Brown and White Vol. 127 no. 21

              The Brown and White
Vol. 127 No. 21
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
‘All the Lehigh News First’
As thousands of enthusiastic fans travel to New York City on Nov. 22 to watch the 150th meet­ing of college football’s most-played rivalry, there is con­cern sur­rounding how Lehigh will address safety protocol and security con­cerns regarding its students.
New York City, with a bustling population of over eight million people, is far from the safety and famil­iarity of Goodman Stadium.
Some students will likely be out of their element and comfort zone when they make the 100-mile trip to attend the game.
“I can only imagine how difficult it will be to keep track of students in New York and keep everyone
A proposal was submitted to the Lehigh Unviersity Interfraternity Council two years ago requesting that a historically Jewish fraternity join Lehigh’s Greek community. Last week, three different fraternities — Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Alpha Mu and Alpha Epsilon Pi — gave presenta­tions to convince Lehigh to choose their chapter.
Jennifer Tedeschi, an Interfraternity Council adviser, said it took two years from when Lehigh received the proposal to actually begin looking for a Jewish fraternity because other issues affecting Greek life, such as the FMA bankruptcy and Umoja House vandalism, forced the committee to push back its timeline.
She said that as of now, whichever fraternity Lehigh chooses will be non-residential, as there are currently no open houses on “The Hill.”
Although AEPi is currently active on Lehigh’s campus, it is not formally recognized as a frater­nity, which is why Lehigh is considering an out­side organization, such as ZBT or Sigma Alpha Mu, better known as “Sammy.”
“AEPi has been an unrecognized group for some time now, and that plays a factor in the committee’s decision,” Tedeschi said. “We wanted to give all three organizations founded on Jewish ideals a chance.”
According to the ZBT website, the organization was founded in 1898 as the nation’s first Jewish fraternity. The fraternity accepts men of good
out of trouble,” said David Silfen, ’16. “When you look at how many incidents we have at our home games, it’s tough to think of a way to effec­tively ensure everyone’s safety out­side of Lehigh’s campus.”
The Athletics Department has been working closely with the Lehigh University Police Department to ensure that everything runs smoothly in New York City.
The first step directly pertaining to students will be monitoring the boarding of the school-sponsored, New York-bound buses on campus.
The Athletics Department said it wants to be certain that no one on the buses will pose a threat to anyone else’s safety and well-be­ing, whether due to excessive intoxication or other reasons.
According to Lehigh police Chief Edward Shupp, LUPD offi­cers will be pres­ent when stu­dents board the buses.
There may also be officers on board some of the buses for the length of the commute to Yankee Stadium, which is locat­ed in the Bronx.
He said this is intended to help mitigate the risk of students encounter­ing legal trouble upon their arrival at the sta­dium.
Yankee Stadium policy states that if a guest under 21 years of age is found to be in possession of alcohol, he or she is subject to being ejected from the game without refund.
In addition, he or she may be barred from attending future events at the venue.
Minors may also face legal repercussions should they find themselves in trouble for any offens­es, alco­hol-related or other­wise.
LUPD will be sending officers to New York, but ultimately, once stu­dents are off of Lehigh’s campus and under New York City jurisdiction, the New York City Police Department will take over from there. Lafayette College is taking a similar approach to monitoring the safety of their students at the game.
“Our officers will not be in uni­form at the game or in New York City,” Shupp said. “It is NYPD’s jurisdiction, and we have full faith in both them and Yankee
character who uphold the values of the fraternity, regardless of religion. The Sammy website says its fraternity’s mission is to encourage academic success and leadership skills among its members as well as offer service opportunities. Members of Sammy are of all faiths, but appreciate that his­torically it is a fraternity of Jewish men.
group of students who saw a need for a Jewish fraternity reached out to AEPi international headquarters to bring the fraternity back to Lehigh’s campus.
Sammy was chartered at Lehigh in 1923 and remained a recognized fraternity on campus until 2008.
“The university does not currently recognize AEPi, as the national organization did not follow a university expansion process in 2001,” said Tim Wilkinson, senior assistant dean of students and director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. “Lehigh has always recognized AEPi’s right to exist as a private organization, as long as the chapter does not use university resources, or Lehigh’s name, in association with AEPi.”
However, some students on campus recognize AEPi’s involvement on campus in recent years and advocate for Lehigh to choose them over ZBT and Sammy.
“I think there’s no practical reason for Lehigh to be interviewing other Jewish fraternities,” said Jackie Grant, ’15, president of Chabad, a Jewish student organization on campus. “AEPi has worked hard to create an off-campus broth­erhood in the hopes of gaining recognition from the school.
“The brothers of AEPi are all very active in the Jewish community at Lehigh, and therefore they make up the ideal constituency of a Jewish fraternity,” Grant continued.
Rivalry 150: from Goodman to the Bronx
Lehigh sets guidelines for student safety in NYC
See SAFETY Page 2
See FRATERNITY Page 4
Jewish fraternities compete to join Greek community
By RAPHAEL KHALLOUQI
B&W Staff
By EMMA FRIED
Associate News Editor
Jonathan Cohen, ’15, president of AEPi, said the fraternity was a colony on Lehigh’s campus from 1974 to 1979 and was recognized as an official chapter from 1979 to 1992. However, the chapter was forced to close in 1992 because it did not have enough members. Then, in 2001, a