Accept Yourself, Accept Others

Delta Phi Epsilon’s Beta Theta chapter hopes to teach young women everywhere to love themselves

Accept Yourself, Accept Others

The girls of Delta Phi Epsilon show each other a little love 
Photo and video courtesy of Brenna Falzone 

According to Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), twenty five percent of college-aged women engage in bingeing and purging as a weight-management technique.

In lieu of the annual Wellness, Not Weight–Eating Disorder Conference that took place on September 25, 2005, in Illinois, Kean University’s Beta Theta chapter of the international sorority Delta Phi Epsilon made a video to encourage women everywhere to accept themselves for who they are, not what they look like.

Delta Phi Epsilon’s motto of “to be rather than to seem to be,” resonates well with ANAD’s slogan of “accept yourself, accept others”. This is why the whole sorority of Delta Phi Epsilon is affiliated with ANAD. These girls act as ambassadors of healthy attitudes and bodies; helping ANAD spread their message globally.

“[Delta Phi Epsilon is about] loving yourself and loving your body,” said junior Public Relations major and Delta Phi Epsilon Philanthropy Chair Jess Kramer. 

(Below is the video filmed by Brenna Falzone)

Beta Theta took it upon themselves to prove that flaws and imperfections are not what define us as people; even though it is hard to ignore them when looking in the mirror. The video opens up with sisters covering their eyes in anticipation as their other sisters take turns writing words that describe them behind them on a dry-erase board.   “Remarkable,” “unique,” “creative,” “spunky,” are just some of the words used to describe the girls of Delta Phi Epsilon.

The video entitled “Love Yourself” has over 7,300 views on YouTube and has been shared via Total Sorority Move and Buzzfeed. For Kramer and Vice President of Programming Brenna Stangle, it was important to create this video they have been so longing to make and they were lucky enough that sister Brenna Falzone was on board to film and edit the whole thing.

“I wanted a way to include as many sisters as possible while still raising awareness and that way was a video,” started Kramer. “I wanted to express [this cause] without using words.”

The second half of the video hits hard when the girls hold up hand-written signs addressing their insecurities. This does not last long when they proceed to crush the paper in their hands, toss it to the side and have their flaws replaced with something they love about themselves. The video ends with the message of “be-YOU-tiful” accompanied by statistics about eating disorders in young adults.

After the success of the first video, the sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon are planning on inviting some of their brothers in fellow Greek organizations and sports teams for a follow up project.

For more information on eating disorders click here.