In recognition of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) Week, Delta Phi Epsilon (ΔΦE) sorority hosted a Vigil against eating disorders on Fri. Feb. 28.

ANAD is of the two philanthropies that ΔΦE supports, the other being Cystic Fibrosis. The purpose of the event was to promote the self-esteem of young people who are pressured by high expectations in the media.

The night’s event opened with a few words from ΔΦE’s ANAD co-chairs, Danielle Wisdon and Paola Lombordo, to educate the audience on how common eating disorders are in society, even though they may be unforeseen.

“The whole point of ANAD week is to bring about awareness of these very real and very common, destructive diseases,” ΔΦE’s Public Relations correspondent said. “The [vigil] is to promote acceptance of others and ourselves; having a positive body image and living a healthy lifestyle is the priority of this week of events.”

Included in the night’s program was a YouTube video created by ΔΦE entitled, “Be-YOU-tiful.”

The presentation recalled accounts of real women who have learned to accept their socially-deemed imperfect features, including being curvy and more full-figured, and to love themselves despite what the media and society dictate.

Additionally, the video revealed the statistics of the pressure on young people to maintain a certain weight.

“81 percent of 10 year olds are worried about becoming too fat,” was among the many numerical indicators of the range of females that eating disorders reach.

“There was a good message behind the vigil,” freshman business major Patricia Kerrigan said. “The video really resonated with me.”

Following the video, organization members encouraged the audience to engage in a moment of silence for those who have fallen victim to an eating disorder.

The events that made up ANAD week began with a co-sponsored Around the World dinner with the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) to promote awareness that people in all cultures are equally affected by eating disorders.

Other food-oriented events, such as wing eating competitions and pie throwing games, were staggered throughout the rest of the week. Placing the food in fun contexts served to convey the message that food isn’t the enemy.

ΔΦE continued on Monday with “Mirrorless Monday,” in which the members hung tin foil signs with inspirational quotes around campus to promote a higher self-esteem among women.

Thursday was the organization’s last event before Friday’s Vigil brought ANAD week to a close. The Beauty Bash, hosted in the Setters Lounge, included popular make-up products to encourage females to always put their best face, and foot, forward.