The members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity are writing you concerning the editorial written in Friday’s Daily Campus titled “It’s Not An Isolated Incident.” More importantly, we are writing you concerning our friend Jacob Stiles. Nobody has been more affected by the passing of Jake than the members of SAE, and it is extremely disappointing to see so much ignorance and misinformation filling the pages of our campus newspaper.
We lost a friend and a brother, and none of us will forget the positive impact he had on all our lives. It was a terrible surprise for many and a sad reminder of an underlying problem that SMU and many colleges have struggled with for years. Nobody wants to see this problem fixed more than the members of SAE. No organization should have to lose a member to drug- and alcohol-related issues. This fraternity is doing everything in its power to ensure that no SMU student will ever make the same mistake again.
Our fraternity has mourned together, laughed, cried, and most importantly remembered Jake. More than half our members skipped exams and flew up to Chicago to pay our respects to his family. Any member of the fraternity will tell you that accusing SAE of “ignoring the matter altogether” couldn’t be further from the truth. Since Jake’s passing, our fraternity implemented a strict zero-tolerance policy on drugs. We are in the process of an extensive member review. SAE will also remember Jake through numerous philanthropic events in an effort to bring awareness to this campus-wide problem.
Please realize that Jake’s death is still a very sensitive subject for many people in our house and on campus. We felt last Friday’s article had an accusatory and antagonistic tone. In response, we do not want this to become a volley of ill sentiment. There has been enough pain and enough heartache. Our fraternity wants to continue in a positive way. We want to hold our heads high and make SAE into something Jake would continue to be proud of.
In the spirit of moving forward, we are proud of our new pledge class. We have made it a priority to ensure that our new members know the importance of not abusing drugs and alcohol. We stress this point to them every day. More than anything, we feel that SAE is part of a community. Everyone on campus should be a part of our movement forward from this unfortunate event. Jake is a living memory for us. We think about him every day.
Every organization on this campus faces the same challenges. This is not just a Greek problem. Certainly, it is not just an SAE problem either. As a student body, we can make great strides in irradiating this problem, but it falls on the shoulders of each student and faculty member at this school. SAE has grown together and learned a lot through this tragedy. You can be assured that Jacob Stiles will never be “a vague memory” to any of us.
Members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon