Several students are working to bring a chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), an international Jewish fraternity, to DU by spring 2012. The AEPi national office is in contact with DU to get the university to recognize it as a fraternity by the end of the fall quarter according to freshman Adam Hammerman, vice president of what will become the new AEPi colony at DU.
“We’re still in the starting phase,” said Hammerman. “We’ve come up with a bunch of events, and we’re trying to recruit more people.”
AEPi is a Jewish fraternity organization founded in 1913 by Charles Moskowitz. It currently has chapters in the U.S., Canada, Israel and England. The University of Colorado at Boulder also has an AEPi chapter.
Hammerman said members of the AEPi organization first contacted him and Elliot Panipinto through Facebook in mid-September after hearing about them through Jewish youth groups in which the students had participated .
“I was looking for a place where I could meet Jews on campus,” said Panipinto. “I was actually hoping this would happen last year, but it didn’t because I couldn’t find anyone who was interested.”
Two days after contacting Hammerman and Panipinto through Facebook, recruiters for AEPi came to campus and asked several Jewish students if they wanted to start a chapter.
“They had 20-30 kids who were interested in starting it, so they interviewed all of them and chose the 10 they believed were the best fit to start the chapter,” said Hammerman.
There are eight students currently involved with the fraternity after two decided to forgo founding AEPi and participated in recruitment for already-established fraternities last September instead. The executive board includes Hammerman, Panipinto, secretary Dasey Litow, treasurer Zach Ettelman and member-at-large Alex Hass.
Panipinto said he is trying to come up with events to recruit more members. He said he hopes to set up a Sukkot tent for interested students to eat and sleep in as part of the Sukkot holiday, a week-long Jewish holiday celebrated five days after Yom Kippur ends. This year it will begin Oct. 12 and end Oct. 19.
“We’re going to talk to people – keep our eyes open for people who might be interested in [AEPi],” said Panipinto.
According to Hammerman, the fraternity is holding meetings on Sundays at the Hillel House.
“It’s a good time to catch up with everyone and see how their life is going,” said Hammerman. “Also in those meetings we come up with new ways to recruit people.”
Hammerman said their goal is to rush in spring 2012 and to have a house set up near campus by fall 2012.
Both Hammerman and Panipinto said they are excited to start AEPi at DU because it is a great opportunity to create a Jewish brotherhood on campus. Hammerman said he was a part of a Jewish youth group in Washington D.C., but when he came to DU, he didn’t know anyone.
“I realized that being a kid from out-of-state who doesn’t know anyone – that this would be a great opportunity to make friends,” said Hammerman. “Not only that, but meeting friends who were Jewish, I would know that I already have something in common with them.”
Panipinto said the fraternity is considering charging a monthly membership fee of about $50. Students who are interested in joining AEPi should contact Panipinto at epanipinto@gmail.com.
