Family Focus

Last year's AEPI pledge class enjoys the friendship.

Legacy Of Brotherhood

AEPi fraternity at MSU comes into its own through dedication.

East Lansing

O

n Albert Street, miles from
the Greek community on the
Michigan State University cam-
pus, there stood a small, dark duplex home
where eight brothers shared a dream. The
contents were spare: a small television, a
couch and a folding table were the only
items inside. Just past the front door were
three pieces of tattered and torn cardboard
carved to make the Greek letters of Alpha,
Epsilon and Pi.
Rules governing the fraternity kept the
letters from being displayed anywhere on
their home.
Eight brothers, one goal.
"I set out some goals that I wanted to
accomplish within the fraternity by the
time I graduated; alum Mike Epstein said.
"I wanted to get over 30 members, get a real
fraternity house with our letters up on it
and join the Inter-Fraternity Council. Those
were the goals. I couldn't see past that
because we were so far from it at the time'
In 2004, AEPi consisted of eight Jewish
students. The difficult task ahead was the
recruitment of new members to ensure
survival.
"I wanted every Jewish male student on

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June 26 • 2008

campus to have the opportunity to benefit
the way I did:" Epstein said. "There were
times when things were difficult — very
few people wanted to join or took us seri-
ously early on; but the connection to Jewish
culture, through my brothers, was more
important to me than the Greek system
ever was:'
This year, under president Scott Gordon,
the fraternity grew to 53 active brothers.
AEPi also moved — to the largest house on
campus, 1148 Grand River Ave., where 35
brothers live.
Michigan State Universities' Inter-
Fraternity Council divides fraternities into
two classifications — big houses and small
houses. The 13 largest fraternities are con-
sidered big houses and the rest are small.
AEPi has become the first to cross that line
in many years.
"The transition was not always easy, but
it was something that our membership
was dedicated to',' Gordon said. "I think one
thing that has made us so successful is that
we are a group that understands that friends
come first and an organization follows."
Greek Week is a weeklong event that
pairs a big fraternity, a sorority and a small
fraternity together for competitive events,
including the American Cancer Society's
Relay for Life. This year, AEN's team alone

raised more than $30,000 for the cancer
society and more than $2,000 for the Make-
A-Wish Foundation of Michigan— and
captured first place overall.
"We accomplished something that we
didn't even know we were capable of'
Gordon said.
The fraternity's success has translated
into a very active social life for brothers as
well. Weekends typically include routine
participation in the Intramural Sports
league, tailgates every Saturday before
Spartan football games and active partici-
pation with sororities on campus.
The brothers of AEPi also help Jewish
causes. This year they held an event that
raised money for the Shaare Zedek Hospital
in Israel.
Many in AEPi feel their relationship with
the MSU Hillel is crucial to the two organi-
zations' mutual success. This year, AEPi co-
sponsored a Purim Carnival and an Israel
at 60 celebration.
"The AEPi fraternity is very active with
our Hillel," said Cindy Hughey, MSU Hillel
executive director. "Many of the brothers
serve in leadership positions within Hillel
and partner on many of the programming
throughout the year. It has been a very
strong relationship since I arrived here'
Hughey enjoys how members of the fra-

ternity routinely fill the table for Shabbat
dinners on Friday nights.
"The most successful event each year is
the AEPi Family Shabbat Dinner," Hughey
said. "It is held during Homecoming week-
end and we get a huge turnout. It highlights
the partnership between AEPi and Hillel.
Over 300 people come for dinner — par-
ents, students and alums. Everyone is so
happy to be on campus before the home-
coming football game. It is a wonderful
evening filled with ruach and good food. I
love the AEPi Fraternity at MSU. They are
an amazing group of young men."
For some, AEPi became not a house but
a home.
"Living in Philadelphia and coming to
MSU my freshman year as a young Jewish
male, I was skeptical about joining AEPi,"
alum Brian Glauser said. "But I committed
myself to making it a better place, making
lifelong friends and having a blast while
doing it. AEPi was not just an organization
during my four years, it was my home away
from home —10 hours away, to be exact.
We grew stronger because of our struggle.
We are here to stay"
For more information on AEPi, contact
Scott Gordon at sgordon.msu@gmail.com.
University of Michigan also has an AEPi
fraternity. ❑

