Fraternities Lead Antisemitism Response

Written by Andy Huston (Minnesota, '01), Executive Director

Seven groups lead antisemitism response

It’s no secret to any alumnus of a Jewish fraternity or sorority that our organizations are special – and because of this distinctiveness, often set apart and misunderstood from other Greek letter chapters and student groups.

Fraternities and sororities are the largest and oldest organizations providing a campus home for Jewish students. In a historic cooperative effort, the leadership of six Jewish fraternities and sororities in partnership with the Piazza Center have banded together to address those misconceptions and prove to the world that our students deserve better.

“Unfortunately, addressing incidents of antisemitism and bias directed at Sigma Alpha Mu members and chapter houses is nothing new. We’ve discovered that the prevalence of these incidents is often underreported because members brush off antisemitic slurs as ‘jokes’ and don't want to identify as a victim. In other instances, they don’t want to draw more attention to the chapter or their house. Our research partners have also identified this as a significant gap within scholarly research in higher education and related to fraternities and sororities,” shared Sigma Alpha Mu Executive Director Andy Huston, CAE. “By partnering with other organizations and the Piazza Center, we will help document the pervasiveness of these issues with basic facts and recorded testimonials so we can take this information to universities and advocate for our members.”

The Jewish Fraternity and Sorority Committee is working to get students the support they urgently need on campus, and its action plan is rooted in data. The Committee is supporting research to unequivocally prove to university administrators, government agencies and policy-makers that change is necessary.

Few academic studies exist that address the challenges faced by Jewish college students, particularly those who choose to join a fraternity or sorority. University administrators and the staff who work with fraternities and sororities lack understanding how to directly support Jewish students and, worse, have limited resources for education and for those students.

“Universities are not doing enough to defend and help Jewish students. Our presence on campus is vital to so many,” said Bonnie Wunsch, Executive Director of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority and co-chair of the committee. “Being a member of a Jewish sorority or fraternity gives students a home on campus where they can be proud of their Jewish identity in a safe environment.”

In March 2023, the Piazza Center’s Jewish Fraternity and Sorority Committee was formed to help guide research in partnership with Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and a local chapter at Penn State, Beta Sigma Beta.

The JFSC engaged researchers to seek this data. Established in January 2019, the Piazza Center is a research facility dedicated to the Greek-letter community, reaching across 800 campuses and addressing crucial issues for fraternity and sorority members' success and safety like hazing, dangerous drinking, and mental health.

“We are learning ways to make students safe and create thriving Greek life for all students, including those who are Jewish,” said Stevan Veldkamp, Executive Director of the Piazza Center. “Our research will focus on historically Jewish chapters and members, but we look to discover ways to support Jewish students in any student organization.”

This fraternal research started in early 2023, with the Piazza Center team leading focus groups with the university staff members who work directly with Greek letter groups. Initial findings included:

• These university staff members are not prepared to handle antisemitic incidents and do not understand the impact on Jewish students.

• Universities do not have structures in place to support their staff or students when antisemitic incidents happen. Education and prevention resources are scarce.

• Campuses do not include Jewish groups in diversity conversations.

• University and/or governmental policy typically ignores antisemitism or, worse, upholds rules that are antisemitic in nature

This was before the terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and subsequent Israel-Hamas war – which immediately compounded these issues.

Since late 2023, JFSC and Piazza Center leadership doubled down on these plans, focusing on the changed campus climate, the rise of protests and the impact on individual Jewish students and their safety. The work has continued, moving audiences, with researchers hearing from students about their experiences. Findings from the analysis of student data are in the final stages and will be published soon. The next phase of research will be to seek comparable data from alumni members.

The work completed so far has been generously funded by gifts from the Foundations that support Jewish Fraternity and Sorority Committee member organizations, including Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation. Penn State hopes to generate an endowment to support Piazza Center research.

If you are interested in supporting these research projects with your financial support, please scan the QR code below or visit https://secure.paperlesstrans.com/SigmaAlpha and note Piazza Research in the “Please Apply My Gift To” field on the donation form.