Oh.

jazing, get back in your own lane and do not speak for my sorority.

When I was an active, my chapter had plenty of non-Jewish sisters. Many of my sisters were Christians and one sister was a Hindu. I'm one of the founders of my chapter, and you know what - at the time, I was Catholic.

A woman who joins AEPhi has to understand that she's joining a sorority whose founders were Jewish and whose ideals are based on Jewish ideals. She has to be ok with that, but she does not have to be Jewish herself. I imagine the same is true for Sigma AEPi, but I'll let the Sigma AEPi members speak to that point.

DPhiE has been nonsectarian since it was founded.

Very sorry in that respect. I was just thinking of historically Jewish groups, like ZBT, AEPhi, Sammy, etc.

DPhiE where I am at takes most of the Jewish girls who go through rush, which I figured is from its historical founding.

Back on topic, SAEPi

Yeah, this. Pretty much sums up everything I was thinking.

jazing;2115873:ZBT I have heard is trying to get back to its Jewish values.

ZBT never lost its Jewish Values. They (ZBT) has always honored and cherished the vlaues the fraternity was built on. However, since the mergers of Phi Epsilon Pi and Phi Sigma Delta (both were Nonsectarian) in 1969-70, ZBT has become more a of balance brotherhood of Jewish and Non-Jewish Brothers. There are several active chapters and colonies that are and have always been involved with Jewish programing and many of them partner with Hillel, Chabad, UJA/JSA on different events. Today, in keeping with both the history and the mergers, ZBT welcomes all Men (Jewish & Non-Jewish) into the brotherhood. Even though my own chapter is Non-Jewish, in honoring our history they are still involved with helping the local Jewish Temple in town on events and service projects.

ZBT:"Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present & Impacting the Future."

There are also some strong networking effects in certain areas. Someone already mentioned SDT recruiting through Hillel, but also, Jewish women are in BBYO/NFTY/USY with other Jewish women in high school. Many attend Jewish summer camp, as well. So, on some campuses, many of the active AEPhi women will know more Jewish PNM's than non-Jewish PNM's, and vice-versa. If that's the case, you are likely to end up with a primarily Jewish pledge class no matter what the official membership policy is. It's no different than XYZ getting most of the women from a certain high school.

aephialum, good job putting that AEPi in his place ;) You are right on--we are pretty much exactly the same in that regard. What my chapter says (which reflects national policy, just in our own words) is "While ΣΑΕΠ is a sorority based on Jewish interests and values, it is open to all women, Jewish and non-Jewish, who express a sincere interest in the organization and a respect for the values upon which it is based." We have found that our non-Jewish members are often some of our most dedicated and interested members...funny how that goes :)

Rethink how what you said is problematic.

What's not funny is how in recent years, most of our non-Jewish members have either dropped the fraternity or are highly inactive. I guess our campus does not have those people willing to espouse themselves in Jewish values.

Why is this problematic, just wondering?
I am non-Jewish, and I'm definitely very dedicated to my sorority.
It doesn't mean that I'm going to push it away from Judaism. Not at all. I love the Jewish ideals and values of my sorority, and even though I'm becoming a dominant member of my sorority, it doesn't mean that it's a bad thing at all.

Shouldn't all members of your sorority be active and dedicated, regardless of their faith?

I don't think there's a need to point this out because it creates a division, however well-intended you are. A sister is a sister and it's not for you to state to the public how dedicated a certain segment is, subtly making commentary on the dedication of those who ARE of the predominate faith.

In other words, it treads closely to the "Some of my best friends are black" brand of liberal racism.

Also, I'm not even making a comment based on how close or far the demographics of your sorority are getting to or away from Judaism. Not only is it not my point, it's not my business.

That's not what was meant by what she said. I feel like you know this.
No sorority is perfect, just like no fraternity is perfect. Some members do more for their organization compared to others. Yes, some members will always be more dedicated than others. That doesn't mean that the other members aren't dedicated enough.
sigmagirl10 said the non-Jewish members are "some of our most dedicated" sisters. That means that others are very dedicated as well.

It's a pointless statement to make.

I just feel like you're taking what she said the wrong way.