'You're not Jewish enough,' shuttered frat says told
A UVA fraternity shut by its national sponsor claims it's been told that it's 'not Jewish enough," the Cavalier Daily reports in a long and winding story. The allegation–- which Alpha Epsilon Pi officials reportedly declined to address–- was originally aired two weeks ago by the Newsplex. The national office claims that weak recruiting, hazing, and shoddy house maintenance are the real reasons. The mission statement of the fraternity, founded at NYU in 1913, still stresses "Jewish ideals, values, and ethics."
–story last updated 9:18am, September 1
Read more on: Alpha Epsilon Pifraternity
22 comments
Miller, I always thought of the hook as the 'somewhat to the right' alternative to C-Ville weakly.
Slanting your coverage to accuse the national chapter of reverse anti-semitism (or whatever you would call it) hardly seems to be a knee-jerk liberal thing to do.
This is from the cav daily article:
'ââ?¬Å?It’s tough to say that discrimination wasn’t a factor because it just feels like they’ve told us straight up many times, ââ?¬Ë?You’re not Jewish enough,’” Smith told the TV station.'
So there isn't even a record of anyone saying this. Only that the fratboy FEELS like he's been told this.
I wonder how many articles the hook would publish about African Americans in Charlottesville that FEEL like they've been the victim of racism? I wonder if there would be any standard of proof applied to this accusation?
Having attended UVA in the early 90's and having two very close friends who were AEPi officers (well, at least one of them held office - the non-Jewish one, as a matter of fact), I believe the Cav Daily article 100%. Those guys used to get raked over the coals routinely by their Nationals about their low Jewish numbers. It was weird given the excellent health of the fraternity otherwise.
Some of the "Gentile" brothers even pretended to be Jewish to keep the higher-ups off their backs. We all laughed about it at the time, but I guess somebody didn't think it was funny.
Bethel, I could put you in touch with some guys from the class of '94 who would corroborate that it was an issue back then too. What is the best way to contact you?
I'm the author of the story in the Cav Daily.
Read the article for a more balanced account of what happened at AEPi.
The Hook took the most controversial aspect of it and pushed it to the spotlight in one, brief paragraph.
There's much much more to this which is why it's a "long and winding story."
http://cavalierdaily.com/news/2009/aug/31/aepi-national-body-closes-chap...
Thank you.
Bethel Habte,
The mark of a good journalist is to examine both sides and present a balanced and unbiased review of the opposing opinions. You have done neither. Rather, you are perpetuating the "feelings" of the UVA Fraternity President, which have negative connotations to a measurable portion of the UVA community.
In reviewing the WCAV blog from which the quote was taken, the anonymous poster encouraged the readers to "Google" for event specifics. This perspective implies that it is incumbent upon the reader to investigate the claims put forward in the cited quote. Apparently, you have yet to perform such due diligence to validate these assertions, but yet you defend them as if they are fact. If you cannot attribute your work to a definable and credible source, then you should not repeat it.
From the WCAV report, and your attempt at journalism, the only voice that has been credibly vetted is that of a group of angry fraternity men. If the National Chapter were acting in the manner claimed, I suspect that many universities and colleges would not allow such blatant discrimination within their student organizations.
ââ?¬Å?Some of the ââ?¬Å?Gentile” brothers even pretended to be Jewish to keep the higher-ups off their backs. We all laughed about it at the time, but I guess somebody didn’t think it was funny.” There is no honor or humor is such deceit. This statement demonstrates a willful intent of the brothers to manipulate the environment to their own ends and provides yet another reason besides hazing to board the House.
AEPi was founded to promote Jewish culture among its brothers on college campuses. Its charter openly states that it ââ?¬Å?was founded to provide opportunities for a Jewish man seeking the best possible college and fraternity experience.” Obviously, this intent has been lost at the UVa chapter. It is not that AEPi wishes to be exclusively Jewish, but rather it wants a culture that provides ââ?¬Å?ties to the Jewish community.” By encouraging a membership that willfully lies to the National Chapter with regard to their ethnicity is in open violation of the fraternity’s charter, and from a spiritual perspective, the Talmud.
With regard to another poster that stated ââ?¬Å?If they want to discriminate in favor of Jews, let them fester in their own little self-created ghetto,” it is sad to read that such anti-Semitism still survives in the 21st century.
This is the Hook not the boring DP or CharlottesvilleTomorrow. One of my favorite aspects of this publication are the headlines which are zany, creative, spicy, and make me want to read more --get it hook !
