A Common Thread

          The personality of the chapters of a fraternal organization, including AEΠ, vary from school to school. For example, while a chapter of a fraternity at one school might be known as the "jock" fraternity, at another school it might be known as the "nerd" fraternity. However, most fraternities share a common thread from chapter to chapter, or at least began under such a pretense. For AEΠ, that common thread is that of being the Jewish fraternity of North America. Now, because that common thread is religious/cultural in nature, as opposed to interest/hobby/major based, those of us here at AEΠ Purdue feel that it opens our fraternity up to a unique and rewarding situation. The brothers of AEΠ come from varied walks of life, share a variety of interests, and demonstrate a multitude of styles, while still retaining that common thread which brings an otherwise divergent group of men together as brothers.

Stereotypes

          AEΠ at Purdue feels that we offer a lot to those who wish to join the brotherhood we promote. Backed by that unique thread, we view ourselves as not being the "stereotypical fraternity". Although it unfortunately does apply to some fraternities at Purdue, we feel that it would be inaccurate to pin the stereotypical fraternity image on our house. We would like to think that we are more open to a larger variety of people. The interests of our brothers range from hockey to basketball, soccer to tennis, role playing games to poetry, cheerleading to bike racing, Karate to Judo, and so on and so forth. Some brothers rock on to the Rolling Stones, while some would prefer to blast Outkast. Some might like to relax to some smooth jazz, while others would rather skank the night away to some ska music. Basically, no matter what you do or what you like, there may very well be a place for you in our brotherhood.

          By many, the word "fraternity" conjures some rather unpleasant images. Thanks to some "bad eggs", the reputation of the Greek system has been more than slightly tarnished in the United States. Wild parties, loose morals, binge drinking, dangerous hazing, dropping grades, and a blatant disrespect for authority... This is what "fraternity" means to many mothers out there, apprehensive about the new freedom unleashed upon their freshman sons.

          This is the image that AEΠ at Purdue is not associated with. This is not to say that we don't like to have fun, but we wish to be as responsible as we can with everything we do. We are explicitly a non-hazing fraternity, and a pledge will never be asked to do anything that any brother would not willingly do himself. In the brotherhood, academics come first and fraternity activity second. We do party (yes, it's true), but nothing ever gets out of control. All parties are monitored constantly by sober brothers, and there is a ride home by a sober brother at all times. Those of us here at AEΠ: Pi Upsilon wish for the goal of our brotherhood to be an enhancement of the college experience. While parties and social activities are one aspect of that goal, friendship, brotherhood, and academics are at our core.

Non- Jews!?

          Although AEΠ: Pi Upsilon does indeed focus on the Jewish population at Purdue, we are non-discriminatory towards those who are not Jewish. In essence, we try to induct men with a high quality of character who we think will become good brothers and who will forward our fraternity in positive ways that reflect the goals of AEΠ. We make sure that all who wish to join the brotherhood know that they are indeed wishing to join a national Jewish organization, and are doing so because of that background, not in spite of it. We feel there's no need to turn away good men who would embody the values of AEΠ simply because they do not come from a Judaic background.

Our Image

          Backed by a common thread, in conjunction with their campus-stereotypes, there's the ACTUAL image that a fraternity conveys at a particular campus. And for AEΠ, we hope to be intentional in that image.

          We used to be a large fraternity at Purdue, but were reorganized in the early 1990's. We have since then been one of the smallest fraternities here. But that status is now changing: we are trying to grow to that equilibrium size where we can be influential and known across Purdue, yet still remain able to all be good friends with one another. It's unfortunate when you ask a brother of one of the 100+ person houses, "Do you know every brother in your house?" and they reply, "MOST of them". It's even more unfortunate when you ask the question, "Are you friends with every brother?" and they have to shrug their shoulders and reply, "Not really". This is not what AEΠ is about.

          AEΠ is a fraternity of moderate size, where ever brother is a friend to one another. Being the Jewish fraternity, we target the Jewish population, but certainly don't discriminate against non-Jews. Academics come first. We are responsible: at our parties we have fun and make sure our guests have fun, but never lose control. We're about brotherhood, about being a part of AEΠ, not just about reaping the benefits of being in a fraternity. Lastly, we are growing at Purdue. We hope to become an organization to be respected, in a sea of fraternities that have little to show for themselves besides overwhelming numbers.