Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi), a traditionally Jewish national sorority, recently won committee approval from the Office of Student Affairs to become the University’s sixth Inter-Sorority Council (ISC) organization when it arrives on campus next fall.

“We are so excited to bring this to Stanford, since we have been working on getting approved for months.” said Molly Weiss ‘09, who plans to be an AEPhi officer next year. “We really hope to have a strong presence and become as well known as the other five ISC sororities.”

AEPhi joins five other sanctioned sororities at the University, of which Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta Phi and Delta Delta Delta are housed and Kappa Kappa Gamma and Chi Omega are unhoused.

The traditionally Jewish sorority was founded at Barnard College in 1909 by Jewish students who felt excluded from the Greek system because of their religious affiliations. They established AEPhi as an organization that did not discriminate on the basis of race, religion or social standing. Today, there are dozens of AEPhi chapters nationwide.

Stanford’s AEPhi organizers expressed similar sentiments and said they had similar reasons for creating a chapter at the University.

“We felt that there was not a place for Jewish women in the current Greek system on campus,” Weiss said. “While there are certainly Jewish women in the other sororities, [AEPhi] will provide a real home.”

The approval process was not easy, according to Weiss.

“It took the first two quarters to find members who were really interested and committed,” she said. “Since then, we’ve had to work on our proposal, present it to the committee and write a constitution.”

While the new sorority may seem nearly identical in ideology to AEPi, the campus’ Jewish fraternity, Weiss was clear that the women of AEPhi “do not want to be seen as simply the fraternity’s female counterparts.”

Unlike the fraternity, AEPhi will not be exclusively Jewish and has several prospective members who are not Jewish. The sorority’s organizers do, however, plan to hold some events with AEPi, in addition to other fraternities on campus.

There are currently fifteen sisters in the chapter, and the sorority expects a pledge class of at least that many next year when it is eligible to participate in the formal rush process.

“Since AEPhi is a bit more special-interest, it is often smaller than the other sororities,” Weiss said. “So, in addition to formal rush, we will hold informal recruitment throughout the entire year.”

Students should expect AEPhi to increase its visibility in the coming months. Weiss said interested girls could stay in contact with a member who would bring them in.

“You will see several events sponsored by us,” she said. “Some will be Judaism related, and others will not be. We really want to be open to everyone who is interested.”