I agree with you, Nancy! If people don't like the style of reporting employed by The Hook, I wonder why they even stop in. I doubt very seriously if 3,004 "page views" of this particular story means much when compared to 2,998 "page views".
The only reason I have never lost interest in The Hook is because I have such a devoted following now. This in itself has probably tripled the "page views" in most stories. People can hardly wait to see what I am gonna say next! :)
Gee, the story in Cav. Daily lists these alleged reasons:
"allegations of hazing, an inability fill the house, a lack of respect for the house and general concerns about chapter operations."
Why does the hook post only refer to what the frat boys allege?
Perhaps "not Jewish enough" means "live like filthy pigs."
Can the hook ever tell the right story what a rag... So liberal and so down on evrything that is not to the benifit of gossip or the down town mall rat life.. Get a clue Hook..
It's not just a "feeling", 'just wondering'...
"One past member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed for The Cavalier Daily a quote he left on a Web version of the WAHU 27 story, in which he described rush techniques he learned at fraternity conclaves in 2007 at Temple University, 2008 at the University of Delaware and 2009 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
'I can give you dates and locations, but I will not give you direct quotes because I don’t carry a journal around with me at all times to take notes,” he said. ââ?¬Å?At these conclaves they held seminars on rush techniques at which they stressed only inviting Jewish students to rush events, even providing advice on dealing with their possible non-Jewish roommates. I have also been told that we need to increase amount of Jewish brothers in our house in a meeting with the Executive Director of AEPi at the National Convention in Chicago in the summer of 08.'
Nice Jewish boys only want yiddishe madl visiting their home, not some schikses! Let the goyem in and there'll be schikses all over the place!
'Twas I mining gold and dying in Mexico. Dead? We don't need no steenkin life to post on the Internet.
Yeah, that is a "long and winding" story. Good call, Hawes.
So basically, it sounds as though these are typical male college students who are also non-Jewish, and their chapter is being reorganized because of the latter but the stated reason is the former.
Hey--its a fraternity, not a public swimming pool. If they want to discriminate in favor of jews, let them fester in their own little self-created ghetto. Other fraternities discriminate in favor of preppies, or athletes; one short-lived fraternity discriminated in favor of gays. And let's not overlook, these are FRATERNITIES. No girls allowed in our treehouse. And of course on the other side there are sororities, which won't accept you even though you wear a dress, if dangling under the dress is a p*nis. People who need to surround themselves with the comforting presence of others just like them? Let 'em.
Not long after the spread of color TV across the country I was a brother at AEPi. That was when it was on the corner of JPA and Kent Terrace. When Nelson Anderson of Anderson Street was the house cook. And before Billy Akers, the houseboy, discovered his "retirement fund" the brothers told him for decades was growing in the bank was just hot air, so a shattered Billy forged checks in righteous anger and went to jail.
That AEPi, Mu Chapter. My wife still has the pin.
Which brings us to the point. The house was 100% Jewish when I joined, and I was the only one who wanted to change that. Why? I hadn't come to UVa from an ethnic enclave. I didn't want that social limitation in high school, I didn't want it at a university, and at Thomas Jefferson's "illimitable freedom of the human mind" university it was blasphemy. I was sorely irked. When it became clear nothing could be changed, I went inactive the day it was permitted.
I was not popular at my fraternity and never went back. I should have.
Evidently decades later the brothers pledged someone more persuasive than I, and under his leadership quietly integrated the goyim into Mu Chapter. Not so the national leadership which stayed the course. A charter unchanged in nearly a century? Such rigid consistency is the opposite of a willingness to learn.
I hope the lads find a new national sponsor to buy the property and let them choose their friends as they see fit.
Fred. Did you have a relative that tried to "gentile" his name a then be in a movie about some treasure?
Investigate,
Wow! Sanctimonious much?
Let's not forget that these are college kids primarily looking for a place to have fun. And to be clear, AEPi WAS (when I was in school) and I would imagine still IS an overwhelmingly Jewish fraternity. I always thought it was cool because here was this clearly Jewish fraternity that was comfortable enough with it's own identity to welcome other perspectives. It is a shame if AEPi's Nationals found that type of culture to be incompatible with their goals.
"Religious purification" by any other name, I guess...
The real problem with this story by "The Hook" is in the headline, not their reporting. In the body of their blurb (it can hardly be called an article), they clearly say, "The national office claims that weak recruiting, hazing, and shoddy house maintenance are the real reasons." Their incendiary headline is misleading, irresponsible and not representative of the copy that follows.
Of course, they are trying to drive page views and provocative headlines do the trick.
you so funny.