Brotherhood and religious tradition intersected on campus this fall with the formation of a branch of the international Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi). With a starting group of 10 members, the fraternity plans to recruit its first pledge class this coming spring and carve a niche for itself on campus.
This October, AEPi representatives offered an informational session to gauge student interest in opening a chapter of the fraternity on campus. In the following weeks, representatives interviewed interested students and urged them to formally start a chapter.
Bryce Hollingsworth ’13, the chapter President, said the brotherhood focuses on Jewish culture over religious practice. While it is geared towards the Jewish community, the fraternity is non-discriminatory and welcomes individuals of different backgrounds and faiths.
“It’s not heavily religious at all,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s more focused on Jewish brotherhood. Our main goal is focusing on the secular Jewish community idea.”
Hollingsworth said he wants the fraternity to become active and productive in student life. In October, the group led a Shabbat service at the Bayit, the Jewish community program house. They have also volunteered at St. Vincent De Paul soup kitchen in Middletown and helped organize an ice cream social for the Jewish community on campus.
Earlier this month, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) formally recognized the chapter as a registered student group; however, the University does not recognize the chapter as a chartered fraternity, meaning they do not provide support to AEPi.
Earlier this fall, students met with Dean of Students Richard Culliton to request approval to open the chapter. The administration, however, informed the students that the University was currently unable to provide support for a new fraternity chapter.
“The University has not chartered new fraternities on campus for several years,” Culliton wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. “In order to do so, the University would need to provide support (staffing, oversight, etc.) which we are currently not in a position to do.”
Although the group will not receive direct financial or staff support from the administration, each AEPi chapter is insured through the international organization. The chapter will also collect funds through chapter dues.
University Jewish Chaplain Rabbi David Leipziger Teva also plans to provide support for the group.
“It is part of the human condition, and certainly part of the Jewish ethos, to think about community and community building,” Teva wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. “I look forward to better understanding the needs of Jewish students interested in AEPi, as well as being able to serve as a resource to them.”
Unlike existing fraternities on campus, the new chapter currently does not have a house; however, according to Hollingsworth, the chapter hopes to gain access to a space in the future as they grow in membership.
“We’re a pretty close group of guys,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s a place where we can all be Jews together,”