The brothers of Pi Lambda Phi hosted their “You vs. 49” event in order to educate people about historic events that had to do with prejudice with “free-for-all trivia” as well as raise money for their philanthropy in the Willcox Multipurpose room on April 26. 

The event worked like a game show: the audience was asked a question about prejudice like, “When did homosexuality stop being a mental disorder?” and “what is the glass ceiling?” and the first 50 would write their names in the corresponding question number box on a slip of paper with their answer to be collected by one of the brothers so correct answer could count as points towards the main prize.

The first 50 people to pay for tickets were allowed to participate in the game and potentially win a VISA gift card. The other 20 or so people were still welcomed to participate in the game and the various raffles for prizes like a teddy bear, Bluetooth speaker, and a 24-inch television.

Many of those that participated, worked groups to try and get the correct answers. Senior, Vanessa Hyppolite, (not one of the first 50) worked with a group of students who were eligible for the trivia prize just for the fun of it.

“At first, I was kind of bummed that I couldn’t actually participate because I love and am pretty good at trivia, but I figured ‘if I could help someone else win – why not just have fun with it’,” Hyppolite said.

The event was created by the Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity to help raise money for their philanthropy, The Elimination of Prejudice Foundation, which is a program that tries to help create opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on inclusiveness.

“Pulling this event together with each of the brother and seeing its success truly showed us how important we all are to each other as well as what it means to be a part of a bigger community,” said Gjek Vukelj, President of Pi Lambda Phi. “Seeing all of those other organizations and people attend illustrated to us that together we can make something great, make a difference, even in a community like ours.”

An event like “You vs 49”, was an effective way to bring people together and teach them about different moments in history that shaped our current society. One reason why it was successful was because of event participation and support.

“This event worked, not only due to our organization, but due to the wholehearted support shown by everyone who attended,” said John Watson, a Pi Lambda Phi brother. “Those attendees were also gracious enough to give us feedback which we will use in the future to both improve this event and put on similar successful events.”