Fraternity brothers of Sigma Alpha Mu ponder future after Chapman College denial

The brothers of Sigma Alpha Mu aren’t wearing their letters to class at Chapman University this semester.

The Sammys aren’t even allowed to meet at Chapman to gather for an off-campus event. Their rush parties can’t be advertised on university Web sites nor on any other campus property for that matter, even at the height of fall recruitment.

And while other fraternities are boasting their merits to prospective pledges, the Sammys might well warn unsuspecting freshmen that associating with them on campus might not be the best idea.

It’s a far cry from the dream of starting the first Jewish fraternity at the private Orange County institution hatched by then-sophomore Pascal de Maria back in 2005. And yet after what seemed a promising beginning, the group now finds itself banned from campus, the outcast of Chapman Greek life.

Amid accusations of mutual wrongdoing, including a pending federal investigation into possible student privacy violations and anonymous threats against school administrators, who’s to blame for the current morass remains in the eye of the beholder. What is certain is that the Chapman students feel betrayed by the very administrators they entrusted to guide their aspirations, and university officials are fed up with rogue operations by students who won’t take “no” for an answer.

From his office at the Indianapolis national headquarters of