Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

The world is not as it should be.

That obvious statement is what brought us to this point in time. We stop. We look around and we must make a decision whether it is going to be our responsibility to step up and make a difference.

For generations, AEPi Brothers have been the ones who have taken that step to make a difference in our world. From helping to find housing for Jews fleeing Europe after World War II, to the Civil Rights movement of the 60s to the establishment of the Jewish homeland to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights on college campuses, our Brothers have been at the forefront of some of the most impactful changes facing our society.

Our Brothers have helped lead the fight to free Soviet Jewry, feed the hungry, build a permanent Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., fight against BDS and anti-Semitism and provide care and compassion for those who need it most.

We’ve fought hate and prejudice not just because we, too, have been victims of it but mostly because this is what we are taught. This is what’s just. This is how we repair the world.

The author and holocaust survivor Ellie Wiesel famously said, “I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

AEPi teaches our Brothers life lessons about leadership but also about humility, mutual helpfulness and courage. Put these lessons together and we can make a difference in the world around us.

As we grapple with issues like systemic racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry in our culture, the obvious next step to wonder where we should turn. What should our role be in righting society’s wrongs?

This issue of The Lion seeks to explore the roles that our AEPi Brothers can – and should – be playing by asking Brothers what they are seeing and doing and showing how Brothers have made a difference in the world every day. As the world’s largest and leading Jewish college fraternity, we need to take a stand. And, we stand on the side of that which is right and just.

The world is not as it should be. But, our Brothers should work to make it better.

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