Beta Chi frat gets its charter

On May 18, the Beta Chi chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity celebrated its most significant milestone since it was established in April 1999.

In front of a crowd of more than 80 brothers, friends, family and members of the AEPi international governing body, the local group received its charter, recognizing it as a full chapter of the international Jewish fraternity.

When the eight founding fathers of Beta Chi first came together, until they could prove their commitment to becoming a stable arm of the fraternity, they were only considered a colony.

The group spent the next four years working hard to meet international expectations in programming and continuous increases in membership.

"They expected that we would run a wide variety of programs from sports, to fund-raising, to philanthropy and, most importantly, the recruitment of undergraduates," explained Beta Chi's current president, Jeff Nider, who was a member of the first pledge class in 1999.

"Last August, at the annual international convention, they gave us a goal of recruiting 12 new brothers over the year in order to be chartered and we reached that goal."

Labelling the chartering ceremony as a sort of bar mitzvah without the gifts or a bris without the pain, Nider said the event was a huge step for the growing chapter, which includes 22 brothers from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Langara College campuses.

"It is very exciting because this is my last year as an active member of the fraternity and things have come a long way since I joined," he said. "I look back at where we were when I started and see where we are now, and I have learned a lot, the fraternity has changed a lot and I am a better, stronger person because of it.

"Many of us have put a lot of work to see this group succeed and there have been times that we were on the brink of failure," he continued. "But now we have a great number of amazing young guys who can take this fraternity to much greater heights."

The chartering event, which took place at the Georgia Hotel, featured dinner, a speech written by the AEPi international president, which was read by international governor Elan Carr, and the acceptance of the charter by Nider.

There were also several awards presented to recognize individual efforts.

The Most Scholarly Brother Award was presented to Nathan Salomon and Danny Rozen, the Most Active Award went to Corey Albert, the Most Dedicated Award winner was Adam Smollan, the Best Pledge Award went to Steven Meurrens and Most Outstanding Brother Awards were handed to Danny Simons, Craig Louis and Nider.

Adam Propp, one of the chapter's founding fathers, was also presented with an award for his work as the Beta Chi chapter advisor.

AEPi dignitaries in attendance included international governor Carr, international undergraduate governor Scott Tretsky, head of chapter services Andy Borans, as well as local alumnus Jeff Waldman and Propp.

The first AEPi chapter was formed in 1913 at New York University. The fraternity has since represented a brotherhood of Jewish men working together to have fun, educate themselves, help their community and develop leadership skills.

Any Jewish men going to any post-secondary school in the Lower Mainland who are interested in becoming an AEPi brother can e-mail rushaepi@hotmail.com for more information.

Kyle Berger is an award-winning freelance journalist and a graphic designer living in Richmond.