37th Conclave • August 14-17, 1981 • New Orleans, LA

The eighties began on a high note for SigEp. At the 1981 Conclave, Grand Treasurer Frank Ruck could report that the fraternity had a “positive liquidity position (i.e., more cash on hand than claims on cash) for the first time since the mid-sixties.” SigEp was becoming more and more financially stable and SigEps were prospering across the globe. During the 1981 Conclave, SigEp had members flying with the navy’s Blue Angels, network correspondents with ABC’s “World News Tonight,” outstanding Baseball and Football stars and Olympic contenders. But, along with success came excess. Drinking and hazing were reaching new levels of destructiveness. Eileen Stevens spoke at this years Conclave about how her son died from alcohol poisoning while pledging another fraternity. SigEp would continue to fight hazing and would initiate several innovative programs to build better leaders in the years which would follow.