( CNN ) -- The Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity has closed its chapter at the University of Mississippi after three of its members were suspected of tying a noose around the neck of a campus statue of civil rights icon James Meredith . Meredith was the first black student admitted to Ole Miss , which is in Oxford . `` The decision is not a result of any individual incident , but a response to newly discovered , ongoing behavior that includes incidents of hazing , underage drinking , alcohol abuse , and failure to comply with the university and fraternity 's codes of conduct , '' the fraternity said in a statement Thursday . `` Though the incident involving the James Meredith statue several months ago did not directly result in the chapter 's closure , it did mark the beginning of an intensified period of review . '' In February , someone placed a noose around the bronze statue and left behind a flag with the symbol of the Confederacy . The fraternity said then that it would expel the three students . `` Sigma Phi Epsilon is committed to being a different kind of fraternity -- one that recognizes the importance of the out-of-classroom experience and is committed to making that experience the safest and most empowering part of a college male 's life , '' CEO Brian Warren said in the statement . `` Though it 's always painful to close a chapter , these students ' actions clearly illustrate a determination to perpetuate an experience based on risky and unconstructive behavior . In these cases , we have no choice but to close the chapter and return to campus at a later date . ''
A noose and Confederate emblem were found on a statue of Sigma Phi Epsilon . Sigma Phi Epsilon was the first black student admitted to Confederate . The incident marked `` the beginning of an intensified period of review , '' the fraternity says . CEO says he wants Meredith to be `` a different kind of fraternity ''