History - 1989-2004
1989 was not a good year for Beta, internal strife and low membership sent the chapter into a tailspin. By November, conditions were such that National was forced to step in and put the chapter into receivership. Andy Borans, National Director of Chapter Services flew to Cornell to reorganize the Beta. After a membership audit, he selected 10 brothers to continue as core members of the reorganization effort. These men were: Steve Goodweather, Seth Isenberg, Dan Levine, Richard Madris, Ben Manevitz, Greg Miller, Gregg Rubenstein, Stephen Schwartz, Eric Wagner and Stefan Zechowy. The brothers not selected were asked to become inactive, but were not expelled. AEPi Chapter Consultant David Gilbert moved into the house for a month to lead the January rush effort. His able leadership and the hard work of the ten brothers, including President Seth Isenberg, Treasurer Gregg Rubenstein and Rush Chair Richard Madris, culminated in a successful Rush, in which 26 men were initiated on February 5, 1990.
Rush efforts continued, and an extremely high quality Alpha pledge class was inducted two months later, consisting of Josh Frank, Craig Gordon, Jason Hitner, Matt Krakowsky, Rich Shenken and Darren Tishler. Beta had grown from 10 men to 42 men in one semester. Together, these 42 men are honored with a large plaque in the chapter house in recognition of their extraordinary efforts.
Due to confusion over the proper terminology, as well as a shortsighted marketing decision by the National office, a decision to designate some brothers as ‘founding fathers’ and to restart the pledge class names with Alpha was made at this time. This was not correct, as the chapter had been reorganized, not refounded. It was also unfortunate, as it alienated the alumni from the 80’s. This mistake would not be made again during the next chapter reorganization.
Seven brothers attended the 77th AEPi National Convention in St. Petersburg, FL. Richard Madris was part of the ritual team for the model initiation, serving as Sentinel. In the fall, the Chapter passed its new Constitution and Bylaws. 31 brothers lived in the house.
The spring of 1992 belonged to AEPi. With Jeffrey Weiss once again at the helm, Beta chapter pledged 12 men. This Delta Pledge class, under the supervision of Pledgemaster Brett Silverman, was composed of the following men who were inducted on SuperBowl Sunday, January 26, 1992: Gaston Ceron, Sam Flatt, Jason Fromberg, Glenn Gandelman, Doug Goldstein, Ken Gordon, Ira Kaplan, James Lapushner, Mike Marchant, Jason Obolsky, David Schechter, and Kenny Zuckerberg.
The fall of 1992 was a very successful semester for AEPi. The social calendar was very full all semester due to many mixers and bar nights. Our annual Buckfest event and party was a huge success. The house meal plan was a huge success due to Laurie Pullen's second semester as our cook, and Ira Kaplan as Steward. The spring of 1993 was a time of growth for the Beta Chapter. We utilized our numerous annexes in College Town to their fullest. The Beta Chapter initiated 11 men. The Epsilon Pledge Class consisted of the following men: Tom Dayton, Len Edelstein, Dave Feinstein, Adam Getz, Dave Goldbrenner, Ross Goldstein, Robert Hanski, Dave Heber, Matt Podell, Gabriel Rozengarten, and Dave Weisel.
The start of the Fall '93 semester saw a strong house of 35 brothers, 24 in-house. The semester started off the soon to be annual Disorientation Party. Under the guidance of the Social Chairman, the social program was a great success. The annual BUCKFEST event and party were also a great success, partially due to Ross Goldstein '96, providing a "booming" wake-up call at 6:00 am. Thanks to the hard work of the co-alumni chairs, Dave Feinstein '96 and Matt Podell '96, Homecoming saw an overwhelming turnout of alumni at the annual tailgate and Homecoming Formal. In addition alumni relations improved considerably through their efforts. David Shechter was vice president of Hillel for fall 1993.
The Going Ape Rush of 1994 was led by Rush Chairman Jason Obolsky '95, and the Chapter inducted the Zeta Pledge class. The Zeta pledge class consisted of the following fine men: Brian Blitz, Shawn Cooper, Adam Dembrow, David Glickenstein, Jeffrey Goldman, Craig Grossman, Michael Grove, Jefferson Han, David Harelick, and Ezra Marbach. Harry Kahn was added three weeks later as the Eta pledge class. The semester concluded with traditional Slope Day festivities followed by the Spring Formal at the Statler Hotel. Senior Night, our last official event of the semester, allowed the brotherhood to bid farewell to the last members of the Beta and Gamma pledge classes and allowed us all to eat one last Pudgie's Party Pack.
