Sigma Chi Only Trying to Help

To the editors:

The Brothers of Sigma Chi are deeply saddened that helping first-years move in, something conceived of entirely as a service to the Harvard community, could provoke such a negative reaction from the administration (News, Sept. 14).

When asked to leave the Yard, the students helping at move-in volunteered to remove their shirts with Greek letters so that they could continue assisting the first-years and their families. The administration was not amenable to this solution.

The fraternity and its members have cooperated to the fullest with the deans and have been nothing but open to a dialogue with the University. We invite the administration to express their concerns to us directly rather than attempting to publicly discredit our organization, about which they have limited knowledge.

By helping first-years and their families, we sought to fill a need we saw in the move-in process and bring our service efforts to the Harvard community. This was in keeping with Sigma Chi's strong tradition of service to the Cambridge area, a tradition that keeps us working alongside College-affiliated organizations and which, in 1996, earned us the highest recognition for service from the City of Cambridge, the Mack I. Davis award.

It is also the acknowledgement of our dedication to that mission which has inspired our international organization to install, honor and recognize our chapter despite its lack of University recognition.

While we understand the College's desire not to recognize us as a student organization, we do not see the merit of the clause concerning "connection with outside organizations" in the Undergraduate Organizations Statement of Policy in the Handbook for Students--a regulation used to preclude our recognition by the College.

Still, we accept the will of the administration and will continue to do our best to enrich the undergraduate experience as a non-affiliated organization. Efforts by students to increase the sense of community on campus should not be politicized and dismissed as self-serving. For 45 minutes early Saturday morning, a handful of students tried to fill a need that they saw in their school and to engender a sense of community here at Harvard. OBIORA I. MENKITI '99   Consul, Kappa Eta Chapter of Sigma Chi   Sept. 14, 1998