TEP award honors beloved houseman

Brothers and alumni of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity gathered Saturday afternoon for the second-annual presentation of the Alzie Jackson scholarship, named after the fraternity's late housemate and beloved friend of 40 years. TEP brother and College junior Ari Johnson, Jackson's grandson, received the scholarship for the second year in a row. In an emotional ceremony, the brothers and alumni remembered Jackson's contributions to the fraternity, with one alumnus calling the houseman "an accomplished chef, a bouncer, bartender, protector, sounding board and surrogate father." Too choked up to comment during the ceremony, Johnson later relayed his feelings on the award and his grandfather. "They could have given the scholarship to anyone," he said. "It is a way for the house to show its appreciation for the service that my grandfather gave." When Jackson died in February 1997 at the age of 69, TEP brothers from the classes of 1968 through 1999 decided to endow a scholarship in his name. In under a year, they raised $100,000. The endowment currently stands at $170,000. TEP brothers past and present aim to increase the amount to $500,000 by June 2002. Scholarship fund chairperson and 1969 Penn graduate Steve Lerman, who served as TEP president from 1968 to 1969, described Jackson as a fatherly figure and a wise man. "When you showed up here at the house at the beginning of the year, [Jackson would] go to all the mothers and tell them that they had nothing to worry about," Lerman said. Johnson will receive the scholarship again next year, after which point University officials will select the recipient annually. According to Lerman, the winner will be a student in financial need who displays a dedication to community service, has a diversity of interests, has overcome adversity and shows academic achievement. "I hope that student tries to live up to the traits that my grandfather had and understands the important role that he played in the house as a mentor," Johnson said. TEP President Jon Cabin, a College junior, said that no words could sufficiently explain the impact that Jackson had on the fraternity and its members. "A lot of [his] values have incredible ties to what we stand for as a fraternity," he said. Cabin added that Johnson was a perfect recipient of the award. "I couldn't think of anyone much better than [Ari] to get the award," Cabin added. "Ari personifies all those values -- honesty, kindness -- that Alzie had." The fraternity recognized Jackson in 1989 as an official TEP brother -- giving him the designated name and number Rho 1000 -- for his contributions to the Rho chapter. When away from the TEP house, Jackson shared his skill in hat-making with students at Moore College of Art, where he was referred to as a "national treasure." Jackson began his career as a hat designer at the age of 16 in Harlem, N.Y., where he sold hats for $2 a piece. Known as "Mr. Alzie," Jackson was later profiled in Ebony and USA Today. Jackson also spent summers working with underprivileged children at Camp Sussex in New Jersey. Leslie Johnson -- Ari's father and Jackson's son -- said the scholarship is meaningful to the family "emotionally, spiritually and financially." "It was part of my father's legacy.? It was one of his dreams that one of [his three children] would go to Penn," he said. "We're happy to see that Ari got to go."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.