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I Remember When
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Maas counselors use their own experiences to help campers enjoy their summer.
AMY GANTZ, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Jewish Fraternities
e
College is more than classes. AEPi has taught me
about life.
CRAIG SUKENIC, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
efore entering
Michigan State
University as a
freshman in 1991, I had
always been told that college
would be the best four to
seven years of my life. The
more I heard about how
great college was supposed
to be, however, the greater
my fear of this unknown
became.
Arriving at MSU was an
overwhelming experience.
Although I grew up in
Southfield, which is large
and ethnically diverse, I was
not prepared for the scene in
East Lansing. About 44,000
people attend MSU. Among
so many students, I began to
feel as though my identity
was melting away. This was
a key factor leading me to
join a Jewish fraternity.
My first week of school
was rather disappointing. I
found little relief from my
identity crisis. With much
provocation, my friends con-
vinced me to rush a fraterni-
ty.
I detided to do so for
many reasons. My Jewish
identity is first among them.
During high school, I had
always been active in the
Jewish community through
groups like United
Synagogue Youth, B'nai
B'rith Youth Organization,
my synagogue and others.
My Jewishness had always
played a large role in my
life. I wanted that to contin-
ue during college.
Some of the other factors
included my desire to meet a
Jewish girl. As corny as it
may sound, this truly did
affect my decision to rush a
Jewish fraternity. I also
hoped to make friends that
would last a lifetime. And
last, I decided to rush
because fraternity life is fun.
If' ■
These objectives led me to
Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi).
With nearly 20 people in my
pledge class and approxi-
mately 70 fraternity mem-
bers (almost all Jewish),
AEPi offered all I had hoped
for. I attended many social,
athletic and community ser-
vice functions.
Unlike most males who
join a fraternity, my great-
est joy came from working
behind the scenes. I enjoyed
planning events, making
decisions and schmoozing
with fellow fraternity mem-
bers. My involvement led to
my appointment as rush
chairman in fall 1992. Last
spring, I became master
(president) of my house.
Although my experience
in AEPi has been a smooth
ride, I cannot say the same
for the fraternity as a whole.
In the spring of 1992, the
MSU chapter of AEPi faced
a variety of problems, which
lowered our membership to
its current 25 brothers.
Though our census has
declined, AEPi members are
working hard to strengthen
the fraternity. We still want
to make AEPi great. To help
us improve our status, the
national chapter of AEPi
has assisted us in renovat-
ing our fraternity house. We
feel that we have all the
resources to once again
make AEPi a leader.
I am a junior now, study-
ing business administration.
I realize how much my expe-
riences in AEPi have molded
my life so far. From business
connections to valuable life
experience, AEPi has helped
me immensely. I feel it is an
experience that every
Jewish male will enjoy and
learn from.
Craig Sukenic is a MSU stu-
dent and president of AEPi.
amp Maas is ing male counselor asked
just as I remem- me to dance with him. I
bered it:
almost died on the spot. In
The cabins. That rugged, a daze, I stood on a chair
mildewy, bugspray smell I and danced with him. For
recall from my days as a the rest of the summer, I
Bunk 3 camper in Fishman was on cloud nine."
Village.
When my troubled
This summer, eight years camper heard my story, she
later, I am the counselor of decided that, maybe,
the same bunk in the same attending the dance
village. My experiences as a wouldn't be that bad.
camper have turned out to Instead of dancing, she
be an invaluable tool, help- opted to help the disc jockey
ing me counsel the girls in cue the music.
my bunk.
When I was a camper, for
instance, my cabin was dec-
orated with snapshots of
gorgeous teen idols like
Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and
Kirk Cameron. This memo-
ry helps me relate to the
"Beverly Hills 90210"
Shiri Greenbaum
posters that currently
bedeck my campers' living
quarters.
Toward the end of the
Other staff members at evening, one of the male
Camp Maas also say their counselors asked her to
experiences as campers dance. What a coincidence!
have helped them counsel.
At bedtime that night,
Shiri Greenbaum, supervi- my camper had a goofy
sor of Fishman Village, smile on her face. Before
remembers the summer she hitting the sack, she asked
spent as a camper.
me when the next dance
"I cried all summer was.
because I felt that I didn't
Some counselors have
fit in. I felt like an outcast discovered the cure to
because I was different. I homesickness. Fishman •
was a tomboy," she says.
counselor Debbi Hersh
Ms. Greenbaum has remembers how she longed
discovered that the key to for home when she was at
helping kids overcome their camp several years ago. She
homesickness is to say: said that homesickness
"When I was a camper...." always struck at night —
This makes them feel like never during the day when
their dilemma is a normal she was preoccupied with
one, she says.
swimming, arts and crafts
One of the toughest situa- and other activities.
tions I confronted occurred
One day, the camp social
last summer. One of my worker pulled Debbi aside
campers decided that she and asked her to talk about
was absolutely not going
to set foot inside a build- Bunk 3 campers at Camp Maas.
ing where a co-ed dance
was being held. After
countless attempts, I
convinced her to tell me
why. She said she was
sure no boy would ever
want to dance with her.
Upon hearing my
camper's worry, I invited
her on a trip down mem-
ory lane. I talked with
her about my experience
at my first co-ed camp
social:
"A huge group of
campers was slow-danc-
ing as I sat in the corner
eating popcorn. I felt
miserable and alone," I
told her.
"Then, the best-look-
"I cried all
summer because
I felt I didn't
fit in."
her feelings.
"He told me that since I
wasn't homesick during the
day, it might help if at
night I pretended it were
day. For some strange
reason, it worked," she
says.
Ms. Hersh has tried this
trick with similar success
on one of her campers this
year.
Before veteran-camper-
turned-counselor Rachel
Nobel arrived at camp, she
had a few concerns about
being on the flip side.
"I was a little nervous
about handling the
campers, but I applied my
own camp experiences to
help me," she says.
For instance, one day a
couple of Ms. Nobel's
campers were upset
because they hadn't
received packages from
home. Ms. Nobel soothed
them by telling them about
the only time she had ever
gotten a package at camp:
It contained nothing but
her retainer.
When my first-session
campers left for home in
late July, I could tell that a
few are bound to become
counselors themselves. No
doubt they'll look back and
use this summer's experi-
ence to help others enjoy
their time at Camp Mass. ❑
Michigan State University
student Amy Gantz is the edi-
tor of the campus' Jewish
newspaper, the MSU Jewish
Review. She has worked as
a counselor and junior
counselor at Camp Maas for
the past three summers.
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