Chapter Chronicles
The latest updates from our chapters around the world. See what they’ve been up to since our last issue.
Appalachian State University (Mu Theta)
This year we received an award for being the Student Organization of the Year out of more than 400 student organizations at Appalachian State, both within and outside of the greek community. We also received the Collaboration Award, alongside Hillel, for our work on Two Days Against Hate, which was an event geared towards bringing the community together in a stance against hate. We also took the time to clean our local synagogue of the trash thrown by a nearby bar. In regards to philanthropy, we hosted Cones for a Cause, an event where we sell ice cream for philanthropy. Our newest member, Thomas Milden, organized a hot dog eating contest. We hosted RAVEPi, which raised more than $2,300 for AEPi’s Official Philanthropy Program (OPP). We received our charter on January 26 at South Conclave, hosted by the Omicron chapter at the University of Georgia. We collaborated with the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies and Hillel to host a Yom HaShoah program and We Walk to Remember. We hosted a blood drive with Chi Omega that gathered enough blood to save 100 lives. We also hosted a can and clothing drive with NPHC collecting more than 100 cans and numerous articles of clothing.
Binghamton University (Beta Nu)
Beta Nu is proud to announce that we have raised more than $13,000 for children’s cancer research. We did this at our fifth annual Rock-A-Thon event. The general idea is that we have a Brother sit in a chair for forty-eight continuous hours as a publicity stunt to encourage people to donate to cancer research. This year’s rocker was Brother Joseph Kirsch. Our motto is, “We rock, so one day they can too.” All proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation. While this event is a great way to help raise money, it’s also a bonding experience for both Greek Life and other college students. This year, we implemented a new and fun way to raise money by creating the #daringiscaring challenge. Brothers went around and dared other Brothers and random students to do silly things around campus and in return, that Brother pledged to donate a specified amount. For example, one of us was dared to eat ice cream off the ground for $45. While it was most certainly disgusting, it was more than worth it. It is events like these that make us #ProudtobeaPi.
California State University – Chico (Chi Eta)
Chi Eta chapter has been busy this year! After losing our class of founding fathers last year, we went hard on recruiting this year, and brought in 13 eager new Brothers to our order. We’ve also had a great partnership with Hillel and done a lot of Jewish programming with them, even having Brothers serve as president and vice president of the Hillel board. In an effort to shake things up, we’ve introduced McDonalds Minyans where we have McDonalds brought in, do a Shabbat morning service and have a great start to our weekends in a fun, Jewish way. For the last five years, we’ve put a lot of our time and attention into working towards affiliation with Chico State’s Interfraternity Council (IFC). On Wednesday, April 24, we were unanimously voted into IFC. We have the highest chapter GPA out of all 12 fraternities which sit on the council. So where do we go from here? This next year you’ll see Chi Eta hosting on-campus philanthropies, Greek Unity Shabbat dinners, moving into a new house and taking over IFC. The Jewish Fraternity at Chico State is just getting started, stay tuned.
California State University – Fullerton (Chi Phi)
During our fall rush in 2018, our chapter topped previous semesters with a seven-man pledge class. This spring, we had a five-man pledge class. We did this well thanks to our current rush chair, Isaiah Nieto-Goldman. He did a phenomenal job rushing, which earned him Delegate of the Year at the 2019 West Conclave 2019. Sebastian Feldman planned a 10 year anniversary for the Chi Phi chapter. The alumni and active Brothers who attended had an excellent time. Brother Tristan Blevins won Alpha Xi Omega’s national pageant show philanthropy, “Mr. AXO”. He demonstrated his intelligence, personality and kendama skills in the contest. Alex Macdonald became our new Master and is doing a phenomenal job as a leader and Brother.
Elon University (Epsilon Phi)
The Epsilon Phi colony has grown tremendously in numbers and accomplishments this spring. Our Beta pledge class had seven initiated Brothers. We’re now 34 Brothers strong. Our Jewish events have gone very well this semester. We helped Chabad clean the house of chametz for Passover and have had at least 15 Brothers at every Shabbat. Brothers have put in a lot of effort to accumulate service hours with more to come this year. Our philanthropic efforts have increased with our text-a-thon and letter writing campaign going smoothly thanks to the help of Brother Franzman and Binkowitz. Brotherhood event at Round 1, which is an arcade style establishment, was a big hit with food and bowling included. Many Brothers have achieved high scholarly marks this semester and look forward to fall 2019 and the future ahead.
