With a revived fraternity and an expanded Hillel, Jewish
opportunities increase at EMU.
JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER
ne year ago, Jeff Bortnick's frater-
nity chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi had
only four members and was on the
verge of collapse.
This year, it boasts 14 members, its own
house and "big plans," says Bortnick, who
is from West Bloomfield.
As chapter president, Bortnick is confi-
dent that he will be able to recruit at least
15 new guys this rush season. "There's sup-
posed to be an overflow of kids from West
Bloomfield and Farmington coming in this
year," he said.
Pledging at Alpha Epsilon Pi is fairly
low-key, with activities centering around
educating pledges about the fraternity's
history and values, explained Bortnick.
The only Jewish fraternity at Eastern
Michigan University, Alpha Epsilon Pi has
been an EMU campus presence — on and
off— since the 1950s, says Stephen Bern-
stein, a Farmington Hills attorney who
serves on the fraternity's national board.
Bernstein and other board members
helped Bortnick revive his chapter last
year, providing leadership training and
other resources.
One of three Jewish fraternities na-
offerings got a boost with increased fund-
ing and a full-time staff professional, Taron
Tachman, for the campus Hillel.
Tachman has a full schedule of leader-
ship training activities — including a ropes
course at Tamarack — planned for the
coming semester and is hoping to bring the
Jewish community together on campus
through new programming and increased
outreach.
"I'm delighted to see that Alpha Epsilon
Pi is coming back," said Tachman. "We look
forward to having a continued relation-
ship."
There are no Jewish sororities current-
ly on the EMU campus. ❑
For more information about Alpha Ep-
silon Pi, call (313) 485-1456. For more
information about EMU's Hillel, call
(313) 487-1855.
PHOTOS BY K RISTA H US
Yiddishkeit In Ypsilanti
tionwide, Alpha Epsilon Pi was founded
in 1913. Its mission is "to train young men
to become Jewish community leaders," said
Bernstein, who said that each year its
members raise funds for a different Jew-
ish charity.
According to Bernstein, Alpha Epsilon
Pi's University of Michigan chapter boasts
over 100 members "but it's more impor-
tant that we be at EMU. At EMU there
are few other Jewish opportunities on cam-
pus." Among Bortnick's "big plans" for
EMU's Jewish fraternity are a casino
night, blood drive, fund-raising for Mazon
- A Jewish Response to Hunger, and events
co-sponsored with the campus Hillel.
The EMU campus has about 1,000
Jews, and Jewish life has always paled in
comparison to neighboring U-M, where al-
most 18 percent of the students are Jew-
ish. But last spring, EMU's Jewish
Jeff Bortnick and Drew Sopha play hockey in the basement.
Brett Soble, Jeff Bortnick and Drew Sopha in front of Alpha Epsilon Pi's new house at EMU.
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