(Credit: Facebook)
Across the country, rape culture permeates life on college campuses, affecting all areas of campus life. According to the BBC, those who join fraternities are three times more likely to commit an assault.
“Another fraternity on campus got kicked off for sexual harassment,” said University of Arizona sophomore and Sigma Alpha Mu brother Brent Davis. “We joke about it a lot. It isn’t talked about as seriously as it is.”
According to the Wesleyan student assembly, 47 percent of students believe fraternity parties are less safe than other parties on campus and 61 percent believe fraternities have a negative impact on gender relations and equality.
“I was just at University of Massachusetts and at Wesleyan, and they were talking about bystander intervention programs and that’s great,” said professor of sociology at the University of Michigan Elizabeth Armstrong in an interview with the Guardian. “People should try to engage, but what it leaves off the table are the organizations that put people at risk on campus.”
Jewish fraternities are working to change that.
On campuses everywhere, Alpha Epsilon Pi is working to combat rape culture with programs like “Consent is so Frat” at Wesleyan University after students started referring to one fraternity as “The Rape Factory” four years ago. Today, the campaign has spread to over 30 campuses.
“The idea here is to focus on how consent can be a fraternal value,” said Wesleyan University alumni and AEPi brother Matthew Leibowitz ’14 in an interview with The Daily Targum.
Today, that message continues to thrive.
“As a Jewish origination, we believe in the traditions of our culture and respecting everyone, especially women,” said past International President and current spokesman of AEPi Jon Pierce. “We’re dedicated to … educating members about sexual education.”
Education happens within Jewish sororities, as well.
“We’re keeping our sisters safe and looking out for each other,” said director of public relations at Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi Dawn Savage. “We leave the programming to our chapters, but we do encourage that it focusses on women.”
Because SAEPi has chapters on so many campuses, it is difficult to manage the needs of every chapter.
“Different chapters have different issues, but if there are any incidences, they have the support of the national board,” said Savage.
For many within these organizations, those Jewish values are the motivating factor behind not only changing our campus cultures, but being part of such a movement in the first place.
“I wanted to be with others who are Jewish like me, where we share similar cultural values,” said an anonymous SUNY Oneonta sophomore and AEPi brother..
In both fraternities and sororities, Judaism doesn’t only influence the member’s moral codes, but also the way these students are viewed by their peers.
“People have a stereotype of us,” said University of Pittsburgh first-year and Alpha Epsilon Phi sister Rachel Malkin. “It’s not negative, but it’s definitely part of who we are.”
Regardless of outside judgements, the AEPhi sisters are there for each other.
“There were people getting jumped in the city, [but] the girls are looking out for us,” said Malkin.
Throughout both Jewish and secular fraternities and sororities, assault education needs to continue. At AEPi, yearly conferences with 185 chapters is their way of educating their members.
“(Speakers) spoke to them about consent,” said Pierce. “We also talk to our members about risk management in our chapters. We talk to them there about smart dating. We tend to bring in upwards of 600 members at conferences.”
At SAEPi, the goal is to focus not only on the sisters, but on the campus communities, as well.
“These things happen on campus,” said Savage. “[Our chapters] are also part of the campus communities.”
Whatever the cultural affiliation, as a member Greek Life, brothers and sisters need to be aware.
“It’s all around us in Greek life,” said Davis. “We should talk about that [more].”
Nicole Zelniker is a student at Guilford University.