Florida Atlantic University (Phi Alpha)
The Phi Alpha chapter is growing into one of the most dominant fraternities at Florida Atlantic University. We are a Brotherhood that holds our values close to our heart and we show that in our everyday lives. Brothers have taken part in many community service and philanthropy events. We’ve participated in beach cleanups, won FAU’s dance marathon and raised thousands of dollars for sorority philanthropy events. We are keeping our Jewish faith strong by taking part in Hillel groups such as JLF, and on March 15, we held a brotherhood shabbat at our house where we were able to have all expenses covered by local Jewish organizations because they know Phi Alpha is a large part of our Jewish community. This summer, we have 21 Brothers going on Birthright where they will make everlasting memories together for an experience like no other. We hosted an alumni barbecue to show appreciation for all that our alumni do. We brought more than 25 alumni back for a good time and helped them remember why rushing Alpha Epsilon Pi was the best choice they ever made. ESPONDA.
Florida Gulf Coast University (Delta Chi)
We had rush week from January 21-25. The events included Sovi pool, sports day, sushi pong, formal interviews and bid night. We had a philanthropy event on January 31 with Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi at Tijuana Flats. On February 1, we had Shabbat across FGCU. On February 3, we had a super bowl Brotherhood event. On February 14, we had a candy gram philanthropy event where we tabled on campus and sold bags of candy with a note included for the person of your choice. We also went to every sorority and delivered a handwritten card to wish them a Happy Valentine’s Day. We had our first social, with an 80s theme, on February 19 at Keys Bar in Aspen. We celebrated our annual family weekend from February 22-24. That Friday evening, Brothers and their families attended Shabbat at Rabbi Mendy’s house. On Saturday, we had Chipotle cater a family brunch and then everyone attended the FGCU men’s basketball game. On Sunday we had a brunch for the families. On March 13, we had our Pie a Pi philanthropy event on campus where we gave people the opportunity to pie Brothers in the face to raise money for Gift of Life. On March 16, we had a brotherhood event at the Reef pool. On March 21, we had a professional company come out and take our first composite picture. On March 22, we initiated two new Brothers. On March 23, we had a brotherhood beach event that took place at Fort Myers beach. On April 5-7 we had our formal at Key West.
Hebrew University (Bet/Israel Beta)
Our chapter had one of its most notable years, starting with the graduation of our senior Brothers and continuing with the temporary leave of 3 out of 7 Brothers for exchange programs around the globe. However, this did not stop us from working just as hard. With only 4 active Brothers in the chapter, we initiated 7 new Brothers, more than doubling our size. We also arranged great events: we had Brother Max Frischman (Virginia Tech, 2015) lecture us about startups from his own experience and Asaf Nissan, an i24 journalist, teach us about media and how it actually works.
As for Jewish events, we threw a fantastic Chanukah party.
Brother Almog Mayo represented the chapter at AEPi’s 105th International Convention in Phoenix, Brothers Gleb Bogdanov and Almog Mayo joined Brothers at European Conclave in Oxford, UK last October and Brother Shai Ascher joined the Mu Lambda colony at West Virginia University during his semester abroad.
Kent State University (Phi Deuteron)
This year, the Phi Deuteron chapter accomplished a lot. We started the year by welcoming 10 members of our Gamma Delta pledge class. In October, we held a vigil with more than 100 students, faculty, administrators and Kent State community members in attendance to honor Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. At the end of the spring semester, our chapter was awarded the most impactful event for having the vigil following the death of 11 Tree of Life Congregation members. Almost the entire chapter signed up and went to conclave. In April, we held an event for our 70th anniversary. More than 80 alumni, friends and family were in attendance. The year culminated with our fraternity making grades and finishing seventh out of 19 fraternities.
