Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi () is a national Jewish sorority. It was founded on October 1, 1998, at the University of California, Davis.

History In the early 1990s with the closing of a national Jewish sorority on its campus, the University of California, Davis was left without a Jewish women's social organization. Several women on campus noticed the gap left by the absence of the former sorority and began strategizing how to start an organization on campus that would fill the need. Members of Alpha Epsilon Pi, a national Jewish fraternity, also urged the women of Davis to start a Jewish women's social organization of their own. With a positive response from the campus, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi was formed.

The "Sigma" is meant to represent "sisters of" in honor of Alpha Epsilon Pi's contributions towards the formation of the sorority. Sigma is also the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet; in Jewish tradition, the number eighteen means chai (life). The six women who founded the sorority—Alycia Seaman, Erin Glick, Leah Dansker, Rachel Rothfarb, Erin Barker, and Dana Miller—are considered the eternal mothers of the sorority.

Despite its formative Jewish identity, the sorority allows no discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or handicap. SAEPi's publication is called The Iris Petal, with a quarterly publication schedule.

The first season of MTV’s Sorority Life was filmed in the spring of 2002 on the UC Davis campus featuring members and pledges of ΣΑΕΠ. Through the airing of the show, ΣΑΕΠ began to expand across the country.MTV's Sorority Life, season 1, accessed 1 Jul 2020.

Symbols The sorority's mascot is the lioness, representing "strength, power, and force." The sorority's flower is the blue iris. From the Iris, its colors are blue and gold, explained as. "Blue is prominent in Judaism, and gold symbolizes the richness ΣΑΕΠ brings to its members." Additionally, these colors are used to identify the University of California, where the sorority was founded. The sorority's gemstone is the sapphire.

Governance A national board was started in the summer of 2002 to oversee the expansion and growth of ΣΑΕΠ as a nationwide sorority. Currently, there are seven alumnae from different chapters voluntarily serving as directors on the National Board. In early 2017, the National Board voted to restructure to consolidate operational functions into the Executive Office, maintaining the National Board for governance, strategic planning, and oversight.

Philanthropy At the 2008 national convention, Cancer Schmancer was selected as the sorority's national philanthropy. In 2011, the National Board re-evaluated the national philanthropy and decided to move on to an organization that encompasses all of the philosophies of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi. American Jewish World Service was chosen. In addition to the national philanthropy, some chapters also support local philanthropies.

Chapters In the following list of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi chapters, active chapters are listed in bold and inactive chapters are listed in italics.

NameCharter date and rangeInstitutionLocationStatusCharterUniversity of California, DavisDavis, CaliforniaActiveAlpha2003–2005Arizona State UniversityTempe, ArizonaInactiveBeta2003–2008, 2018–2024University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MinnesotaInactiveGamma2003–2006University of California, RiversideRiverside, CaliforniaInactiveDelta2005–2022University of California, Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CaliforniaInactiveEpsilon2005–2005University of OregonEugene, OregonInactiveZeta2005–2011Virginia TechBlacksburg, VirginiaInactiveEta2008–2020University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaInactiveTheta2008–2011Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti, MichiganInactiveIota2009–2014University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyBaltimore, MarylandInactiveKappa2009–2020University of CincinnatiCincinnati, OhioInactiveLambda2010–2017University of MissouriColumbia, MissouriInactiveThe Maneater newspaper, noting emergence of SAEPi on the Missouri campus, accessed 1 Jul 2020.Mu2010–2020James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, VirginiaInactiveNu2011–2019University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CaliforniaInactiveXi2013Binghamton UniversityBinghamton, New YorkActiveOmicron2014California State University, NorthridgeNorthridge, CaliforniaActivePi2015University of Nevada, RenoReno, NevadaActiveRho2017–2019Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick, New JerseyInactiveSigma2018–2021Queens CollegeQueens, New YorkInactiveTau2017Colorado State UniversityFort Collins, ColoradoActiveUpsilon2018University of Colorado, BoulderBoulder, ColoradoActivePhi2018–2019California State University, FullertonFullerton, CaliforniaInactiveChi2018–2019Hunter College, City University of New YorkNew York City, New YorkInactivePsi2018–2019Wilfrid Laurier UniversityWaterloo, OntarioInactiveOmega2018–2022Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFort Myers, FloridaInactiveSigma Alpha2018–2021State University of New York, New PaltzNew Paltz, New YorkInactiveSigma Beta2018–2019Ryerson UniversityToronto, OntarioInactiveSigma Gamma2018–2019University of Nevada, Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaInactiveSigma Delta2018–2020Florida International UniversitySouth Miami, FloridaInactiveSigma Epsilon2018University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaInactiveSigma Zeta2018Brandeis UniversityWaltham, MassachusettsActiveSigma Eta2019Stockton UniversityGalloway, New JerseyInactiveSigma Theta2019–2020University of HartfordWest Hartford, ConnecticutActiveSigma Iota2019–2020Baruch CollegeNew York, New YorkInactiveSigma Kappa2019–2021Towson UniversityTowson, MarylandInactiveSigma Lambda2019George Washington UniversityWashington, D.C.ActiveSigma Mu2022University at AlbanyAlbany, New YorkInactive

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi

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