“Oh, my god. This person’s a part of the University of Puget Sound humanology branch. So you couldn’t get into a real fraternity? That’s why you got recruited into this place. How’s your 110 hours a week and $47 a week allowance? How’s that going for you? They monitor everything you do. Yeah, what a fucking cult. What a fucking cult.”
These remarks were directed at a member of the University’s Sigma Chi chapter. They were made by Joseph Freeman, who operates the account @streetreactionclipsla on Instagram. The confrontation was posted Oct. 1 and has since garnered over 60,000 views online. It covers Freeman’s second consecutive day on campus.
Freeman, known more commonly by his previous TikTok account names @sigmachicritic and @ihatesigmachi or simply as the “Sigma Chi Guy”, has made a name for himself by visiting Sigma Chi chapters on campuses across the nation, focusing especially on West Coast colleges. He visited Puget Sound in early March 2026, Sept. 30, Oct. 1, and Oct. 15 to record content. In his videos, he yells at Sigma Chi fraternity members and accuses them of being associated with Scientology, rapists, and human trafficking.
Sigma Chi fraternity member Henry Bernhardt (‘28) said he was harassed by Freeman during an incident earlier this month. “I was walking back to the house with my girlfriend, and he was shouting at us and saying, ‘Look at these religious people.’ And then as we were walking in, he was like, ‘Everybody in Sigma Chi is unattractive, and they couldn’t get into a real fraternity,’” Bernhardt recounted.
University of Puget Sound Sigma Chi President, Mateo Magalhaes (‘29), says despite the harassment, the fraternity members were originally excited to see Freeman visit campus. “He’s become a celebrity for us. Like, whenever he comes by, everyone gets really excited, and they’re like, ‘Oh my god! He’s here! He’s here!’” However, this excitement soured as Freeman made increasingly negative and threatening comments during his visit to campus this fall.
“I know he called a fellow Sigma Chi a racial slur repeatedly. And I know he made a threat to another brother about finding his parents and telling them that or telling their bosses that their kid is part of this cult,” Bernhardt said. “I don’t think it really affected us negatively until he called one of our members a slur. That was too far. Before he was just kind of annoying and funny, but after that, it’s like okay, this is not that funny anymore,” said Magalhaes. The harassment extended beyond students, with Freeman yelling at University staff. Sarah Comstock, Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs, shared, “He threatened one of our staff members, said that he would go to their home and find them.”
Freeman’s harassment and threatening statements towards Puget Sound community members follow a years-long documented criminal history. On May 23, 2024, a lawsuit was brought against Freeman and his previous employer, American Airlines Group, Inc., for engaging in “a campaign to terrorize countless individuals.” Fourteen Plaintiffs sued Freeman because, according to the official Complaint for Damages and Jury Demand from the District Court for the District of Connecticut, his actions caused them to believe: “Freeman could, and would, appear without warning and harm and/or kill the Plaintiffs, their friends, and their families. Using social media and other means, Freeman was able to create a dossier on the Plaintiffs and use their past trauma for his personal enjoyment.”A previous investigation into Freeman also found: “According to an L.A. Times Material review of court filings and police records in four states, as well as interviews with more than two dozen people, Freeman has left a trail of disturbing phone calls and relentless online intimidation that has played out off screen for at least six years”.
Despite the claims against him, Freeman has never ended up being criminally convicted for his behaviors. The airline lawsuit was dismissed due to missed deadlines and procedural mistakes, causing it to be denied without any review. The University, similarly, has struggled to deal with Freeman. “We did report him to TPD. The challenge, and I said this to the Dean of Students Council last week, when we were having a conversation about this individual, he very clearly knows his First Amendment rights. So as long as he stays on the public sidewalk, we don’t have a lot of leeway,” Comstock said.
Satisfaction with the University response to Freeman varies among students. Inter-Fraternity Council President Will Thatcher (‘27) shared that he is generally pleased with the response. “I’m pretty happy with it. Obviously here’s like a lot more that we wish could be done, but I think there is a certain level of understanding. Things take time,” Thatcher says. “The school and administration and security are working with a legal counsel on a more permanent or direct solution,” he added.
Magalhaes was less impressed with the University response. He was originally going to report the incident of Freeman calling a fraternity member a slur, but felt the University wasn’t listening to him. “So there was nothing they could do, and they just recommended we not engage with him, which is frustrating because nothing has been done by the University at all to stop this. They didn’t reach out to my member and ask if he needed any help or anything after the fact. They did absolutely nothing. I didn’t end up reporting it to Title IX just because I was so frustrated that nothing we have does anything. What’s the point of Title IX if it won’t do anything?” he said.
Despite differences in opinions on the University’s past response, there is a consensus on what the response to Freeman should be if he returns. “If he comes back, we will definitely react differently than how we have been. I think it’s just going to be full everyone inside, no communication. I just don’t want anyone to be endangered by this guy. You know, he could randomly decide to bring a gun, and then things would not be funny at all, right? I don’t want to put anyone at risk. I don’t want anyone to get harassed. So yeah, we’re gonna be barricaded inside,” Magalhaes said.
Comstock echoed Magalhaes’ sentiment, sharing that he is just on campus to seek attention and students should not engage with him. “If he doesn’t have an audience, he’s not going to stay here for very long. But the minute we engage, he feels emboldened to continue and continue yelling,” Comstock said. Dave Ferber, Director of Security Services, also recommended students avoid interacting with Freeman. “It is advised not to engage with this individual, as he is looking for people to comment or respond aggressively so he can publish the encounters on social media. Instead, individuals should go inside their Greek Life house or leave the area, and contact Security Services. Security Services is trained to de-escalate the situation and can notify proper authorities.”