On Thursday, October 29, Sigaween partygoer eyewitnesses experienced a night they may never forget.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of paying exorbitant amounts to attend a frat party in this city (a group that does not include yours truly, but has my sympathies) is well aware of the infamous pepper spray incident this past Halloweekend. For the unaware, the Columbia chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sig Ep) hosted a Halloween party, termed Sigaween, on the evening of Thursday, October 29 in a Midtown club known as Nexo NYC. Hired security allegedly sprayed pepper spray into the crowd of hopeful attendees and was subsequently arrested by the authorities.

One Bwog Staffer noted that the environment of the crowd was chaotic and rowdy, with many people in line pushing. Sig Ep brothers reportedly asked prospective attendees to form two separate lines, and she estimated that there were at least 100 people waiting to be let in. She heard one male-presenting individual in line address the security guard in question by saying “Fuck you” prior to the pepper spraying, which she witnessed personally. “People in the front row got really bad[ly] injur[ed] and a lot of people got tripped and [fell],” she said. She also stated she saw girls pushed to the ground by security guards. 

A Junior in Bwog from Columbia College and another female attendee were about 20 people away from the entrance when “people around [them] started pushing and yelling about some sort of altercation closer to the entrance.” They did not personally witness the pepper spraying, but “felt a burning sensation in [their] throats” and the CC Junior “heard others around [them] saying they got it sprayed directly in their eyes. After that happened, more yelling and pushing ensued and the security guards for the venue insisted that no one else would be let into the party that night.” The other attendee said their friend instructed them to close their eyes, turn around, and not breathe in immediately after the spraying took place. Many people left after this, but she continued to wait in line afterwards. She was eventually told by security that she would not be let in because the venue was already at capacity, even though she had purchased a ticket. 

Sig Ep addressed the incident in text messages, included below, that were sent to ticket-holders the following afternoon. They stated they were “appalled and apologetic” and offered refunds to those affected. “The security guard responsible was arrested by the NYPD and we are actively pursuing action against the security company,” they wrote.

However, some students have not received refunds. Our first eyewitness paid $50 for the pleasure and was not refunded. The female attendee paid $32 for an early ticket, but saw that prices rose to $100 on the day of the event. She attempted to request a refund when she first received the texts through the Posh app, as Sig Ep indicated, but was unable to do so due to an error in the app claiming there was a high volume of refund requests. She made another attempt on November 5. She was able to get a refund by November 8, but only after asking a member of Sig Ep through multiple degrees of connection. 

Despite all three parties having purchased tickets to the Sigaween event, none were able to enter. It is not currently known what became of the alleged pepper sprayer or the legal proceedings against the security company. Sig Ep did not respond to Bwog’s request for further comment.

Header via Wikimedia Commons

Sig Ep text messages via a Bwog Junior in CC