Sac State orders Delta Chi fraternity to ‘cease and desist all activity’

Hazing investigation continues after second anonymous email claims to provide video evidence

Margherita Beale and Will Coburn

Sacramento State’s Delta Chi chapter has been ordered to cease and desist all activity as of Friday in the midst of a university investigation into allegations of hazing.

The decision came from Student Organizations & Leadership after a second anonymous email sent to The State Hornet included a video said to show the hazing of a current member of the university’s Delta Chi chapter.

According to the anonymous source, the video shows a current member of Delta Chi being “kidnapped” in 2017. The video shows a man gagged and bound on a table as others hold their cellphones and laugh.

The video comes after a previously emailed photo from the anonymous source caused the university to open an investigation into hazing in the Delta Chi fraternity.

RELATED: Video from anonymous source claims to show Sac State fraternity hazing ritual

Official logs show that Delta Chi was given a warning for hazing in 2015, which was the first year the chapter was allowed back on campus after a suspension for a rules violation that included hazing.

According to Beth Lesen, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Sac State, Sac State’s interim director for SO&L sent Delta Chi’s chapter president Andrew Vonwal a cease and desist letter Friday.

Sac State first saw the video on Friday after The State Hornet published it, Lesen said.

The anonymous sender sent the initial photo to The State Hornet and Sac State administration. The video was sent to The State Hornet and The Sacramento Bee.

In the cease and desist letter, the chapter was informed that they cannot operate as a student organization until further notice, Lesen said. This means that the chapter cannot conduct any fraternity-related business, including events and meetings, until the investigation is over.

RELATED: Investigation into Sac State fraternity continues

“Failure to abide by that order could result in the immediate removal of recognition from the University,” the university said in a statement.

According to Lesen, the fraternity is being “cooperative, forthright and responsive” with the investigation.

Lesen said that anyone with information about any allegations of impropriety is strongly encouraged to share that information so that the university can conduct as thorough of an investigation as possible.

Sac State asks that anyone with information on a possible act of hazing call Student Organizations & Leadership at (916) 278-6595.

As of press time, the university’s Delta Chi chapter has not responded to requests for comment.

In response to The State Hornet’s tweet, which included a screenshot of the anonymously sent video, former Delta Chi member Maroun Abiabdalla responded saying, “That’s from the war in syria (sic).”

This story was updated Feb. 24 to correct the spelling of Andrew Vonwal.

Sacramento State is investigating the university’s Delta Chi chapter after an anonymous tip detailed the fraternity’s alleged hazing practices. Have you or someone you know experienced hazing? Let us know in the survey below.