Delta Phi Epsilon raises anorexia awareness

In the face of wind and glaring sunlight, candles lit in honor of those suffering with… In the face of wind and glaring sunlight, candles lit in honor of those suffering with eating disorders glimmered briefly but brightly on the lawn of the William Pitt Union.

Pitt’s chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon held its first candlelight vigil Saturday evening in order to raise awareness about eating disorders as part of its philanthropic support for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. In addition to singing and prayer, Lena Usles, a member of the committee that runs the candlelight vigil titled “Voices, Not Bodies” at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., read the ANAD pledge, which is a promise to support healthy sleep, exercise and eating habits and efforts to change ways that the media and advertising demean and exploit the human body.

Ulses, a student at the Community College of Allegheny County who had struggled with an eating disorder, said she works to fight anorexia particularly among dancers. A ballet dancer herself, she explained that she knew many people who struggled with eating disorders but failed to get help.

“It’s OK – well, not technically – for ballerinas not to eat,” she said. “That’s how I got away with it for so many years.”

Now she works on the committee in order to increase awareness of eating disorders and to dispel many of the myths about anorexia, including the fact that people have to be in a near-skeletal state in order to be classified as anorexic. The vigil in Washington, which is in its second year, has had high profile guests, including Kate Moss.

The candlelight vigil served as the culmination of Delta Phi Epsilon’s ANAD Acceptance Week. The sorority screened “Center Stage” on Wednesday, which featured a character with bulimia. On Thursday, nutritionist Ina Engel visited the Marketplace during dinner hours and answered student questions on how to eat healthier in the campus dining halls, while Sodexho marked healthy eating options with nutrition content.

Later that night, Kristie Abt, a clinical instructor and fitness coordinator from Pitt’s School of Education, gave a seminar in Trees Hall on anorexia athletica – a behavior related to other eating disorders that involves compulsive exercise – and then held a brief aerobics session for the attendees.

Shaunna Stuck, vice president for programming for Pitt’s chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon, explained that Delta Phi Epsilon, as an international sorority, is one of the top sponsors of ANAD both monetarily and in terms of providing awareness. The organization is the first international sorority to pledge regular support to an organization that deals with the effect of eating disorders.

“We’re targeting people to help them eat healthier so that they don’t develop an eating disorder later on,” she said.

Ulses agreed with the need for people who may not be experiencing eating disorders themselves to become more aware of their complications.

“It’s realistic to look at it and see what happens, even if it doesn’t happen to you,” she said. “Otherwise it’s not real.”