AEPi wins national title as top chapter

Alpha Epsilon Pi at the University of Maryland became the first chapter in the traditionally Jewish fraternity to be nominated and awarded the highest North-American Interfraternity Conference award for an outstanding individual fraternity.Over spring break, the Delta Deuteron chapter earned the Award of Distinction, known as "The Golden Chapter Award," after being nominated by its national office Feb. 26.

"This award is a testament to what the guys have done not only this year but in the past," said AEPi Vice President Evan Hoffman. "I really feel like all of our hard work has paid off and am thankful that we were recognized with the highest award."

Out of the 5,500 NIC's fraternity chapters, the only two other chapters who received this year's award were Theta Chi from Missouri State University and Alpha Tau Omega from Emory University, said Ben Pendry, NIC director of fraternity advancement and the head of the award's selection committee.

Because of the award's selectivity, the committee carefully investigated each nominated chapter to ensure compliance with NIC standards, Pendry said. The chapter was evaluated for its community service and leadership, among other qualities, according to the NIC Web site.

Pendry said they award those chapters "who represent the values of their organization in a way that sets the example for fraternities across the country."

Among the events that influenced the NIC awards committee were AEPi's tikun olam, or community service, programs including its recent Splash Bash event and monthly Feed the Needy food drives.

"If you look at our application, you will see that Jewish programming plays a huge role in so many of our events," said President Marty Bock, a junior psychology major.

Bock e-mailed the chapter on March 23 informing them of the accomplishment and thanked the members for their contributions.

"It was a moment of euphoria," said Hoffman, a sophomore government and politics and criminology and criminal justice major. "I felt such a sense of awe."

Because each AEPi minor board member was responsible for submitting summaries of his responsibilities and programs as a part of the application process, almost all 115 members- including 19 initiated this spring- were directly involved.

"It feels pretty good to be a part of an organization that is actually recognized as 'the best,'" said Yosef Berman, a sophomore history major and AEPi Jewish programming chair.

The Executive Board will officially accept the award at the Award of Distinction Dinner on April 14 at the NIC Annual Meeting.

The Delta Deuteron chapter of AEPi was also the recipient of the Louis Sherr Outstanding Chapter Award for the past two years, which is the national fraternity's highest-ranking award for a chapter. Last year, they won the university's award for best fraternity and are applying again this year.