Michigan State University (Chi)
The Chi chapter has grown tremendously over the last year. We had a successful rush both semesters, with 24 Brothers initiated in the fall, and four in the spring. This made our brotherhood an 80-man chapter, something we haven’t seen in quite some time.
We also hosted two great philanthropy events this year, AEPi Dog Days and Pi Bowl. Both philanthropy events raised a combined $7,500 for charity. We didn’t just outdo ourselves in philanthropy, but also our house.
This year we remodeled our house and added an alumni and workout room.
This was our most ambitious work week yet, and we plan on making the next one even better. We also hosted the second largest conclave to date this year. Brothers from all over the region came to collaborate and discuss new ways for them to run and lead their chapters; it was extremely successful.
This year has been a great year for the Chi chapter. We have done some great things this year and we hope to continue the momentum for years to come.
Northwestern University (Tau Delta)
This past year has been marked with innovation and success for the Tau Delta chapter of AEPi. This spring, our week-long Dog Days philanthropy raised $35,167 to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as well as AEPi’s Official Philanthropy Program (OPP). In the following quarter, Tau Delta experienced a phenomenal rush which concluded in the initiation of 25 new members. Finally, we launched a speaker series this fall to bring notable perspectives to evening chapter dinners. These featured Jewish and secular figures from around campus, most notably Sammy Rangel, an ex-con and founder of the powerful Life After Hate organization.
This past year also featured widespread innovation among Tau Delta’s Jewish programming. We initiated a new Shabbat event, graciously funded by our alumni association, that brought together Brothers and their friends at an off-campus house. This became a warm environment, created by students, for Brothers and their friends to welcome Shabbat as a collective Northwestern community. Beyond this, we facilitated both a Chanukah oriented reflection of what AEPi means to our chapter as well as a Purim inspired gift exchange. We are more than excited to see Tau Delta’s continued success!
Pennsylvania State University (Pi Deuteron/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma)
Pi Deuteron/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma chapter has accomplished a lot this year in terms of the Penn State, Jewish and Greek life communities. Our chapter has met Standards of Excellence in all five categories: academic achievement, membership development, civic engagement, community relations and operations. We were one of the only two chapters to have accomplished this. We have also excelled greatly in intramural sports, winning the championship for softball and being in the finals for soccer. Our chapter has also made great efforts in representing and supporting the Jewish community. For Chanukah, our chapter proudly displayed a seven-foot menorah in front of the house. We also raised money for efforts to support the Jewish community following the Tree of Life massacre. This spring, we welcomed a pledge class of 23 new members. We look forward to continuing our tradition of being a fraternity that upholds its standards of excellence and having one of the highest GPAs out of all the fraternities here at Penn State. We hope to get another great pledge class in fall 2019 that will uphold these achievements and continue to live up to the legacy of our chapter.
Purdue University (Pi Upsilon)
This spring, the Brothers of Pi Upsilon heavily increased their philanthropic presence at Purdue. The Brothers won AEPi’s Mensch Madness tournament, where they raised more than $1,500 for AEPi’s Official Philanthropy Program (OPP) and the Repair the World Fund. Brothers also hosted an AEPi Cookie Drive where they baked cookies and sold them on campus, with all proceeds benefiting Gift of Life. Additionally, the Brothers won $250 in Kappa Delta’s KDarnival for Gift of Life. The Brothers were also finalists for The Hub’s video competition where they could win up to $1,500 for their philanthropy. We initiated four new members this spring. The Brothers hosted a seder at their annual brotherhood retreat in Nashville, IN. Twenty Brothers participated in Spring Blast, where they volunteered in the greater Lafayette area and helped rake leaves, pull weeds and prepare the city for spring. We look to continue our efforts in the fall and anticipate 30 new members to bring us to 90 Brothers. This fall, we also hope to improve alumni relations and make some renovations to our chapter house.
Quinnipiac University (Nu Eta)
This was our first semester as an official chapter of AEPi, so our chapter has a lot to be proud of. This semester, our chapter was awarded best campus collaboration by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) at Quinnipiac University for our outstanding work that we’ve done in partnership with Peter C. Herald House for Jewish Life at Quinnipiac University. We also won most outstanding academic program by the Interfraternity Council. This award was given to us as a reward for our strong academic efforts and for maintaining the highest grade point average on campus. We are looking forward to continuing our successes into next semester.
