AEPi Mu Delta Chapter at UMBC

Mu Delta's History

Early Beginnings

The Mu Delta colony of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity was started in the spring 2004 semester. Initially, Aaron Stoler and Aaron Raful met in the Hillel office by chance. One mentioned the possibility of starting a chapter of AEPi at UMBC to the other, and a plan was immediately sparked. Both Stoler and Raful instantly began to seek out men to help them start the fraternity.

Jesse Tanenblatt and Jesse Ellsbury happened to be in a small band with Aaron Stoler when Aaron discovered they were both Jewish and more importantly, were interested in being part of the fraternity. Allen Mosenkis was an enthusiastic figure who jumped on board for the ride as soon as the idea was pitched to him outside of the dining hall. Mike Frank was in a class with Aaron Stoler at the time, and was interested as well.

Thus, the group of six Founding Fathers was formed and weekly meetings began. Contact with National AEPi was established right away, to which they replied by sending chapter consultant, Jeremy Greenberg to UMBC. Eight members from UMBC were inducted into AEPi that year. Elections were held soon after. Aaron Raful, who had previously been president of his local Jewish youth group in California, and had helped to make it an outstanding organization, was elected Master. Aaron Stoler was elected Lieutenant Master. Jesse Ellsbury, an English major, was an obvious choice for Scribe. Allen Mosenkis, a very organized and detail oriented fellow was voted Treasurer. Jesse Tanenblatt was elected Sentinel, and Mike Frank was voted Member-At-Large.

Things began to move at a steady pace. Three events were necessary to gain formal initiation into the national ranks of AEPi: one philanthropic, one athletic, and one social. The Social Event was a group trip to Hooter’s Restaurant in downtown Baltimore. For the Athletic Event, the guys played Midnight Frisbee at 11:13 PM, and soon after that, discovered that one cannot see a Frisbee in the dark. Finally, the Philanthropic Event consisted of selling Kosher Pareve cookies during Passover, whose proceeds went to the National Kidney Foundation. Once all three events had been conducted, eight Founding Fathers were initiated into the Mu Delta (MD for Maryland) at College Park by brothers from the University of Maryland, College Park; Towson; George Mason and Johns Hopkins soon after.

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The Alpha Pledge Class

In the fall of 2004, when school began again, Aaron Stoler, as acting Rush Chair, began seeking out men to become members of the Alpha Class of Mu Delta. Most of these men were found through either Hillel events or by an individual Brother, who recommended them. The six people that Aaron Stoler and the other Brothers found made it through the Rush period and became the first official pledges of the Mu Delta Colony. They too had to plan a social, philanthropic and athletic event. The social event was held at a local restaurant, where the brothers socialized with the pledges and got to know each other better. As for philanthropy, the pledges, with the assisstance of the brothers raised awareness for victims of terrorism in Israel by drawing outlines of bodies on the sidewalk in the academic corridor. An athletic event was also planned and executed successfully. With the completion of the three events, Adam Cohen, Ryan Green, Ben Howarth, Gene Lemenev, and Ben Ring, continued through the intense pledge process, and ultimately made it, becoming Brothers of The Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity in November 2004.

The Beta Pledge Class

Following the Alpha Class's acceptance into the fraternity it was acknowledged that it would soon be time to seek out members of the Beta Class. Aaron Stoler again took up the mantle of Rush Chair but the other brothers, including the newly initiated Alphas, also sought out men who they felt would help the fraternity grow. And, indeed they found them in the personas of Evan Rosenberg and Philip Graff. With the end of the Rush period, the pledge period began, under the guidance of Pledgemaster Ben Ring. Again, three events were planned and executed. The social event was an evening of videogames in Brother Mike Frank's room. As for philanthropy, the Beta Class opted to raise money for the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the organization responsible for much of the beautification of the land of Israel. At the end of the pledge period, the Beta Class had raised over $100 dollars.

Second Elections

In the Spring of 2005, March to be exact, the time had come for the colony's second elections. With several officers not running for re-election, including Brother Jesse Tannenblatt, who was graduating, all offices were open. The elected slate consisted of Allen Mossenkis as Master, Mike Frank as Lt. Master, Ben Ring as Scribe, Phil Graff as Exchequer, Ben Howarth as Brother At Large, and Evan Rosenberg as Sentinel.