In July 1994 Beta celebrated its annual reunion weekend with over 30 participants including many recent alumni. One month later brothers began arriving in Ithaca and the semester was off to a fast start. Ira Kaplan '95 fulfilled his destiny as Master for the 1994-95 school year. When the semester began there were 23 brothers living in the house and 8 in Collegetown. The brotherhood actively participated in freshman orientation with a number of brothers serving as Orientation Counselors. Social Chair Brian Blitz '97 organized an exciting Disorientation party to kickoff the semesters' social program. Over the course of the semester this would include many successful Bar Nights, a packed house for Buckfest, and a philanthropy party and raffle with Chi Omega that raised over a thousand dollars for charity.
The fall semester saw the Chapter’s intramural basketball team, Flag Football team and Ice Hockey team all have great success. Beta also increased its presence on campus through its fan support at Big Red football and hockey games. This included Beta's first TV appearance when Madison Square Garden broadcast Cornell Games with our letter proudly displaced in the first row of the student stands. At Lynah Rink, Alumnus Brett Silverman '93, Grad '95, whipped the Faithful into a frenzy with the traditional Cow Bell Fight cheer. Gabriel Rozengarten '96 was a member of the Cornell University Track Team.
In October, David Labush was inducted in the Theta pledge class. Pledge D-Day as he came to be known was initiated at the end of the semester. The Spring 1995 Rush was once again successful and led to the induction of eleven fine men: Jason Flaum, Brian Herz, Scott Kessler, Dan Kurtz, Josh Markiewicz, James Nicoll, Jason Reich, Brian Schneider, Jamie Weber, Bill Worall, and Jonathan Zippin. During the semester, Jason Reich '98 starred in "Play it Again Sam" at Risley theater giving an inspiring performance in a role made famous by Woody Allen. He would go on to win 4 Emmy Awards as a writer for the Daily Show. Jason Flaum '98 earned athletic accolades placing 3rd in an intercollegiate Judo competition.
As brothers began arriving in Ithaca for the Fall 1996 semester there was little doubt the house would see drastic improvements in the near future. Under the leadership of the following officers the Renaissance began: Master David Labush ’97, Exchequer/ Rush Chair Brian Schneider ’98; and House Manager Jon Zippen ’98.
The semester will perhaps be best remembered for Beta's dramatically improved and highly successful social program led by Brian Blitz '97. Beginning with Disorientation and Buckfest and ending with yet another crowded house for our final Thursday Bar Night, the social program solidified the chapter’s standing on campus and positioned Beta for a highly successful rush in the spring. The chapter purchased DJ equipment prior to Buckfest which not only saved money but under the direction of DJ Harry Kahn '97 allowed the chapter to play better music. Another highlight of the semester occurred when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman '74 visited Ithaca for homecoming. Brother Bettman signed autographs, toured the house, and posed for numerous pictures with brothers past and present.
Led by Master Labush's initiative, the chapter began a campaign to improve the physical structure of the house. Through constant persistence Beta convinced the National Fraternity to finance new fire safety equipment and new lighting in the chapter house. The most incredible improvement occurred when brothers moved 14 TONS OF STONE while completing a major landscaping project in front of the building.
On a sad note the chapter bid a fond farewell to the original Buckfest when we discovered that the once square structure was quite round by the end of the annual event. After draining the pool the brothers demolished the structure.
Beta once again continued to be a leading supporter of Big Red sports. A 22 person contingent of Brothers, Alumni, Rushees, and friends traveled to U of Penn. for the Ivy League Football Championship. Despite a disappointing loss to the Quakers, those who bunked at the Gamma Chapter enjoyed the stay.
In the fall, Jacobo Bibliowicz was intiated into the Beta Chapter. The Spring 1996 Rush led by Harry Kahn '97 was very successful and led to the induction of 12 fine men: Brian Bloom, Jason Demby, Akiva Holzer, Alex Korson, Matthew Lindenberg, David Lyons, Jonathan Matloff, Seth Miller, Justin Nudell, Matthew Projansky, Richard Solomon, and Stephen Steinlight. Seth Miller ’99 has been one of Beta’s hardest working brothers. He maintained an excellent website for the chapter.
