Rebecca Shapiro Thesis (11 May 2011).pdf - Brandeis Institutional ...

Jewish network, which brought Jewish students together decades before the birth of Hillel.In order to understand fully the present structure of the Jewish Greek system, it is importantto understand the path that the various organizations took to reach where they are today.This is particularly relevant when examining the historical role of Judaism in theorganizations and their current differences and similarities.While I was initially interested in the historical aspect of the Jewish Greek system,two events awakened me to realize the untapped potential of Jewish fraternities and sororitiesas a means of Jewish informal education and socialization opportunity. During my Junioryear of college I served as the president of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority on the BrandeisUniversity campus. As one of my initiatives, I sought to re-brand the Greek system andparticularly my sorority, by giving Greeks a better name on campus. My goal was to inspireGreek leaders to partner with on-campus organizations and expose Brandeis students, facultyand other staff to Greeks in a positive way, removing the reputation of partying, hazing andother negative behaviors. My sorority and several other Greek organizations partnered withChabad on campus, encouraging members to participate in Chabad's iLearn classes. EightDelta Phi Epsilon women enrolled in a semester long series of classes specifically created forthe sorority women. Several admitted that they enrolled comforted in the knowledge thatthey would tackle religious issues with a previously established network of confidants.These eight women used this opportunity to better understand what their Judaism meant tothem and they strengthened their Judaism alongside their sorority sisters.The other event occurred during a visit to the Delta Deuteron Chapter of AlphaEpsilon Pi at University of Maryland. During my visit, I was invited to an event entitled"B.L.T with the Rabbi“. I was a bit surprised, as B.L.T traditionally refers to bacon lettuceiii