St. Andrews University (Upsilon Kappa Alpha)
The Upsilon Kappa Alpha chapter had an extremely successful year!
Despite being up in Scotland we brought in a record-breaking 23 new Brothers from North America, Britain and Eastern Europe, growing our chapter by 25%. Many have already shown impressive initiative, joining our executive and minor boards and other committees.
Tikkun Olam is a concept AEPi YKA embraces, as AEPi Brothers and as Jewish men. Our biggest philanthropy event, the fifth annual AEPi YKA Charity Beach Relay, raised a record-breaking £4000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust from more than 100 donations, helping those with blood disorders nationwide.
This semester, our chapter is looking to volunteer for and support Kisharon, a school for Jewish students with learning disabilities, and raise money for the upcoming Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre.
AEPi YKA is equally committed to raising money and awareness for Jewish Care. We will do everything possible to give them the support they need!
Finally, AEPi YKA continues to value our Jewish identity. We regularly organize Shabbat dinners with the Jewish Society on campus, and joint-hosted a Purim celebration. We celebrated both a Yom Kippur breakfast and Chanukah as a chapter!
Towson University (Tau Mu)
Tau Mu chapter has made strides in Greek life. At this year’s regional conclave, a group of 20 Tau Mu Brothers and 14 newly initiated Brothers attended. Spring has also brought in two dedicated new Brothers, Brian Goldschmidt and Ryan Levin, ready to represent the chapter to the best of their ability! We also saw the return of Brothers Mark Seskin and Sam Bolen from their semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain. The Brotherhood supported Lieutenant Master Brother Sean Githens as he answered questions on a panel to bring awareness towards the LGBTQ+ individuals within the Greek community. Tau Mu has had an extremely successful semester with philanthropy as we more than doubled our national goal. Our text-a-thon brought in $2,000, bumping our philanthropy total to nearly $3,000. The Brothers also enjoyed a fantastic away weekend in Ocean City, MD where we played beach football against ZBT! All in all, we’ve had a fantastic semester and can’t wait to start rush in the fall!
University of California – Davis (Chi Delta)
This year the Chi Delta chapter put on our most successful philanthropy, Cuck Fancer. Thirteen Brothers shaved their heads and the chapter raised more than $9,500 to support college-aged individuals struggling with cancer. Each year of the event is more successful than the last. Academically, we have once again earned top GPA on campus honors inside of the IFC. We had a successful spring pledge process with eight potential new members and an exciting rush that included trampoline dodgeball, bubble soccer and other entertaining events. During Picnic Day, the largest student run event in the United States, we successfully hosted a party that more than 1,500 people attended. We look forward to our upcoming spring philanthropy, Splash Bash, a waterpark themed carnival in support of Save A Child’s Heart. We also have a number of ambitious brotherhood events, a formal in the Bay Area and a ton of social events planned before summer break!
University of Chicago (Lambda)
This last year was momentous for the Lambda chapter. It was balanced between academics, sports, creative and philanthropic accomplishments. We reached the broomball semi-finals and remain undefeated in Interfraternity soccer. Graduating Brother Adam Chan will be attending Columbia Law and former Lieutenant Master Nick Romanoff has yet to decide between Columbia, Penn, UChicago and NYU law schools. On the STEM side, John Veillette was accepted into the graduate neuroscience program at UChicago. Our diverse chapter shines with Ilan Haskell releasing Old Sol’s debut album with several shows around the Midwest, while Andrew Friedman started a PAC funding unpaid Democratic Party internships to promote diversity and access to the political process. Taking initiative to usher the fraternity into a new era, our most recent fall pledge class of 12 composes half of our executive board and a majority of our rush committee, bringing forth new ideas to improve the chapter. By far the most important event of the year, however, was our Joe Ross Memorial, commemorating his memory in light of his untimely passing. Lambda chapter organized a school-wide squash tournament and partnered with dozens of local businesses to raise more than $40,000 for an odyssey scholarship in his name.
