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

Conference (Maccabi is an affiliate of the JCC), Israel on Campus Coalition and AIPAC.ZBT also attends conferences for Jewish organizations that are not partners, such asJFNA's Tribefest and General Assembly. For Greek conferences, ZBT sendsrepresentatives to conferences that bring together campus and headquarters professionalstaff, such as the Fraternity Executive Association, the Association of Fraternity Advisorsconference, and the National Risk Management conference. Finally, ZBT's staffparticipates in the American Society of Administrative Professionals Conference, whichhelps the staff address issues in a professional manner that provides them with theresources to properly market the fraternity and grow strategically. All of theseconferences allow the fraternity to grow and provide its members access to explore theiridentities as contemporary Jews and fraternity men.Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity (∑AM) conceives of its role in the Jewish communitydifferently from the other two fraternities. AEPI staff proudly refers to its fraternity asthe "only Jewish fraternity" and the only fraternity to have chapters in Israel. ZBT has thedistinction of being the first Jewish fraternity. Meanwhile, ∑AM conceives of its role inthe Jewish community as a fraternal organization with a history strongly tied to theJewish religion, yet ever conscious that many members and alumni of the fraternity arenot Jewish. As a result, they do not officially partner with any Jewish organizations,however they do partner with Hillel and Chabad on a local level and only establishchapters on campuses with established Jewish communities with these structures. Thenational staff views the fraternity's role, especially concerning Israel, as that of asanctuary for Jewish students. Rather than focusing on partnerships, ∑AM providesresources. For example, the fraternity hosts voluntary alumni humanitarian missions60