American flags waved, and the smell of barbecue and roar of pop music filled the air at the Gamma Phi Beta chapter house Friday night.
Gamma Phi put on a dinner with fraternity Delta Tau Delta to allow members to socialize outside of a party atmosphere.
The dinner’s purpose was to refute the stereotypes of greek life being anchored in just partying and fundraising.
In January, Alex Purdy, a former sister of an unidentified sorority at Syracuse University, posted a video about why she left her chapter. Tired of the misogyny and recklessness of her chapter, Purdy explained in the video that greek life needs revamped in order to expel the negative media coverage. af
While she said she has noticed the imbalance of coverage between fraternities and sororities, Gamma Phi sophomore Kennedy Walter said she is uncertain whether or not there is a double standard between the gendered coverage.
Sofia Sarmiento said events such as this can build stronger relationships among chapters, which she said can allow them to gather later for times of celebration or tragedy.
A dinner was chosen specifically because they are a great place to build bonds and because dinner conversations are “the most genuine and personal,” she said.
“We obviously can’t take 80 girls out to dinner, so I think it’s more important that we host the dinner,” she said.
Gamma Phi president Abbie Lowenstein said what lies at the heart of this dinner is a positive reconstruction of the stereotypical view of greek life.
“Gamma Phi and Delts want to publicize the good that the greek community offers to its members and show that the chapters have continually held a wide variety of events,” Lowenstein said.
Regardless, Sarmiento said she has hope in the success of the dinner’s goal of making the greek community more wholesome, and she said she plans on having at least two more dinners at some point during the semester.
Similarly, Lowenstein said she believes dinners like this one can be the first step in improving the media’s view on greek life.
“It’s always the bad news that travels fast, never the good news, which is what we need to promote,” she said. “Even if a dinner isn’t particularly noteworthy, it’s the motivation and result of it that are.”