University of Cincinnati (Omicron Deuteron)
The Omicron Deuteron chapter was proud to welcome 12 new members from the fall pledge class and two from our spring pledge. These young members have already taken active steps to hold positions within our minor board and executive board. We are also proud to say we raised $1,405 at our Latke fest philanthropy this semester, and last semester we raised more than $1,100 at our annual phone-a-thon. Our intramural kickball team, with Kappa Delta this semester, went all the way and won our school’s championship game. We also had an alumni Homecoming barbecue before UC’s football game against Tulane where we took home the win, 37-21. This was a great time for our new members to meet those within the local community who have graduated UC and know all about AEPi. Our chapter is very excited for fall 2019 rush and expect to have a great year full of exciting events for new members and alumni. We will also be promoting Jewish values within our local community through our continued philanthropy and presence on campus.
University of Colorado – Boulder (Chi Upsilon)
This semester has been very busy for all! We were happy to initiate six new Brothers from our spring pledge class! We have been busy with brotherhood events like paintball and roller skating. We have had fun participating in Greek events around Boulder with other fraternities and sororities. Brother Jeran Katz took the national stage in tennis and came home with second place. Congratulations to Jeran for all of your hard work! We also had a change in presidency. Brett Rosko is no longer Brother master and our new Brother Master is Shane Harrington. Our chapter has gone through changes and we are excited to take off!
University of Connecticut (Upsilon Kappa)
The Upsilon Kappa Chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, a chapter of roughly 120 Brothers located at the University of Connecticut, has enjoyed another successful and fulfilling year within both the chapter and community.
Our chapter was delighted to partake in several philanthropic events just within this past semester. To start, we partnered with a sorority and Hillel to host two separate late nights. We sold food and refreshments which cumulatively raised $1,000. Additionally, the Brothers hosted our annual philanthropy event, AEPetting Zoo. During this event we invited farm animals from a local shelter and brought together more than 300 students from the UConn community. Subsequently, we raised $600 for our Gift of Life charity. Finally, more than 40 Brothers participated in UConn’s 18-hour dance marathon fundraiser for Connecticut Children’s Medical Hospital, an event in which our chapter raised more than $14,000.
Our chapter has fostered an excellent relationship with the entire Jewish community on campus and has featured a variety of Jewish events. Most recently, to mark Holocaust Remembrance week, UConn Hillel and AEPi hosted Deborah Levison, an award-winning journalist, publicist and storyteller. Deborah, a child of Holocaust survivors, retold the extraordinary account of her parents’ ordeals, both in one of the darkest times in world history and their present-day lives.
Finally, the Upsilon Kappa chapter was excited to bring in its fall and spring pledge classes, Alpha Chi and Alpha Psi!
University of Georgia (Omicron)
The Omicron chapter has had a great 2018-2019 academic year filled with fun activities, brotherhood bonding, academic achievement and most importantly, philanthropy.
This year’s philanthropy chair, Matt Sadiker, worked hard to organize the second annual AEPi vs TEP charity basketball game, which raised more than $2000 for Nephcure Kidney International.
Omicron achieved the third highest GPA of any fraternity at the University of Georgia with a 3.51, along with 92 of 98 Brothers achieving above a 3.00. The freshman pledge class ranked second among all fraternities, which included five Brothers being named to the Dean’s List. This freshman pledge class has already taken leadership roles not only within student organizations on campus, like GIPAC and Sinai Scholars, but also within the fraternity itself. Our newly elected executive board, lead by rising sophomore Master Josh Izenson, will continue to uphold the legacy of our great chapter, providing a truly Omicron-proud experience to all of its members.
