Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

U. of Chicago Jewish Frat Ensnared in Racist Email Scandal

The AEPi chapter at the University of Chicago is in hot water after a series of stunningly offensive emails between members of the Jewish fraternity were revealed.

The emails show the brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi:
– Regularly bandied about the N-word.
– Celebrated MLK Day with fried chicken and drinking game.
– Called nearby empty lot “Palestine.”
– Referred to a Muslim woman as a “terrorist.”

The frat has remained mum about the controversy, which was first reported by . A former frat brother gave the news sites four years of emails.

AEPi’s national organization is investigating.

“As a Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi is especially sensitive to hate speech and behavior towards any minorities. Especially during these troubling times of increased anti-Semitism on college campuses, we are very aware of the harm that negative speech — even in such non-public usages — can do,” the national said in a statement.

A University dean said: “The language used in these emails is offensive, and it is not consistent with the university’s values or our strong commitment to ensuring that people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives can thrive on our campus.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.