(Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from Alpha Epsilon Pi CEO Rob Derdiger’s report to AEPi’s Supreme Council last week. Supreme Council is the annual business meeting of the fraternity and is attended by delegations from each chapter and colony, Past Supreme Masters, AEPi volunteers and, of course, the Supreme Board of Governors.)

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On March 7, 2024, I sat in a hospital room holding my newborn son. My wife was fast asleep in her hospital bed and the baby was getting fussy. I rocked him in my arms and began to sing an old Yiddish lullaby, one which I sang to my daughter just as it was sung to me as a child.

Oyfn pripetchik brent a fayerl,
Un in shtub iz heys,
Un der rebe lernt kleyne kinderlekh,
Dem alefbeys.

The song is about a teacher who is urging his students to learn Hebrew. As I softy sang the fourth and fifth verse, my baby had fallen asleep. I heard the words and, realizing what they mean, tears streamed down my face.

The song translates to mean:

When you grow older, you will understand for yourself
How much pain and lament lies in these letters,

When you endure our years of suffering and bear the Exile, you will be exhausted,
May you derive strength from these letters, whose message is for all to share.

As I sat there singing, it had been five months since the October 7 attack. Five months of being strong, of writing, of organizing, of speaking, and of watching our undergraduates endure. As I sang those words, emotion took over in a moment I will never forget.

Yet another generation — your generation — now understands for yourselves how much pain can be involved in the perpetuation of our people. But more importantly, you have learned how to endure. I held my son in my arms knowing that he, too, in time, will come to know this truth.

Everyone in this room (at this convention) likely had a moment like this one sometime over the last nine months. I share mine because I want to make sure that we all share. The alternative of internalizing our suffering is catastrophic to our health as individuals and as a people. We may have to bear pain and exile, but we do not have to bear it alone. AEPi men are especially well equipped to derive strength not only from the wisdom of our people, but also from each other.

Last year at Supreme Council I spoke about how antisemitism continues to rise on college campuses and is exhibited in both overt and systemic ways. I had no idea how prophetic those words would be, and I am proud that AEPi was aware and as well positioned as possible to react when campuses exploded with hate after 10/7.

We had developed proactive advocacy efforts and a tracking and reporting system for campus incidents. We had developed and launched resources for students, parents, campus safety offices, Greek life staff, and DEI officers. In our basic AEPi.edu course over 2,500 of our brothers each year learned basic situational awareness and antisemitism preparedness. Today, every undergraduate member of our fraternity has taken that training.

Even more importantly, AEPi has done what it has always done: we develop Jewish Leadership. And, because we do that tirelessly and tenaciously you – our undergraduate Brothers — were all prepared to mobilize as leaders and do the right things. Nobody had to call you and tell you to bring community together, to hold vigils, to show pride and solidarity, to fundraise, or to engage with your communities. You did it because you were prepared to do it.

THIS IS WHAT SETS AEPi APART.

As an international organization we have brought a unique value proposition to the Jewish people as our community’s foremost and most engaged expert in student affairs. Not only are we bringing resources to our students through AEPi’s ARC (Antisemitism Response Center), but we are also engaging in grassroots efforts with student affairs administrators through their own trade organizations. We give them training and resources. We are engaged with departments such as student conduct, campus activities, Greek life, campus ministries, multicultural services and alumni programs. We are also engaging with general counsels, campus police and university insurance carriers. No other Jewish organization is doing this.

But despite our work I grow increasingly concerned.

I have never been more dismayed at the state of higher education. Many universities have failed at their baseline academic mandate. Teaching critical thinking and ensuring a space for rigorous fact-based debate is the central tenant of academics. In that process, one should hear viewpoints which they disagree with or even that they find offensive. But there are rules of engagement in academia that allow all viewpoints to be heard and a mandate for them to be defended with facts. When handled appropriately, it brings greater knowledge and understanding to all sides of an argument. It helps us to see the gray areas in our world rather than everything as black and white.

Do not mistake screaming on the quad, blocking access to buildings or pathways, singling out students, segregating some from participation, harassment, or physical assault as academia. IT IS NOT! We need to continuously send the message that failure to maintain academic decorum is a failure of an academic institution.

To that end, it is important to fight for our campuses and send this message, but it is also important to make sure we are not distracted by the noise in our environment. The work that you do within your community matters.

Your social outreach to hundreds of thousands of students in your communities moves the needle on antisemitism, likely more so than any other Jewish organization on campus today. We know that building your Jewish identity, gaining social skills, succeeding academically and professionally, and serving your community are critically important. While some scream on the quad, you should build relationships and build yourselves into the strongest Jewish and Zionist leaders the world has ever known. Keep playing the long game by investing in yourselves and your chapters.

Operate your chapter in a way that helps you to grow as a leader and that serves our Jewish student population.

Over the last few years, I have also been increasingly concerned about the great political divides in our countries. I am dismayed that there appears to be little ability from current political leaders to listen to the sides that they disagree with, to empathize, to sympathize, and to come together. The Jewish community has not been immune from this divisiveness.

AEPi is an apolitical organization that welcomes members with divergent political views. As such, this year will inevitably be one that challenges us to remain committed to brotherly love rather than succumbing to external forces that may divide us. There are men in this room that are Democrats and Republicans and Independents. Members of Liberal Party, Conservative Party or New democratic. There are those that support Likud, Yesh Atid, National Unity, and many others.

I stand before you with a request. As our nations enter new political cycles, I am asking AEPi men to set an example for others to follow. We can debate policy without devolving into hatred of one another. We can study, learn, and debate together while trying to bend toward each other rather than farther away. We can belong to the same fraternity, socialize, and be friends while holding divergent political philosophies. AEPi can and will continue to lead the Jewish community and our nations with a shining example of unity and civility even when our national leaders do not seem to lead in this regard.

I want to celebrate a few of numbers which demonstrate the amazing work that our undergraduates have accomplished over the last academic year.

In the 2023-24 academic year, our chapters:

• Held 14,400 campus programs including:
  • 3,500 Jewish and Israel programs
  • 332 civic engagement programs
  • 1,346 programs focusing on wellness
  • 2,693 that focused on academics and professional development
  • 904 that focused on service and philanthropy
  • And, of course, 2,901 social events!
• Recruited more than 2,500 men and gave them the opportunity to access all that AEPi can bring to their life.
• Raised more than $1 million for philanthropic causes
• Contributed 55,000 hours of community service, meaning that in the last year, our Brothers provided 6.28 YEARS of service.

But these aggregate numbers are just indicators of something even greater. Each and every one of us — from young to old — grew and matured. Brothers gained leadership experience through their roles on our boards, chapter e-board as committee chairmen and committee members.  Relationships have been forged, lessons have been learned, experiences had, and memories created all of which will last a lifetime.

Brothers, I want to end this report with a bit of gratitude. I want to recognize the members of AEPi’s staff. These are the amazing individuals who I have the pleasure of working with each day. These individuals are the best in the business and my report today is only as a humble spokesman for my amazing team. THANK YOU

I also want to thank the volunteers who toil on behalf of AEPi.  The SBG, PSMs, the RGs, the Chapter advisers, the board members of our foundation and housing entities AND those that just do the work quietly and without a title. It is our mutual helpfulness which is the engine of AEPi.  Thank you from AEPi and thank you from me.

And last but not least, I want to thank our undergraduate members. L’Dor V’ador from generation to generation. You are the reason for AEPi to exist, the lifeblood of our fraternity. It is an honor and privilege to serve the fraternity as its Chief Executive Officer; to work alongside all of you making AEPi even better and the Jewish community even stronger.