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The women of Lafayette got quite a surprise in March.
Dressed in shirts and ties, 20 members of the Interfraternity Council and Brothers of Lafayette showed their appreciation for the women on campus by passing out 500 flowers to lucky female passers-by during the “Women are Roses” event.
After Braden Tilghman ’09 (Miami, Fla.), president of Interfraternity Council, attended a Brothers of Lafayette meeting, Roger Ellis ’07 (Brooklyn, N.Y.), president of Brothers of Lafayette, decided that “Women are Roses” was the perfect opportunity to promote social interaction between the two groups while collaborating on the event.
“Brothers of Lafayette did this event solo last semester and had a great response from the women,” says Ellis, a computer science major. “After Braden and Brothers of Lafayette members discussed ways of promoting more social interaction between Brothers of Lafayette and Interfraternity Council, we decided to team up on the ‘Women are Roses’ event.”
While the two groups set out to honor Women’s History Month, their primary concern was building a relationship between the two organizations.
“Organization collaborations are a great way to break the social molds formed on this campus; the best way to get to know someone else is to work with that person,” says Ellis.
Tilghman, a mechanical engineering major, sees an ally in Ellis and Brothers of Lafayette for promoting collaboration among campus organizations.
“I am extremely grateful to all the members, especially Roger, for reaching out to me as I did to them,” says Tilghman. “I am convinced that Lafayette students are willing to reach out to each other – they just need a little spark. Ultimately, all it takes is that initial interaction and a little honest conversation. Not only do we hope to continue the relationship between our respective organizations, but that our collaboration might inspire others in the community to similarly reach out.”
Ellis is confident that future organization leaders will be inspired to continue to interact and collaborate with one another.
“If it weren’t for Lafayette’s efforts in promoting diversity, many of these types of events would not be possible because the necessary foundation would not already be there for us to build upon.”