[TSteven]

Interesting that in the same edition, there is this article.

Sorority holds events for 'Finer Womanhood'
By Stephanie Salmons
Published: Friday, March 4, 2005
The Murray State News

The sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. hosted Finer Womanhood Week on campus. Proceeds from events will go to the March of Dimes.

Nisha Ganster, senior from Hopkinsville and president of Zeta Phi Beta, said the sorority offered programs this week that benefit women and raise awareness about women's issues.

One of the programs Zeta Phi Beta participated in was "Mirrorless Monday," sponsored by the Women's Center.

"We go into a building and cover all the mirrors and write positive messages for women and men to look at instead of looking at themselves," Ganster said.

The sorority sponsored a lecture called "Empowering Yourself: Living Outside the Plastic Barbie Doll" Tuesday night.

Ganster said the speaker talked about the cultural context of Barbie and how the doll has affected girls and their perception of the history of beauty.

"Historically, the image that young girls have been given is this Barbie doll whose figure is just anatomically not possible to achieve," Ganster said.

Barbie's impact on young girls was not the only topic discussed in the lecture, but also trends throughout history that were once considered the epitome of beauty. Corsets, popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, foot binding, a popular status symbol in China for centuries, and even collagen lip injections, popular in Hollywood today, were among other "beauty" styles discussed during Tuesday's lecture.

Along with the lecture and "Mirrorless Monday," Ganster said Zeta Phi Beta also set up a table in the Curris Center Wednesday to offer information about breast cancer awareness.

The sisters sponsored a program called "Get Lucky With Zeta" Thursday.

"Thursday night, our bingo night, the money (went) primarily for premature babies," Ganster said.

She said a portion of the proceeds from this event will go to one of the sorority's national philanthropies, The March of Dimes.

"Sororities and other organizations, they have to do community service, promote their organization, get themselves out there, do something for the community," Ganster said. "We're not as much a social organization as we are a business organization and we do try to give back to the community. It's our national principles that we do this."

Laneir Sprague, senior from Hopkinsville and vice president of Zeta Phi Beta, said she expected more people to attend the events but was generally pleased with the people who came.

"I think it could have been a success if more people (had) taken the time to attend our events, but it has been a success for the members of the sorority," Sprague said.

Venishia McGregor, senior from Paducah and secretary of Zeta Phi Beta, said she considered the week a success.

Said McGregor: "The goal this week (was) to show that we do more in the community and have students be aware of what's going on around them."