Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a national fraternity that was founded at the University of Alabama, announced permanent cancellation of pledgeship programs in its chapters across the country. SAE has been deemed the nation's "most deadly" fraternity after at least 10 deaths over the past decade. (UA's SAE chapter house/Wikimedia Commons

Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of the largest college fraternities in the nation, announced unprecedented moves to eliminate pledgeship and initiation in all of its chapters after at least 10 deaths have been linked to hazing, alcohol and drugs at chapter events, Bloomberg News reports.

In a statement on their website, SAE officials called it a "historic decision" that will eliminate pledgeship and the designation of "pledge" -- what initiated brothers call new members -- altogether. SAE says the new rules will be effective Sunday, March 9.

The statement notes that the "concept of pledging" did not exist in the fraternity's original Ritual and Constitution when it was founded at the University of Alabama in 1856. The chapter is now based in Evanston, Ill.

In December, Bloomberg News reported SAE is one of the deadliest fraternities in the country, with members paying some of the highest costs for liability insurance and 15 chapters facing suspension and closure since 2011.

In the extensive statement posted on the site, SAE poses more than 25 hypothetical questions chapters and members might have, including "Are you making this change because of bad publicity?"

"The bad publicity Sigma Alpha Epsilon has received is challenging and regretful because we know that some of our groups have great new-member (pledge) programs and do the right thing," the site reads. "At the same time, we have experienced a number of incidents and deaths, events with consequences that have never been consistent with our membership experience. Furthermore, we have endured a painful number of chapter closings as a result of hazing. Research shows that hazing, which hides in the dark, causes members to lie."

SAE will now implement something called "The True Gentlemen Experience," which is titled after their historic creed. Chapters can extend bids to fellow students, who will almost immediately become members if they accept, as opposed to waiting out a lengthy pledgeship process.

According to the statement, SAE believes the changes won't adversely affect recruitment at all.

In fact, SAE say the recruitment changes should not be a deterrent to any chapters "attracting the right type of man."

"Feedback has shown us that prospective members fail to join fraternities because they do not want to be hazed, assaulted, abused or bullied in order to 'earn' membership," the statement reads. "Those perceptions started when fraternities deviated from their original intent and as a result of decades of incidents that have given the Greek-letter system a tarnished, stereotypical reputation."

Though SAE is currently one of the only major organizations to take such drastic steps, the U.S. fraternity system as a whole has faced the spotlight recently with more than 60 fraternity related deaths since 2005, Bloomberg reports.

In October 2012, UA suspended then cancelled pledgeship for every Interfraternity Council chapter on campus, after university officials received specific allegations of hazing in at least seven houses.

No changes have been made to UA's pledgeship rules or procedures, though.