Triggered by what multiple sources said was an alleged physical confrontation at a Kappa Sigma party last month, the Judicial Review Board of the Interfraternity Council held a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The hearing was closed and JRB met in multiple locations over a two day period, starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Flint Hills Room of the Memorial. When the building closed at 10 p.m., the board relocated to a meeting room on the fourth floor of William Allen White Library until 11 p.m. when the library closed. JRB met again yesterday at 9 p.m. in a Towers Complex Conference room and adjourned after about 45 minutes.

Joseph Marten, junior and chief justice of JRB, refused to comment on anything that was discussed but did say that the board had made its decision, though he would not say what it was. It must be sent in writing to both of the parties involved within five days.

After that, any appeals will be handled by the Appellate Board, which consists of Jason Bosch, assistant director of student involvement for Greek life, Assistant Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Lynn Hobson, and IFC President Cody Pritchard, senior secondary mathematics education major.

Three confidential sources said the JRB hearing was taking place because there had been confrontation between a student who attended a party at Kappa Sigma and a member of Kappa Sigma. The student was allegedly asked to leave and refused.

Two eyewitnesses said when they entered the party, they had to sign in, show their ID and were marked because they are underage. They both noted a “black list,” which held the names of people who were not allowed in the party.

The student who was later escorted out was on the “black list,” said Kyle Lococo, president of Kappa Sigma. He refused further comment on the party or the hearing.

It is unclear whether the disciplinary action is targeted at the student, a Kappa Sigma Member or the entire Kappa Sigma fraternity. All parties refused comment.

One eyewitness said underage drinking did not occur at the party, while another said it did. However, both agreed that alcohol was a factor. They also agreed that there was confrontation as the student was asked to leave the party.

“(The student) threw a huge fit, (his or her) arms were flailing and (he or she) was kicking and was like ‘no, no, no, I don’t have to leave,’ and then finally they calmed (him or her) down and (the student) said ‘fine, I’ll go,’” said an eyewitness who testified at the hearing. “They were walking up the stairs and I don’t really know what happened on the stairwell.”

Another eyewitness at the party noted the same incident.

“(The student) had been asked to leave and didn’t at first,” said the eyewitness. “So they tried to lead (him or her) upstairs and (he or she) was all twisting and turning and then it turned into a huge confrontation in the staircase and you could kind of hear it and then they left and afterwards it got really quiet there were lots of whispers and no one could really tell what was going on for sure.”

Accounts of what happened on the stairwell varied, but all witnesses agreed that there was confrontation and two of them said it was physical.

The parties involved will receive the decision by the JRB in writing and from there will decide whether or not they would like the case to be reviewed by the Appellate Board. Lococo said he expects the process to extend over the next few weeks.

Send article as PDF to

Greek life is about being involved in the community, according to Ashley McCullough, Alpha Sigma Alpha president and senior communications major. Kappa Sigma President and junior history major Kyle Lococo says it’s about a bond that you form with your brothers in a fraternity.

“It’s more just like a choice that you make when you get here to join something more than just you in college and get away from the normal experience,” Lococo said.

McCullough said Alpha Sigma Alpha’s core values are generosity, growth, responsibility, enjoyment, relationships and learning balance and integrity.

“By keeping those in mind, it just really helps you to be an overall well rounded person and really caring of everybody else,” McCullough said.

There are 59 members in the sorority and McCullough said one of their goals right now is recruiting more girls. She said they are also focusing on encouraging members to get involved in more activities and keeping a strong sisterhood.

The sorority had its district convention in Kansas City this past weekend and some of the girls participated in the Polar Bear Plunge to support Special Olympics on Feb. 20. Alpha Sigma Alpha is also participating in the Lyon County Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society on April 23.

“(Relay for Life) is a fundraiser for the Cancer Society and we have a team called the ‘hard working hippies’ and we just raise money and then we walk from 5 p.m. until 6 in the morning, just to raise awareness and help support the cancer association,” McCullough said.

Freshman English major Katie Galliart said she joined Alpha Sigma Alpha even though she wasn’t sure about being involved in the Greek system. She said the girls were very welcoming and when she walked into the house “it felt like home.”

“I’d seen a lot of TV shows and movies and I was like I don’t know about sororities and stuff but I went over to the house and everybody just seemed really nice,” Galliart said.

Lococo said that Kappa Sigma’s core values center around serving the community. He said it’s important to help out because the fraternity wants to give back to those that help them.

“These are people that we actually spend time with that help us, that help out the community and make sure that this campus continues to run, so we want to give back to them and help them out as best as we can,” Lococo said.

The fraternity gave carnations to the elderly on Valentine’s Day and they are going to Village Elementary School on Monday to play dodge ball and hang out with the kids.

Lococo said the boys are also working to stop the Emporia School Board from making cuts to the music program.

“We’re having a showing at the hearing to try and to show them that even though it’s meant for the elementary schools that the kids of this campus aren’t going to stand for it,” Lococo said. “We feel like those kids need the right education. Even those of us who aren’t specifically in the music program feel that that’s a huge part of their education and they should be allowed to get that the right way.”

Lococo said athletics are important to Kappa Sigma. He said one of the fraternity’s goals is to win a sports championship yearly.

“We’re big into the sports, we compete in (Intrafraternity Council) sports and we usually win that every year,” said Jake Winkler, Kappa Sigma treasurer and sophomore pre-physical therapy major.

Lococo said some other goals they have are to improve their GPA and do more community service than is required.

Lococo said he got involved with Greek life because he came to Emporia not knowing many people. He said when he went to the house for the first time, he connected with everyone.

“Everyone had the same interests I did, did the same kind of stuff I did, and then just getting to know those guys just created a great bond,” Lococo said.

Send article as PDF to