Written by Sarah J Kyle
Administrators disbanded Seminoles men’s social club Wednesday afternoon after determining that members “engaged in inappropriate behavior and activities that violated the university’s student code of conduct,” according to a university statement.
Student Life officials said university policy does not allow them to release names or details of the alleged misconduct.
The club this year was unable to perform the traditional “Seminole Stomp,” a choreographed routine that members perform on the Friday night of Club Week. The Student Life Office did not disclose why the stomp was canceled.
Zach Neal, assistant dean of students, said this year’s Seminoles inductees will be given the opportunity to join another club.
“We have high expectations for our students and are always disappointed when some of our students choose not to follow the university’s code of conduct,” Neal said. “We are planning to work with the newest members to give them the opportunity to be a part of another social club on campus.”
Kappa Sigma Kappa men’s social club was the last club to be disbanded at the university. The decision came Nov. 15, 2005, after an anonymous source reported club conduct violations. There were no legal ramifications for club members.
Perhaps the most well-known case of Harding social club disbandment was the 1982 disbanding of the Mohicans men’s social club after Lynne O’Neal III, an inductee from Portland, Ore., allegedly received a permanent “M”-shaped scar.
O’Neall claimed the scar was a result of a Mohican member painting an “M” on each inductee’s chest with a silver nitrate mixture. O’Neall and his family sued the university and two Mohicans members for $25,000 and medical expenses.
According to the Harding University social club handbook, disbandment of a club occurs for “high-handed and repeat offenders, despite disciplinary warnings.”
