Omega Phi Beta (OPB) Sorority and the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) co-sponsored the event “Get Rich or Die Tryin” on Feb. 23 at Pace University’s Kessel Student Center. The event depicted socio-economic inequality in the U.S. and how it is linked to the incarceration of minority women.

“People always talk about men in jail, but not really about women in jail,” said Kellyanne Perez-Vera, Vice President of OPB, who led the evening along with OLAS president Lisbeth Parra.

The event began with an icebreaker, which gave the event an active atmosphere from the start.

Attendees were divided into groups of lower, middle, and upper classes based on yearly incomes. The incomes ranged from $11,500 to $20 million, and the groups were asked to budget their money based on real world costs of rent, food, clothing, savings, education for children, and more.

While those in the middle and upper class groups had little to no problem dividing their money to provide for their theoretical families, the lower-class groups found themselves making sacrifices in order to stay within their budget.

The game was used in conjunction with a presentation of data and statistics to tackle the question of what leads women to commit crimes in the first place.

Attendees learned that the rate of women of color in jail has increased by 800 percent in the last decade. The likelihood for black women to be imprisoned is 1 in 18; for Hispanic women it is 1 in 45; for white women it is 1 in 111; and for women altogether it is 1 in 56.

The icebreaker gave a hypothetical demonstration of the real troubles low-income families often face. Consequently, a prevailing thought at the event was that women are increasingly being incarcerated because they have to resort to crime in order to provide for their families.

The theme of the event proved relatable to many in attendance, as they either identified as minorities or experienced similar struggles in their lives.

As shocking as some of the information presented was, there were those in attendance who were adamant about not allowing statistics to cause minorities to live with a victim mentality.

Andrea Mayorga’s mother worked from six a.m. to six p.m. at one point, and was making just over $13,000 yearly. This would not keep her family down, though.

Mayorga, an OPB sister, graduated from Pace in 2014 with a degree in Business Management, and her older sister is on her way to becoming CEO of a company, she said.

Mayorga, whose family comes from Columbia, said that if minorities allow difficulty to conquer opportunity, they incarcerate themselves as a community of minorities.

“The numbers from the data may shock some, but you should not look at the numbers and allow them to be obstacles, you can still succeed,” she said.