The Gamma Class

In the fall of 2005, it was time for the third consecutive Rush of the Mu Delta Colony, the Gamma Class. Rush, was to be an experiment. WIth a packed schedule, that included a visit from Chapter Consultant, Matt Waas, the Gamma Rush week ended, with three men being inducted as pledges, Eric Eller, Max Tanzer, and Aaron Wechsler. As pledges, they were guided by Pledgemaster Evan Rosenberg, who greatly improved the Pledge education system. As pledge classes before them, they planned and executed several events. First was their philanthropic event, which was to raise awareness of hunger and specifically targeting the student population by posting notices and fliers in the Resident Dining Hall. Following their philanthropic event, the Gamma pledges planned a social event, a Halo and Video Game Tournament held at Brother Aaron Raful's home. After the grueling pledge process, Eric, Max, and Aaron were initiated as Brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity.

The Delta Class

In the weeks following the Gamma initiation, the Mu Delta colony attempted an experiment in Rush, with a mid-semester Rush. Brother Ben Ring volunteered to coordinate the mid-semester Rush. The schedule included a Capture the Flag game as well as a football game. Following rush, Joseph Gabin and Tal Levitas were inducted as Pledges of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. After Induction, Tal and Joe were guided through the pledge process by Pledgemaster Evan Rosenberg. Unfortunately, the pledge period was shortened, but that did not keep the Deltas from proving themselves. For their event, the Deltas planned a brother bonding event, under the guidance of the Social Chair. After two weeks, Tal Levitas and Joe Gabin were initiated as Brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity.

Epsilon Class

The Spring 2006 Semester brought with it a new rush season and a second visit from chapter consultant Matt Waas. Rush Chair Ben Howarth put together a strong rush schedule, and as result, four men were extended bids: Zachary Strauss, Stan Schneider, Hamza Kahn, and Bertram Bauer. Following their indcution into the pledge process, they were guided by Evan Rosenberg who was serving in his final term as pledgemaster. The Epsilon Class successfully executed the typical philanthropic and social events. In due time, about five weeks, they were initiated as brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, in April 2006

Spring 2006 Elections

In the midst of Final Exams and the closing of the Spring semester, it was again time for elections. The offices were all open. The elected officers consisted of Ben Ring as Master, Philip Graff as Lieutenant Master, Max Tanzer as Scribe, Eric Eller as Exchequer, Ben Howarth as Brother at Large, Aaron Raful as Sentinel, and Joe Gabin as Historian.

Fall 2006: The Zeta Class

The fall of 2006 began with a robust recruitment program under the leadership of Lt. Master Philip Graff. The recruitment program located four men, Jeff Rosenfelt, Shane Eyler, Dan Rosenblum and Victor Elmann. The men were guided through the new member process by Ben Howarth, as Pledgemaster. The pledge process was made more exciting with a visit from national consultant, Colin Sutker. The pledge process lasted the typical five weeks, and in due time, the four men were initiated as brothers of AEPi in November 2007.

The week after initiation, the excitement for Mu Delta continued due to Executive Director Andrew Borans informing the brothers that the Supreme Board of Governors had voted to charter the colony in the spring.

Spring 2007: Eta Class and Chartering

In the Spring of 2007, the colony began its recruitment program with a series of events and coordination with Hillel at UMBC, again coordinated by Lt. Master Philip Graff. The recruitment program brought to AEPi, Matthew Glassman, Ari Ne’eman, Jacob Selis, and Joshua Levine. The four men were inducted as pledges in February, and continued down the path to brotherhood, eventually being initiated in early April, as brothers of AEPi.

During the course of the Eta Pledge, The Mu Delta Chapter received its charter. The ceremony was held on March 10, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. The brothers were joined by family and friends as well as other Greek chapter presidents and brothers from other chapters. Hillel Director Rabbi Jason Klein and Greek Advisor Corin Gioia both spoke about the growth of the chapter, the dedication of its brothers and the values of brotherhood. Brother Supreme Exchequer Elan S. Carr presented ritual items to the chapter, and Brother Supreme Master Gary W. Anderson presented the charter to the chapter.

Spring 2007 Elections

At the end of the Spring semester, it was time once again for elections. These elections would be different, as the elected officers would lead the chapter in its next phase of growth and development. The elected officers were, as Master, Philip Graff; Lt. Master, Eric Eller; Scribe, Joseph Gabin; Exchequer, Ryan Green; Brother at Large, Shane Eyler; and Adam Cohen as Sentinel.