Two of Northwestern’s sorority leaders launched a forum for Greeks to discuss diversity issues Sunday afternoon.

Bridging the Gap – modeled after a group started in 1999 by Princeton University students who were frustrated with race relations on their campus – will be the ideal vehicle to overcome strained race relations among the Greek population, said Jen Leyton, a SESP junior and president of Delta Delta Delta.

Leyton and SESP junior Jamie Bagliebter, president of Kappa Kappa Gamma, are spearheading the effort to bolster and raise awareness of diversity among the Greek community.

“It’s this profound connection that is very unusual because (members) are people who are going to be open and excited to listen,” Leyton said.

The seeds of thought for Bridging the Gap came about during the Greek Leadership Retreat at Lake Geneva in April.

Participants were allowed to raise any topic for discussion. Leyton and Bagliebter found themselves talking about how they could patch a long-standing rivalry between their sororities.

Medill junior Tiffany Forte, incoming president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and SESP junior Ocea Emmons, vice president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., had a similar conversation about the rivalry between their chapters, both historically black sororities founded at Howard University.

The four girls met and determined there was a disconnect and lack of understanding between organizations in both the Panhellenic Association, the governing body for NU’s 12 sororities, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the body of historically black chapters.

“If someone were sitting there and watching us, they would laugh at the fact that we were having this ‘Kumbaya’ moment,” Leyton said. “That was the moment for Jamie and myself that we realized that we don’t have an appropriate forum to connect.”

The group will hold dialogues about diversity to unite NU’s Greek community and help members develop personal relationships. There are about 50 people in Bridging the Gap with members from all four Greek counsels: the Interfraternity Council, the Multicultural Greek Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Panhellenic Association.

“We are just hoping this will make people more aware of situations we don’t ordinarily hear about,” said McCormick junior Claudia Villamil, president of the historically Latina Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc.

The group will receive money from both the university and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Erin Huffman also agreed to oversee the project to ensure that it continues after Leyton and Bagliebter graduate.

“What I like about this group is that it came from the students directly,” Huffman said. “They came up with the idea completely on their own.”

Bridging the Gap consists of several small groups, composed of seven to eight people. Members remain in their small groups for the entire year.

During the first half of the biweekly meetings, two small groups converge. For the last hour, small groups meet on their own to discuss a variety of issues confidentially. For example, a student could share how being a white male in a fraternity influences his perceptions.

Moderators in each group are prepared to respond with generic examples, such as newspaper articles, that will redirect conversation.

“A big part of this is for members to have indirect liaisons,” Bagliebter said.

“We are trying to get people to build personal relationships on a small scale with the hope that these relationships will spread to others.”

Reach Alysa Teichman at [email protected].