[Rudey]

Lately I've had to explain to a lot of people the reason why my fraternity has chosen to be a Jewish house, and while searching on Greekchat to see if this topic was discussed, I came across a few posts in the Rush section in the "I am going to be a ____" thread which was locked up by Pnguintrax. I thought it would be most appropriate in the Greek Life section. This was posted by deltajas and a lot of people were able to make remarks on this, and I feel I can provide a different view point:

"Hey there
Although where I am from I have never seen a girl cut from rush due to being jewish, I cannot say it has not happened in other parts of the country. But, my whole point is we all need to throw discrimination out the window. The jewish affiliated sororities were founded over 50 years ago, we all need to move forward into time. I am from up north and I know of other schools in the area that like 90% of all greek life is Jewish. Now do you think it is fair that some girl of x religion not get the greek experience bc she is not jewish, based on principles founded years ago? I just don't think it is just to ever use religion as a factor. If that is the case, then they should switch to x religion only sororities."

The Need for "Jewish" Houses:

Let me tell you the reason why my fraternity, AEPi was founded. AEPi is the only nationally Jewish fraternity. While others like SAMMY and ZBT were Jewish at one point, they no longer are. We were started by the immortal 11 who wanted to create a fraternity without any religious restrictions while espousing Jewish ideals. Currently, our numbers are strong, and while we do have many non-Jewish brothers, we are definitely a house with a Jewish identity. Note: Many other houses may be called a jewish house even if they truly aren't because of the proportion of Jewish members - a nice way to totally neglect the house's ideals and stereotype I suppose.

What many people do not understand is that our founding purpose was to be a Jewish fraternity, not one that simply brings in Jews and tells them to socialize. Judaism to most Jews is not simply about religion. There is a culture and nationality aspect...for some, it's arguably an ethnicity.

Many can claim that we don't need a house based on Judaism. Well we claim we do, and as the members of a fraternity we are the ones who vote on which direction it chooses to go. So far we have been successful and will remain commited to the Jewish path. Just like a black fraternity, we will we will always be able to offer something to our brothers that a non-Jewish house can't. We have an understanding of their background that makes them feel at home. Another important aspect of AEPi is that we want to create the leaders of tomorrow's Jewish community and feel that our experience in a Jewish fraternity providing Jewish activities will gear them up for that. It is because of this that we are partners with Hillel. But I would still like to note that we are a social fraternity. I guess that is what makes us different from many of the minority fraternities.

Furthermore, certain rituals involving Christianity make us feel uncomfortable. Even the fact that events could be held on Friday nights, which would disqualify many Jews, is neglected. This is not to say the rituals are wrong. I believe Carnation was the one who discussed what happened at her convention. Personally I feel if your fraternity/sorority was built on certain ideals then stick with them. I wouldn't ask an organization to change for me and would question why it was that I wanted to join so bad, and if the reasons were really solid, I wouldn't mind the "discomfort". Integration is always great, but assimilation is not.

It also goes beyond discomfort in some cases. We were simply not given bids at many fraternities where being a WASP was the only criteria. I will give one example. Phi Delta Theta, founded in 1848, admitted Jewish men and one of its brothers was Isadore Feibleman, a prominent citizen of Indianapolis. At its 1912 convention it adopted an "Aryan" rule, not in response to any pressure to deny admission to Jews, but because the West Coast chapters were opposed to the pledging of "Orientals". Of course, the same clause made it impossible for the fraternity to pledge Jewish men in the future. In 1948, Mr. Feibelman made an eloquent plea for the removal of the clause and in the course of his remarks named several members of the fraternity who were of the Jewish faith. Eventually the fraternity did remove the clause and is now open to anyone of any faith. AEPi is our safeguard that men of Jewish faith will always have a fraternity that will accept them. Currently, when there are still campuses which practice racist ideals, and in a year which has seen the most anti-semitic acts since decades ago, we are more than ever ready to make sure our fraternity remains Jewish so that Jewish men will always be able to have a greek experience.

Where you err:

We do not deny anyone's admission because of their faith. Please do not judge our decisions if you are not aware of every fact. You are not on the rush comm or in the chapter. You have, simply put, absolutely no idea whether people are rejected on the basis of their religion. Most chapters will always seek out Jewish potential members for several reasons. We know that community. That is where we return to and know students, most likely. Also Jewish students seek us. They want to be in the "Jewish" house. There is nothing wrong with that, just as if someone wanted to be in the engineering house because that is where they feel they get along the most. When we sponsor Jewish events or co-sponsor something with Hillel, of course that will also spread our name within the Jewish student body even more. And it is a ridiculous claim that people look for kids that look Jewish. True, certain people do have that look that a Jewish person can easily identify (I don't have that 6th sense personally) but many of us don't. I have red hair and freckles, along with an Arab name and no discernible accent.

You make the claim that at other schools in your area, 90% of the greek life is Jewish and this prevents non-Jews from enjoying the greek life. If I have ever seen a statement full of holes that I could drive a truck through, it is this one. 1) This is not your campus, so I find your experience not to be the strongest. 2) I will start accepting your nice statistic when you provide me with numbers. In the meantime, please accept the fact that 90% of Uganda is actually Swedish. 3) Two posts above the one I quoted, you state: "I have seen with my own eyes here up north, PLENTY of girls not even get a chance bc they were not jewish. " This is in direct contradiction to your quote above: "I have never seen a girl cut from rush due to being jewish". Perhaps you can clarify or choose a side to approach your argument, because I am confused.

From my own experience of meeting so many AEPi's across the country at conventions, I can say that almost all our chapters have non-Jews. My favorite chapter (Missouri-Rolla) of all hasn't got a single Jew in it but these guys were awesome at convention and were dedicated to Jewish ideals and learned about our values where they wouldn't otherwise. I will proudly call them my brothers. I can't speak for AEPhi, which you mentioned, but I am positive they have many non-Jews as well. Even in NY, I know of 4 non-Jewish AEPhis on 3 SUNY campuses. We will take any Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Bahai/Moonie kid into our chapter that we feel will benefit from us and will benefit our brotherhood, given the fact that he understands why we were founded and feels comfortable supporting that. Perhaps the true hidden problem at your campus is that they're all from NY...now those girls can get on anyone's nerve regardless of religion (the exception is if you're from Brooklyn or Queens because the water is different there). As for the jap comments you made, I figure that if you just don't like that little sub-culture, then you should remember you are not a part of it. People are free to act in a certain manner among themselves. This might seem obnoxious or bother a lot of people, but then again I'm sure that group you judge has a word or two to say about you and your judgements. Oh and you really don't realize just how offensive that word can be until you leave the NY area - specially if someone who isn't Jewish uses it.

-Rudey
--Because Zoolander is the best movie ever!