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August 24, 2007
Brotherhood of Jews
UBC fraternity encourages community.
FREEMAN PORITZ
The young first-year university student typically arrives on campus
in September full of energy and with little direction. Going to
university is a huge transition from high school and can often be
overwhelming. Students meet new people, search for cool hangouts
on campus and are ready to embark on new endeavors.
At the University of British Columbia during the first few weeks
of September, fraternities – social leadership groups –
are actively recruiting new members. One of these fraternities –
Alpha Epsilon Pi – caters exclusively to young Jewish men,
offering one thing the other fraternities cannot: Jewish brotherhood.
AEPi, as the fraternity is known for short, was founded in 1913
at New York University's School of Commerce by a group of Jewish
students led by Charles Moskowitz. The group's idea provided the
basis for an international fraternity, currently boasting 132 chapters
and more than 80,000 members across the United States and Canada.
AEPi arrived at UBC in 1999, when a group of Jewish friends decided
to establish their own chapter. In 2003, the UBC contingent of AEPi
was officially recognized in a chartering ceremony and is now known
as the Beta Chi chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Since
then, it has grown and flourished.
"AEPi exposes the first-year undergraduate to all kinds of
events – all the big parties on campus, all kinds of philanthropic
events, involvement with Hillel and Judaism," said AEPi Beta
Chi president Niv Ben-Shlomo. "AEPi has so much to offer, including
free trips to Israel and subsidized trips to many North American
cities."
Currently, AEPi Beta Chi has 23 active members, who are involved
in all aspects of university life, from varsity soccer to acting.
They are also respected as leaders of the Jewish community on campus.
There were many highlights of the 2006-2007 year. AEPi's annual
philanthropic event, Rock for Cancer, in which fraternity brothers
rocked on rocking chairs for 36 hours straight, raised more than
$10,000 for the B.C. Cancer Foundation. Numerous social exchanges
with UBC sororities took place, with events ranging from salsa dancing
to speed dating. AEPi also entered a dodgeball team into the UBC
intramural dodgeball league, finishing second in the highly competitive
league.
"Alpha Epsilon Pi opens up the door to so many opportunities
that a first-year Jewish student would otherwise not have, and it
doesn't detract from anything else in university life," said
last year's chapter president, Ron Boaz. "It is just an amazing
opportunity that offers social, athletic, philanthropic and brotherhood
events. It's such an amazing time and the friendships that you make
will last forever. I urge anyone who is thinking of joining to try
it out and they'll see that it will be one of the best choices they'll
ever make."
Boaz also stressed the international aspect of the fraternity.
"You get the opportunity to go on many trips – whether
it's the annual regional conclave or the annual international convention,
or whether it's just going on a road trip to visit other chapters.
You get to meet people from all over North America. It's a great
network."
"It gives an unparallelled experience to anything else available
for a Jewish youth coming out of high school and trying to enter
the real world," said Corey Albert, president of AEPi at UBC
from 2004-2006. "The highlights of my fraternity experience
were the quality relationships I formed – relationships in
which individuals shared similar goals, morals and values."
"My personal highlight was getting to meet AEPi [members] from
all over the West Coast at our conclave in Santa Barbara this year,"
said treasurer Ben Ling. "AEPi is about making connections.
University – and and life in general – are about making
connections, so the more connections you make, the better off you're
going to be."
Undergraduate students interested in AEPi and entering their first
or second year of post-secondary education in the Lower Mainland
are encouraged to contact Ben-Shlomo at [email protected]
or drop by Hillel House at UBC in early September for more information.
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer and a member
of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
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