Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi), a primarily Jewish sorority at Arizona State University (ASU), is small but its members are very passionate about the sorority’s philanthropy and sisterhood.
While AEPhi is not limited to members of the Jewish community, members of the sorority are primarily Jewish. AEPhi was founded in 1909 by seven women, now active on over 50 college campuses, according to the official website.
The philanthropies that AEPhi support are Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and Sharesheet, which is a foundation that helps Jewish women and their families with breast and ovarian cancer.
“I have gained such a wider perspective on both ASU and the world,” Vice President of Finance Lexie Midtun said. “I love learning about people and their experiences. My sisters all live amazing but different lives. I have learned about different majors, different jobs, and even different states/countries that my sisters have visited or live(d) in.”
ASU offers students access to Jewish organizations such as Chabad and Hillel, which are outlets the students, Jewish or not, often use to meet other people and bond with the ones that they already know. Many women in AEPhi, no matter what campus they live on, attend these events to do just that, and make time to spend with their sisters.
“I feel like I have become more religious and have attended Olami, Chabad and Hillel,” Alanna Goodman, active member and Phoenix student, said. “I go with my sisters to shabbat weekly and it’s always a blast. I feel more connected and close with Judaism.”
Midtun said that many members of AEPhi are not Jewish, but are still expected to respect Jewish values.
Formal recruitment for sororities is when potential new members (PNM) have the chance to express their true selves and figure out if they would fit in with the rest of the sorority, and ultimately trust the process of recruitment.
“I knew I was where I was meant to be, especially growing up in a Jewish household,” Paige Koplow, vice president of operations and standards, said. “What makes AEPhi what it is is the intimate sisterhood that we all share. My favorite thing about being in this chapter is how much we all truly know each other for who each of us are.”
Most sororities hold events such as sisterhoods, formals, chapters, which are weekly meetings among the whole sorority chapter to give sisters a chance to interact and enjoy themselves.
“While I have enjoyed all of the larger events like philo week, formal, and initiation, my favorite part of being in AEPhi has been getting to know all of my sisters,” Midtun said. “They are all studying and doing amazing things, and I have loved to get to learn all about them.”
AEPhi is a relatively small chapter, but very well-known and is growing more and more every year during recruitment and during continuous open bidding (COB), which is where women have the opportunity to join the sorority with a less formal recruitment process.
“My favorite thing about being in this chapter is how much we all truly know each other for who each of us are,” Koplow said. “I do hope we grow our chapter so people can have the same feeling as well.”
Edited by Shi Bradley
