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

This wave of growth centered around the adoption of ethnic and racial pride in the systemas a whole, yet also renewed the cultural components of the Jewish fraternities, especiallyin AEPI, which has actively embraced its Jewish identity. It also resulted in the creationof Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, the newest Jewish sorority, born in the absence of a stronglyJewish identifying sorority.The Jewish fraternities’ and sororities’ efforts to maintain their Jewish identity insome capacity have not gone entirely unnoticed. Recognizing the tremendous potentialto engage Jewish students already associated with Greek Organizations, Hillel andChabad have created ongoing relationships with the Greek organizations. GrahamHoffman, the Associate Vice President of Strategy for Hillel, noted in a direct interviewon the matter, that Hillel works differently with Greek organizations on each campus, asthe Jewish depth of each organization differs depending on the student population andbecause organizations are peer led. He also noted that in some cases, secularorganizations function Jewishly on certain campuses. He said this is common withSigma Chi, Alpha Phi, Pi Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Delta PhiEpsilon on many campuses, particularly those with larger Jewish populations.This highlights one of the challenges presented by Greek organizations. As anorganization grows and ages, it becomes increasingly more difficult for the nationalorganization to influence and control the local chapters. For example, AEPI is comprisedof 145 chapters, including two in Israel and twelve in Canada. ZBT boasts 80 chaptersand colonies, including one chapter in Canada, and Sigma Alpha Mu has 54 chapters andcolonies. Asserting control over peer led organizations, without paid personnel at each70