With the increased awareness of body image in contemporary society, many efforts are being made from all over the world encouraging people to accept the flaws that are so bothersome. People everywhere, specifically women, are expected to conform to a particular body image in order to be beautiful. Although there are efforts being made to expel this ideal from society’s standards, a very large stride has been made on Kean University’s campus.

Kean University’s chapter of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority has received a national award for the video entitled “Love Yourself” as part of the campaign against Anorexia Nervosa and Associative Disorders (ANAD).

The idea for the video came from the combined brainpower of Jess Kramer, Delta Phi Epsilon’s former Philanthropy Fundraiser and junior special education English major, and Brenna Stangle, the Vice President of Programming. The video features the sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon expressing individual insecurities, as well as what they love about themselves. It also showcases the sisterly bond between the ladies, as each one was bombarded with positive adjectives of description from the other members.

“The sisters were [okay] putting out what they didn’t love about themselves,” says Kramer. The willingness of the sisters to admit insecurities seems to be what ultimately made this project such a success.

The video was edited by the sorority’s Historian, Brenna Falzone, and set to Hailee Steinfeld’s “Love Yourself” song. The video serves as an inspiration for all girls to embrace flaws and acknowledge the positives.

“We want everybody to know that it’s okay to not be perfect and still be beautiful,” says Kramer. And so they did.

The video skyrocketed to fame. It received over 8,000 hits on YouTube, as well as an article and a repost of the video on Total Sorority Move (TSM.com.) Dove Soap also began its own body image social media campaign and credited the Delta Phi Epsilon video as the inspiration on Twitter. Delta Phi Epsilon’s international headquarters also extended recognition to Kean University’s chapter of the sorority. The circulation of the video paid off for the hardworking ladies of Delta Phi Epsilon.

Jordan Cahill, Greek Life Specialist, as well as a Delta Phi Epsilon sister and senior fine arts major, attended the Northeast Greek Leadership Association (NGLA) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from February 25, 2016 to the 28. Cahill was accompanied by the 2016-2017 Greek Senate Executive Board, the adviser Alex Louis, as well as the Greek Senate’s Graduate Assistant Lauren Rosenthal. 

Cahill applied for the Amy Vojta Impact Award for Public Relations, on the behalf of Delta Phi Epsilon without the other sisters’ knowledge.

“I didn’t want them to be disappointed if we didn’t win. But it would have been a nice surprise if we did,” says Cahill.

On the night of Saturday, February 27, 2016, Cahill and her colleagues attended the NGLA Awards Banquet.  Cahill patiently endured the night with bated breath.

“I spent hours on the award applications,” says Cahill.

The awards were announced in the order of honorable mention, chapter level, community level and council level. However, when it came to the Amy Vojta award, the chapter level category was omitted. Briefly, Cahill’s dreams of success were crushed. But then, after the council level award was announced, the presenter reverted back to the chapter level award.

“I just knew the minute she began to describe why the award was being received that it was us,” says Cahill, beaming proudly.

Cahill accepted the Amy Vojta Impact Award for Public Relations on behalf of all her beloved sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon. All the hard work had paid off ten-fold.

The reception of the award is a gigantic step in the direction of positive body image as well as positive self-worth in women. The dedicated sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon made a huge stride with something as simple as a five-minute video. The video not only gained recognition nationally, but it built further love amongst the sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon.

Every person struggling with body image issues should use the “Love Yourself” video as inspiration for a healthier and happier mentality.