University of Kansas (Kappa Upsilon)
It’s been a great year for Kappa Upsilon. In philanthropy we raised more than $10,000; Rockathon brought in $7,800 alone! We participated in the Chabad Chanukah Candle Lighting at the State Capitol and met the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. On April 10, we hosted We Walk to Remember and had the Chancellor and a Holocaust survivor speak. We’ve hosted house parties/mixers, date parties, tailgates, a concert featuring O.G. Maco and formal in the Ozarks. We’ve achieved a 3.17 GPA, placing us within the top 15 chapters on campus. For the third consecutive year, we’ve had a fall class of more than 20, bringing us to almost 70 Brothers. Our involvement in outside organizations include AIPAC, Students Supporting Israel, Big Event at KU, Jaytribe, intramurals and more. Our current Master served as an IFC J-board Justice in the fall. We’ve also made improvements to our house by repainting three floors, laying down new flooring, planning for an outdoor fence and moving forward in getting a new house! Other achievements include redesigning our website, hosting parents’ and moms’ weekend, the addition of two new chapter advisors, a 70th anniversary alumni weekend, attendance at the AEPi 10 for 10 Conference and more. We’re working hard planning for next year!
University of Tampa (Tau Phi)
The Tau Phi chapter is excited to share its accomplishments this 2018/19 school year. This year we inducted 18 new Brothers, including our largest pledge class in history of 16 strong Jewish leaders. As a growing chapter, our executive board expanded to a seven man powerhouse, and we welcomed two new sweethearts into the family. Following the tragic events that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue, we held an event called AEPi Against Anti-Semitism to raise awareness for anti-Semitism, and to remember the victims of the Pittsburgh shooting. This year we raised more than $9,200 for AEPi’s Official Philanthropy Program (OPP) causes such as B’nai Birth Disaster Relief Fund and the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation. We had a successful third annual AEPuppies event where we were able to find homes for puppies from the local Humane Society of Tampa Bay. The Brothers had fun at brotherhood events and socials with sororities that included: a Yom Kippur break-fast, Chanukah dinner, paintballing, kayaking, going to a trampoline park, beach days and bowling. We celebrated all of our proud accomplishments this year at the Postcard Inn in St. Pete where we had our spring formal. It has been an all-around great year for Tau Phi, and we are looking forward to our future successes next year!
Wayne State University (Xi)
This has been an incredible year for the Xi Colony at Wayne State. Our greatest successes have included doubling the size of our Brotherhood during the fall semester, electing an executive board with more new Brothers than Founding Fathers, and hosting our first alumni dinner. We also had a fundraiser through the Detroit Pistons that had more than 50 people in attendance at the game, saw a Pistons win, got 25 of the attendees a chance to high-five the Pistons as they ran onto the court before the game and allowed all of the attendees to take a free throw on the court after the game. In Jewish programming, we have continued to have a presence at and collaborate in planning Shabbat dinners, Students for Israel events, Chabad events and Hillel events. Some of our volunteering and philanthropic achievements this year included hosting a Match Madness campaign through Gift of Life, volunteering at Wayne State’s sesquicentennial, and Chabad’s Menorah in the D. Academically, we had more than seven Brothers on the Dean’s List for the Fall Semester and multiple scholarship award recipients. Additionally, one Brother is graduating, one was accepted into nursing school, one started an orchestra and one was elected Student Senate President. We’re looking forward to continuing the upward trend this semester and into the coming year.
York University (Eta Pi)
Eta Pi chapter has had another successful winter term! Our Winter Rush was a success and initiated 12 new Brothers into our chapter: Mitchell Albom, Taso Bouzinelos, Eric Cherniavski, Daniel Cheskes, Dean Kaushansky, Justin Mellon, Noah Newman, Aaron Rabinowitz, Josh Stein, Noy Vanir, Aarron Weinstein, and Ethan Weisfeld.
There were several exciting events to highlight this past term, such as our road trip to Montreal. Our Israel engagement ramped up even more this term, with several campaigns and seminars. Many of our Brothers participated in a Save A Child’s Heart campaign in partnership with Hasbara Fellowships, Hillel York, Israel Student’s Association and Delta Pi Toronto. We also co-hosted a seminar about Israel’s legal rights, lead by renowned Israel activist Mark Vandermaas. Finally, we recently welcomed StandWithUs to our chapter house on March 28 to introduce us to “TruStory”, an online database to help users advocate for Israel on campus and to help differentiate between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism. Here’s to a great summer and upcoming school year!
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