Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) received its charter from the national organization at a banquet held on March 5 at Envie Restaurant and Oyster Bar. The charter gives SAE full membership in the national organization and allows them to be a part of Greek life at Nicholls.”They have met the requirements set forth by not only their national organization, but also the University to become full members of SAE,” Rina Clarke, Greek life coordinator, said.

University officials attending the banquet made comments about SAE receiving their charter, describing the difficulties involved in reaching that status. “This was really an uphill battle for them,” Judy Daniels, student life dean, said. “This fraternity was not one that the other fraternities felt like they wanted to invite on our campus.” Daniels believes that with the addition of SAE to Nicholls Greek life, the other fraternities have to work harder in order to compete with SAE.

The comments also complimented the members of SAE on their achievements. “Greek Life, especially on the men’s side, has significantly improved,” Daniels said. “They (SAE) helped to improve the quality in the other fraternities on our campus.”

According to Eugene Dial, vice president for student affairs, SAE had to meet requirements set by the University. “We have two requirements at Nicholls,” Dial said. “Whoever comes in has to be part of a national organization.”

The chapter must also continue year after year. “It was evident that the chapter (SAE) would continue long after the current members graduate,” Dial said. Dial attributes this to the strength of SAE. “The strength of this chapter has been the diversity of the men who have been building the chapter,” Dial said.

David Vicknair is happy to see that their goal has been achieved. “We had work towards this (charter) for 14 months,” Vicknair said. “To finally reach our goals and get to a point no one thought we could feels pretty good.”

The 33 members of SAE at Nicholls were presented at the banquet with shingles, which are given only to official members of the organization. The officers were also officially installed.

SAE becomes the first ISC fraternity to be chartered at Nicholls in over 15 years. “The last ISC fraternity on campus was chartered in 1989,” Clarke said. That fraternity was Theta Xi.

In order to become chartered with SAE, a chapter has to recruit approximately 15-20 members. These members must have a grade point average of 2.2 or higher. If a chapter completes these requirements within a year and a half, that chapter is eligible to become chartered.