The Chapter followed that up in 1997 when it initiated 14 brothers as the Mu class: Aaron Feldman, David Chipurnoi, Dave Feldstein, Dave Feuerman, Dave Hermann, Eric Kanterman, Evan Grossman, Mark Goldman, Matt Evans, Matt Lewis, Meir Braunstein, Rich Bruckner, Rob Burak, and Rob Munoz.
In 1997, the Beta Chapter celebrated its 80th anniversary. The highpoint of the year was a special 80th Anniversary Luncheon held at the Cornell Club in New York City in October. The Luncheon was organized by Richard Madris '91, who also served as Master of Ceremonies. In addition to a sumptuous buffet, the Luncheon featured speeches by Joe Goldberg '43, whose father founded the Beta Chapter in 1917, then Supreme Master Andrew Fradkin (Vanderbilt '79), and Brian Schneider '98, the then undergraduate chapter Master. Alumni, many of whom had not seen each other in years, were able to share memories and rekindle friendships. The celebration ended with a rousing chorus of Gold and Blue.
Also that Fall, the chapter initiated Jason Pront, Jeff Henle, Michael Roxland, and Roman Yelensky. In April 1998, twelve fine men consisting of freshmen and sophomores were initiated into the Beta Chapter under the guidance of Pledge Master Meir Braunstein ‘99. They were Evan Berk, Jeff Chwast, Mike Fettner, Ben Fox, Josh Goodman, Josh Halpern, Mike Kahn, Mike Kassoff, Josh Levinger, Andrew Mehler, Dmitriy Patek, and Allen Weiss.
The Omicron’s were initiated in Spring '99 and consisted of Alan Noah, Andrew Sachs, Daron Schreier, James Brief, Josh Ronnebaum, and Uri Moszkowicz. Uri maintains the listserve for the chapter. AEPi finished up the Spring 1999 semester with about 40 brothers.
In the summer of 1999, former pledges of the Theta Chi chapter (which had been kicked off campus for hazing) approached National about the possibility of joining the existing Beta chapter. An agreement was reached, and in the fall of 1999, 28 new brothers were initiated into Beta as the Pi class. Due to the size of the chapter, Beta operated out of two houses, our own house at 140 Thurston and the leased old Theta Chi house at 40 Ridgewood. Thurwood was the official house in the fall and Ridgewood in the spring. Josh Halpern ‘01 was the Master. With Mike Schwalbe and Paul Gelb leading the rush efforts 30 men comprised the Rho pledge class that spring. AEPi received the Randy Scott Stevens Awards for service within the Greek Community.
With fewer men scheduled to live in the house, the decision was made to operate only one house (Ridgewood) for the following year. Thurston was to be rented out to another fraternity, but that deal fell through and it remained vacant throughout the year. The Ridgewood lease ended in June 2001. The house corporation was unable to renew the lease on affordable terms, and the chapter returned to its traditional home at 140 Thurston Avenue that Fall.
That prior summer, we gave the interior of the house a makeover, including new carpeting, painting and furniture. During the Fall semester, we replaced both roofs and made various other repairs. A security system and alarm were installed, and we purchased a new pool table, foosball table and TV to replace items previously stolen. We also bought new sofas, tables and chairs. Approximately $75,000 was spent in the 2001-02 year. The House Corporation announced its intention in the future to expand the size of the house with an addition to contain a new section of bedrooms and common areas. The timetable is dependent on the chapter’s growth and financial stability, as well as demonstrated occupancy.
The Chapter was placed on interim suspension by the University in November 2001 as a result of improper behavior by the chapter. The actions taken by the University were supported by the National and the Alumni Association, as a necessary step toward restoring the reputation of AEPi on campus.
AEPi Nationals responded to this interim suspension by interviewing each brother individually and asking those who were troublemakers to leave the fraternity. The officers of the chapter were also replaced. The new officers became Master Spencer Gellman ’04, Lt. Master Michael Goldman ’04 and Exchequer Josh Little ’04. In January 2002, the newly revitalized chapter had a successful Rush, with 11 new men joining. The chapter also had the #1 GPA on campus.
For the 2002-03 year, Daniel Swersky was Master. After a precarious Fall semester, Adam Aronin of the National Fraternity came to campus for several weeks to assist with Rush and Pledging. With his guidance, and a strong effort by the brotherhood, the chapter had a fine rush and looked forward to a successful spring semester.