By Alan Shnir ’26 & Jacob Hillman ‘26
AEPi is a name we had become familiar with before ever setting foot on a college campus. When high school graduates would come back to school to speak with current students, they would often mention a fraternity called AEPi.
When we got to college and heard our new friends talking about joining fraternities, one name was missing: AEPi. After conducting some research, we found that the chapter at Emory had closed a few years back. We spoke with Rabbi Yaakov Fleshel of Meor Emory to inquire if there were any plans to reopen AEPi. Luckily enough, the very next week, Morgan Mattler, AEPi’s head of expansion, happened to be visiting Emory with the purpose of reopening the country's fifth chapter. A few months later, AEPi officially returned to campus.
One thing we had been looking forward to about getting involved with Greek life was having a fraternity on the Emory Atlanta campus where those of us from the Emory Oxford campus would be included. Oxford students are often excluded from participating in Greek life at the Atlanta campus, but the reopening of AEPi presented an opportunity to finally change the trend. AEPi now presents itself as a place where students from either Emory campus can build new friends, have an opportunity to stay with my old friends, and continue paving my Jewish journey.
Hillel was instrumental in the reopening process and expanding AEPi’s reach to include students at the Oxford campus. From introducing students to key players and hosting meetings at the Marcus Hillel Center Hillel, the staff at Hillel have been invaluable in the support they have shown us, and in their willingness to provide any necessary resources. We are especially grateful to Rabbi Ilan Schwartz, as a fellow brother, and Atty Garfinkel-Berry for their assistance. The help that Hillel has given us will assist us in pursuing the vision of expanding AEPi into a major Jewish force at Emory.
20% of the Emory campus population is Jewish, but with only two Jewish fraternities on campus, many Jewish men joining Greek life do not find a Jewish house that they feel is the right fit for them. We believe AEPi will be a great addition to Jewish campus life because it will help fill this gap. Our goal is to be the primary place at Emory University for young Jewish men to build a true brotherhood with each other that is founded on Jewish values and practices.
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