on probation on Wednesday, was put on “activities suspension” over a month ago and investigated for allegedly subjecting its new members to sleep deprivation, forced alcohol consumption, “kidnapping” and forced calisthenics.

Phi Delta Theta, which received a letter that it was being placed on probation on June 5, was investigated for allegedly subjecting its new members to “forced alcohol consumption, degradation, humiliation, hazing, and other threatening and endangering behaviors” in the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters.

Both the fraternities’ probationary periods will last till May 31, 2027. During this period, any violation of the student code of conduct could lead to “further disciplinary action” and possibly a “loss of recognition.”

This brings the number of UA fraternities placed on probation to five. There are 50 fraternities and sororities at UA.

Neither Sigma Phi Epsilon nor Phi Delta Theta responded to the Star's attempt to get comment.

UA expects every recognized fraternity and sorority to “uphold high standards for academic success and responsible conduct,” said the school's spokesperson, Mitch Zak. He said the fraternities and sororities hold training and prevention programs, including “Wildcats Don't Haze” and “mandatory hazing prevention education for new members, and campuswide awareness initiatives” where students are encouraged to report potential misconduct.

“The vast majority of our fraternities and sororities reflect the university’s values. Their members contribute thousands of hours of community service, support charitable causes, develop leadership skills, and make meaningful contributions on campus and throughout the Tucson community,” Zak said. 

Over the spring, two other UA fraternities — Sigma Chi and Sigma Alpha Mu — also received letters from the UA’s Dean of Students’ Office, in which the Dean of Students’ Office placed them on an “interim loss of recognition” pending the results of a UA investigation.

Sigma Chi was alleged to have provided alcohol as well as drugs, knowingly or unknowingly, to UA students at two separate events on April 2 and April 11, the office said.

Sigma Alpha Mu was accused of subjecting new members to hazing practices that resulted in burns from hot liquids, forced consumption of alcohol, alcohol poisoning and blackouts. Some of the members were also hospitalized due to these activities, the UA letter said.

After conducting investigations into Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Delta Theta’s activities, Whitney Mohr, a senior coordinator in the dean of students' office, said she found it “more likely than not” that their activities violated the Arizona Board of Regents’ student code of conduct by:

• endangering, threatening, or causing physical harm to a UA member;

• violating the board’s and the university’s rules regarding alcohol consumption, distribution, unauthorized sale or possession of alcoholic beverages; and,

• engaging in, supporting, promoting, or sponsoring hazing.

According to the letters, the two fraternities will be conducting hazing awareness workshops and training for their members as well as for the larger fraternity and UA community. Sigma Phi Epsilon needs to hold this workshop before Dec. 11, and Phi Delta Theta by Sept. 23.

The fraternities are also to hold monthly meetings with a representative from their main headquarters throughout the 2026-27 academic year.

And, Sigma Phi Epsilon will be conducting an organizational membership review to ensure that “all members are meeting expectations and exhibiting values consistent with the organization and the university.” And at the beginning of every semester, the Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Corporation will pay for a speaker to come in who will focus on alcohol and drug awareness.

The monetary penalty for Sigma Phi Epsilon is $3,975, $25 each for its 159 members, and Phi Delta Theta is $4,150, also $25 each for its 166 members.

Mohr’s letter said the investigation into Sigma Phi Epsilon, which included a confidential survey with its members, confirmed there are continued instances where members are asked to perform calisthenics, which is a form of strength training where the individual uses their own body weight and gravity as resistance to perform full-body exercises.

The investigation also showed that there was one isolated instance of forced alcohol consumption in fall 2025.

However, the allegations of new members being kidnapped, sleep deprivation or a requirement to sleep at the chapter house, or the use of illegal drugs couldn’t be substantiated by any evidence throughout the investigation.

Phi Delta Theta said that while the fraternity was being held responsible for violating the student code of conduct in fall 2024, there have been no allegations of hazing-related conduct since then until the president received notice this spring from the Dean of Students’ Office.

The president also said their fraternity doesn’t tolerate any drug use and doesn’t have any knowledge of any members, new and old, of using drugs.

In response to the forced alcohol consumption allegations, Phi Delta Theta shared that it is a “dry house,” and the only alcohol consumption that happens is at registered off-campus events. The president also said the allegation that the fraternity’s new members were required to steal were untrue, even though there were other theft-related issues.

According to surveys conducted for Phi Delta Theta, new members said they were required to report to the chapter houses “with little or no notice,” were “yelled at by active members” and were required to “perform calisthenics” upon requests or as punishment.

New and active members reiterated the president’s statements that the fraternity was mostly a “dry house,” but said the members older than 21 years old kept alcohol at the chapter house and there was at least one occasion where alcohol was available as part of the new member experience, irrespective of the age of the members.

The members also aligned with the president’s statements on hazing allegations and how they’d changed since fall 2024 until the recent spring investigation.

However, there was no confirmation that there was any drug use as part of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.