What is Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the fraternity at the center of the viral Ohio State fire video?

The Ohio State University temporarily suspended its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter after a video seemingly showing two members on fire went viral.

A student, who was reporting the incident to police after viewing the video, said the two students were fraternity pledges, according to audio obtained by NBC News.

Ohio State said it was aware of the incident, which happened last Saturday, and was opening an investigation, and that those involved were receiving medical care.

The fraternity’s national organization said it was reviewing the matter and cooperating with university officials and police.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of the largest and oldest social fraternities in the US, has more than 200 active chapters, nearly 14,000 collegiate members, and 375,000 total initiates. It also raises millions of dollars for charity each year.

Here’s what we know about the 170-year-old fraternity.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded in 1856 at the University of Alabama

Founded in Tuscaloosa in 1856 by eight University of Alabama students — including Noble Leslie DeVotie, Abner Edwin Patton, and Samuel Marion Dennis — the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was built to “create a bond of brotherhood” among its young male members.

The organization is the only existing Greek fraternity founded in the Antebellum South. The stories of its founders are closely tied to the Civil War, including that of DeVotie, who served as a chaplain in the Confederate Army before dying shortly before the war began.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s colors are royal purple and gold, and its symbol is the lion, often depicted in statues outside chapter houses.

At Ohio State, Sigma Alpha Epsilon has 137 members as of the fall semester. Nationally, the fraternity has 209 chapters and over 13,900 collegiate members, according to its national organization.

The fraternity raises millions of dollars a year for charity

Today, the organization champions service and philanthropy as core pillars, and says its members have raised nearly $2.45 million and dedicated over 96,000 service hours since 2022.

It also raises money for men’s mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer, as well as for children’s pediatric care.

The fraternity’s Ohio State chapter participates in the school’s BuckeyeThon, a student-run philanthropic organization at OSU, and raises money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.

Some of the organization’s most notable members include novelist William Faulkner, NFL quarterback Troy Aikman, and US President William McKinley.

It has a history of disciplinary action

When it comes to disciplinary action, Sigma Alpha Epsilon has a history of reportedly heavy partying and hazing across its school chapters, some of which were detailed in a 2013 Bloomberg report.

In 2014, the fraternity announced it would be ending its member initiation practices after a string of reports of hazing-related deaths and incidents.

This is also not the Ohio State chapter’s first disciplinary action: The student newspaper, The Lantern, reported that the school’s fraternity chapter has been sanctioned by the university “at least seven times since 2001, not including the pending investigation,” the most recent being in 2021.

In a statement provided to the media after the viral fire video, the national fraternity’s CEO, Steve Mitchell, said its collegiate members are “self-governing.”

“However, all members of the Fraternal Association are expected to uphold our standards of conduct and accountability,” the statement continued. “Behavior that violates these standards has no place in our organization.”

What we know about the Ohio State incident

The Columbus Division of Police said in a statement that the incident appears to have occurred on a block near the university, with various fraternity chapter houses, on Saturday, when Ohio State hosted the University of Oregon for a football game.

The police said it did not receive any calls about the incident on the day it happened, but it received reports on Sunday after the video had circulated online.

“We are working with the Ohio State University, as well as the Columbus Division of Fire’s Arson Unit, to determine if any criminal acts occurred,” a spokesperson said.

The city fire department said that the men in the video had been privately transported to a local hospital and “remain in stable condition despite their burns,” the local ABC affiliate, WSYX, reported.

“Ohio State is committed to a safe and healthy environment and expects students and student organizations to uphold that commitment and the university’s values,” the university said.