Two historically Jewish Greek organizations recently contacted students via Facebook and e-mail to gauge interest in founding chapters at Dartmouth, according to several students contacted by the organizations over the past week. The two organizations Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi sorority have not yet contacted the Interfraternity Council or the Panhellenic Council, according to IFC President Zachary Gottlieb '10 and Panhell Vice President of Public Relations Ashley Cartagena '10.
On Jan. 19, several male members of Dartmouth Hillel received e-mails and Facebook messages from Steven Kaplan, director of expansion for Alpha Epsilon Pi, they said. The messages and e-mails urged students to contact Kaplan if they were "interested or even curious" about Alpha Epsilon Pi, the students said.
"AEPi is in the process of looking for founding fathers to start a Jewish Fraternity at Dartmouth," Kaplan said in the e-mails and Facebook messages.
Kaplan declined to comment about Alpha Epsilon Pi's interests in colonizing at Dartmouth in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
Chayla Furlong, director of expansion for Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi sorority, sent an e-mail to several female members of Dartmouth Hillel on Jan. 20, the students said. The e-mail said the sorority was "contacting several girls to see if anyone would be interested in being part of the founding mothers group" for an intended chapter at Dartmouth.
"I don't know if you're Jewish, but your last name is historically, so when we are looking for girls we start there," Furlong wrote in the message sent to prospective members. "Whether you are Jewish or not (we are non-exclusive!) I'd like to know if you're interested in hearing more about this awesome opportunity."
The sorority has simply been searching for interest in the Dartmouth community and has neither had any official communication with the College nor established an interest group on campus, Furlong said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. If Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi chooses to create a colony at Dartmouth, organizers would "hope to have a strong and open communication with the members of [Panhell]," Furlong said.
"At this point it's too early to say whether we will be colonizing at Dartmouth," Furlong said in the e-mail. "Our research and inquiries will continue for several more weeks before we will be able to make that decision."
Although Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi has had no contact with Panhell, council members were aware of rumors that a historically Jewish sorority had reached out to students, Cartagena said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"We encourage students and organizations [such as Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi] to contact the Panhellenic Council if they have any questions or interest in colonizing," Cartagena said in the e-mail, adding that she did not think the Panhellenic community was currently looking to expand.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi is a non-Panhellenic national organization and therefore is not subject to many of the restrictions that Panhellenic organizations must follow, according to Furlong. Because of this, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi does not have to participate in a Greek selection process before joining a campus, Furlong said in the e-mail.
"We feel that by remaining non-Panhellenic we provide our potential chapters an opportunity to better and more efficiently succeed at bringing a Jewish, Greek organization to campus," Furlong said.
If enough women on campus express an interest in joining the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, the sorority will request that they form an interest group, she said. The national sorority would not be officially affiliated with the interest group, but would provide guidance for one term, she said.
Joseph Tanenbaum '13 received a Facebook message and an e-mail from Alpha Epsilon Pi, but chose not to respond to either, he said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
Tanenbaum has "no desire" to start a fraternity at Dartmouth because he believes Dartmouth's Greek scene is already "diverse enough," he said in the e-mail.
"With such a long list of organizations waiting for the College to build them or renovate a house, it would have taken a very long time to actually have a house," Tanenbaum said in the e-mail. "Plus, I think that Dartmouth is such a welcoming community that I don't feel the need to start a fraternity, the founders of which and subsequently the brothers of which, would mostly be the same faith."
Alpha Epsilon Pi tried to establish a chapter at Dartmouth in 2006, but its efforts were rejected by the IFC, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Gottlieb is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
