Our History
Our founding
In 1906, the charter of the Kappa Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau was granted, just eight years after the fraternity was founded nationally. Upon receiving its charter at Cornell, Zeta Beta Tau became the second Jewish fraternity at Cornell, joining Pi Lambda Phi. Jewish fraternities had started forming across the nation as a way for Jewish men to participate in Greek Life as many had been excluded in the past due to prejudice. The leaders of Ithaca’s Jewish Community helped found the chapter and Isaac K. Bernstein and Abraham W. Feinberg served as the initial directors of the chapter. The two men helped to guide the fraternity to stability in its early days by purchasing, financing, and expanding the fraternity house.
Purchasing Edgecliff
On August 2, 1919, Zeta Beta Tau purchased a lot of land to build their new fraternity house on. The fraternity purchased the land from Professor Lane Cooper for $8,000. At the time, the fraternity’s chapter house was located at 109 Summit Avenue, but the fraternity had quickly outgrown the house and needed a larger house to be able to house more members. After buying the lot from Professor Cooper, the Zeta Beta Tau built their new fraternity house from scratch, which cost around $60,000 (around $1 million in today’s money). The original house is still in operation today.
The house is set ablaze
On May 5, 1939, the upper part of the south wing of the house was set on fire, causing over $20,000 in damages. Only four men were at the house at the time because of Cornell Day festivities and all escaped unharmed. The only injury that occurred was an onlooker who was struck by an object sailing from a second story window. The blaze attracted over 2,000 people to the vicinity of the house, and it could be seen for miles around Ithaca and the lake region. Every fraternity on campus graciously reached out to host displaced brothers of ZBT. To prevent future fires, the new roof was entirely covered in slate instead of wooden shingles.
Kappa during World War II
World War II led to changes all over the world, including Cornell. All male students had compulsory physical training of at least two hours every week. 200 soldiers stayed at Cornell during the week of April 11, 1942, and five soldiers slept at 1 Edgecliff Place with the ZBT brothers. Many present and former ZBT brothers at the time joined the war effort: Stephen L. Nordlinger ‘19, Eric D. Hirsch ‘21, “Dink” Kalischer ‘23, David M. Sollinger ‘26, Eugene C. Merrill ‘26, Leon L. Landauer ‘27, John W. Waller ‘31, Frederic Salsman ’32, Howard S. Friedman ’34, Earl Rosenblum ‘36, Herbert Hoffheimer Jr. ’34, Shelby N. Lever ’34, Mark Wotiz Jr. ’34, Irwin Harris ’37, Richard Saperstein ’37, Sylvan Cole ’39, Ernest H. Weiner Jr. ’39, Noland Class Jr. ’40, Eddie Arenson ‘42, Justin Brandt ‘42, Fred Guterman ‘42, Mickey Newman ‘42, Jack Kaman ‘43, Jean Saks ‘43, Bud Brandt ‘43, Tony Ach ‘44, and Norm Brandt ‘44.
ZBT eliminates sectarianism requirement
Delegates at Zeta Beta Tau’s 1954 International Convention amended the Fraternity’s Constitution to eliminate sectarianism as a qualification for membership, thereby making membership available to all male college students regardless of race, creed, faith or color.
Phi Ep merges into ZBT
In 1970, it was learned of that Phi Epsilon Pi and Zeta Beta Tau were merging. Similar to ZBT, Phi Ep was a predominantly Jewish fraternity. When news of the merger spread to Cornell’s campus, it was decided that the two houses should merge immediately in order to be more effective during rush. As a result of the merger, 15 Phi Epsilon Pi brothers joined ZBT. The merger proved crucial during rush, as 46 students accepted their bids — more than any other house.
Kappa falls inactive in 1982
The Kappa Chapter of ZBT went through a rough patch in its history in the 80s. Zeta Beta Tau’s two directors, Gene Kaufman and Dick Graham, died at around the same time, leaving the fraternity directionless. These two men were extremely important to the fraternity; they controlled and ran the foundation and helped keep the fraternity running. When these two men died, they took all of the knowledge of the operation with them, not being able to pass it on and no one was able to successfully keep the foundation running. The chapter was inactive from 1982 until 1988 when the chapter was rechartered as a ZBT colony with 41 brothers. “The house on the cliff” was almost sold back to the university, but luckily ZBT nationals stepped in to prevent the sale.
ZBT eliminates pledging
In 1989, Zeta Beta Tau eliminated the institution of pledging from the Fraternity in an effort to combat hazing, replacing it with the Brotherhood Program, a program with stringent quality requirements, education and bonding programs for all brothers. ZBT also joined the Fraternity Information and Programming Group (FIPG), an interfraternity group created to assist member fraternities in reducing potential liability through a comprehensive risk management policy.
Kappa regains its charter
In 2003, National Supreme Council of ZBT rewarded the Kappa chapter of ZBT with a new charter after years of hard work rebuilding and restoring the fraternity. This meant that the house won back the support of the rest of the fraternity. There was a re-chartering ceremony in New York City on June 21, 2003. The re-chartering was a huge milestone in the fraternity’s history, showing the fraternity’s resilience and strength.
Charity concert at Edgecliff
On October 13th, 2007, our fraternity hosted a concert to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, featuring the rapper Yung Joc. Numerous ZBT brothers committed long hours to organizing and hosting this concert, held in the fraternity’s back yard. Thousands of people came to the concert, and it received coverage by numerous national publications including MTV-online.
Kappa perseveres through Covid-19
In March 2020, all of our lives changed when the Covid-19 pandemic led to massive shutdowns. ZBT brothers were sent home along with the rest of Cornell students in early March, not knowing that they wouldn’t return until the following fall. Despite the separation, ZBT brothers stayed in regular contact and had a strong return to campus in the fall despite many restrictions being imposed. As of Spring 2022, many restrictions have been lifted and it seems we are getting back to regular life again.
Loud Luxury Visits ZBT
In the summer of 2022, the brothers of ZBT decided they wanted to have a charity concert, much like the one they had hosted in 2007. However, this time the concert was in the front parking lot instead of the backyard. The concert was headlined by the DJ duo Loud Luxury, the same duo that had been a huge hit at Slope Day the past spring. Additionally, the money raised by the concert benefitted the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, a charity that the brothers often have helped in the past. After many months of planning led by Ari Salsberg ‘25, the concert took place on September 22 as a kickoff for homecoming weekend. Jack Waldman ‘23, Jacob Bengualid ‘24, and Joe Greene ‘24 served as the opening act of the concert, and around 800 people were in attendance.
Past Newsletters
Here is the collection of all recovered editions of the Edgecliff News, with the newsletters available from 1938 until 2021.