As a member of one of the Trinity sororities, you will
have the opportunity to participate in a very special and unique program, the
Sorority Body Image Program (SBIP). Accomplishing something that no other
sorority system in the nation, local or national, has ever done, Trinity
sororities collectively have taken a leadership role in the area of body
image by implementing the first evidence-based, sustainable eating disorders
prevention program in the country. Members of the Trinity sororities also
have the distinction of designing a program that regularly contributes to the
growing scientific literature on the prevention of eating disorders. As a
result, the SBIP truly embodies many sorority values by combining service,
leadership, and academic achievement.
The SBIP is overseen by psychology professor Dr. Carolyn
Becker, and is completely staffed by sorority members. It will officially run
for the 7th consecutive year in 2009-2010. This program discusses the
pressures our society currently puts on young women to achieve an
unattainable, extremely thin body figure, and how we as women can resist
these pressures, adopt a healthy lifestyle, and feel comfortable in our own
skin. In addition to providing the new sorority members with the chance to
learn how to feel more positively about their bodies, the SBIP also provides
upperclass sorority members with the chance for leadership and service by
becoming peer-facilitators of the program. Members who complete the program
and peer-facilitator training gain valuable group leadership experience, and
serve as mentors to younger sorority members. Select members whose academic
interests coincide with the research component of the SBIP also have the
opportunity to oversee the program by becoming research assistants in the
Department of Psychology. To date, fourteen Trinity sorority research
assistants have earned co-authorship on papers or posters presented at
national or international conferences, and seven have co-authored papers
published by or submitted to peer-reviewed journals.
This innovative program at Trinity has recently come to
the attention of national sororities, and since 2007-2008 has expanded to
more universities across the country. As a Trinity sorority member, you have
the opportunity to be a part of a truly unique and groundbreaking program
that is gaining national attention for the positive and effective message it
delivers to college women regarding their bodies.