Last night, members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity put on their suits and ties for a night dedicated solely to the appreciation of women.

Pitt’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi held a Ladies Appreciation Night in the Ballroom of the O’Hara Student Center Monday night. About 20 people attended the event, where fraternity members offered an array of fruits, cookies, fondue and flavored drinks served in champagne glasses to the female students in attendance. The fraternity members offered their own hands for back, foot and hand massages to any ladies who wanted relaxing services.

It was the second in a series of three Valentine’s Day-themed events the fraternity is hosting this month. The fraternity has been hosting Valentine’s Day-themed events each February since 2008, and it will hold a Valentine’s Day party on Feb. 15 in the O’Hara Student Center ballroom at 10:30 p.m.

Kyle Wilson, president of the fraternity, said the members held the events to take the focus away from couples on Valentine’s Day.

“We really want to just make women feel appreciated,” Wilson, a sophomore pre-pharmacy major, said.

Charisse Pearson-Bey, a sophomore majoring in finance, attended the event to support the fraternity and said she had never been to an event like that before.

“I didn’t get any massages, but I did take advantage of the refreshments,” Pearson-Bey said.

Zabi Mulwa, a junior majoring in African studies and anthropology, said that the first thing she wanted to try that evening was a back massage.

Mulwa also attended the first event Kappa Alpha Psi offered as part of its series of Valentine’s Day-themed events, which was a talk about HIV and AIDS on Feb. 4.

At the event, Vianca Masucci, a sex educator with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force — a group that works to support and empower individuals with HIV and AIDS — provided an informative presentation about STDs and protective methods to an audience of about 11 students.

“It was like a safe-sex event,” Mulwa said. “It was actually pretty interesting.”

Wilson said the fraternity held the talk on safe sex as a way to promote expressing affection in a healthy manner. 

Wilson said he liked that women could come to an event especially to feel appreciated. The fraternity members decorated the ballroom with pink and white decorations, and the women who attended helped themselves to food and mingled with the fraternity members while music echoed through the room.

According to Gary Perkins, a graduate student at Point Park University and a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi city-wide chapter, the fraternity has held Valentine’s Day-themed events since around 2008, when he joined the chapter.

“What we really want to say here is to appreciate females,” Perkins said. “It’s February, it’s close to Valentine’s Day, so it’s good to appreciate the ladies.”

Perkins said the fraternity members moved the event, normally held at the William Pitt Union, to the O’Hara Student Center to have more space. But the members received fewer attendees than they expected.

“The thing is, with this weather, we’ve had less of a turnout this year,” Perkins said.

Perkins said the low number of people resulted in a low-key event and allowed the people in attendance to simply enjoy the atmosphere.

“It’s really based on individual preference,” Perkins said.

Lorraine Scott, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said that she thought the fraternity members made the event respectful toward women.

“They made it special and everything they did was really cute,” she said. “They made virgin mixed drinks, and it was all catered towards us.”

Scott said she didn’t get a massage because she’s friends with a lot of people from the chapter, but she said many of her friends took advantage of the free back rubs.

“Nobody took it too seriously,” Scott said. “It was just a lot of fun, and everyone had a great time.”