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The effect is still there because BDS passed, but we have a lot to be proud of.” Levine said Tikvah, with the support of AEPi members, lobbied to water down the language in the BDS bill that ultimately passed in the student senate last year. That organization plays an assertive role pushing back against anti-Israel actions on campus, such as Israel Apartheid Week and boycott-divestment-sanctions bills in student government. empowers them to take to heart their Jewish identity, and gives them the freedom to explore that.”įor Levine, that has meant leadership roles within the fraternity and beyond. For us, all we’re looking for are Jews, and under that umbrella, there is an incredible diversity of culture and ideas. “Most fraternities are strictly for a certain social niche. “This is probably the most diverse house on campus,” he said. Santa Barbara, Levine said falling in with a Jewish fraternity felt natural once he got to Cal. After seeing his older brother join AEPi at U.C. At several hundred dollars per quarter or semester it’s not cheap, but members say it’s money well spent.Īvi Levine, 20, grew up in San Diego in a close-knit community of Mexican Jewish immigrants, attending a Sephardic synagogue populated largely with Latino Jews. In addition to rent, members pay dues, both to the chapter and to the fraternity’s national organization. It makes it easier for me as president to oversee a house when the brotherhood is united.” “We want to recruit people who will be good for others in this house,” Zimmerman said. That privilege must be earned, with a point system tallying member participation and leadership. The foyer and living room look as if a tornado blew through, but bedrooms on the second story accommodate 27 of the chapter’s 60 current members.Ĭhapter president Cliff Zimmerman, 22, presides over an executive board, with members serving in roles such as treasurer, house manager, social chair, rush chair and philanthropy chair.įreshmen are not permitted to live in the house. Up on Berkeley’s Piedmont Avenue, AEPi occupies a two-story house in the heart of Cal’s Greek Row. That welcoming attitude typifies other chapters. “We host fraternity business meetings, and we hope to have the first AEPi-Hillel Shabbat joint dinner there. The SJSU chapter is small - there are only 12 members this year - but they do have one advantage over some other fraternities: They have a house.įraternity brothers “know they always have a bed and a pillow at the house,” Hod said. As interest renewed, that Cal chapter was revived, with current members saying the chapter is stronger than ever. Some chapters folded for lack of interest, including the AEPi chapter at Cal. “With a fraternity it’s all about brotherhood,” said Hod, a 23-year-old senior majoring in kinesiology.įor a time, in the ’70s, fraternity and sorority membership declined. Members often stay in touch for years after graduation, attending each other’s weddings, pulling strings for each other’s career moves and getting together at reunions, sporting events and conventions. Greek life provides social outlets and networking advantages, with the bonus of Jewish fellowship. But for the most part, a majority of local members are Jews who see participation as key to a successful college experience. Non-Jews are welcome to join, and some even rise to leadership positions. And there are a few local chapters of historically Jewish sororities, as well, namely Alpha Epsilon Phi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi. Today, those historically Jewish fraternities dot the Greek register at local universities. That’s when houses such as AEPi, Sigma Alpha Mu and Zeta Beta Tau were founded as specifically Jewish organizations. Though all fraternities today generally welcome Jewish members, that wasn’t the case in the early 1900s, when anti-Semitism and quotas impeded Jewish academic success.

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“We know how to have a good time,” said Adi Hod, the chapter president, “and how to make the world a better place.”įor Hod, membership in the fraternity has given him deep friendships, leadership training and a stronger connection to his Jewish identity. The “AEPi to the Face” event raised about $200 for the U.S. It was a fundraiser for Save a Child’s Heart - an act of tzedakah engineered by the SJSU chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity that people refer to as “AEPi” for short. The frat boys lined up in a San Jose State University plaza last month, inviting people to smash them in the face with a cream pie.

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