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Sorority sleepover helps Girl Scouts come to terms with beauty, bullying

Sorority sleepover
Sorority sleepover Issues of concern to young Girl Scouts were topics during a sorority sleepover at the College. Courtesy photo
On Nov. 21, the women of the College of William & Mary’s Kappa Delta sorority had a sleepover party—a big one.  

In total, about 40 Kappa Delta sisters and 70 middle- and high-school age Girl Scouts participated in the “Mean Girls Sleepover” held at the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast in Chesapeake, Va.  Throughout the night, there were discussions about such important topics as body image, gossip, friendship and bullying.  At the beginning of the sleepover, they watched “Mean Girls”to see how these themes were reflected in the 2004 movie starring Lindsay Lohan.

The Kappa Delta sisters broke up into activity stations and shared their own experiences with these issues with the younger girls, who appreciated both their perspectives and their advice. 

“It’s easier to talk to the college girls instead of older adults because they get it,” said Taylor Jacobson, a fifth-grader.  “We can talk about what’s happening now, not what it was like a long time ago.”     

Sara Peyton, (’11) Girl Scout chair for the Kappa Delta chapter, planned the event using the “uniquely ME!”curriculum provided by the Girl Scouts of the USA.  Uniquely Me! is a program partnership between the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and the Girl Scouts of the USA.  It was started in 2002 to address issues of self-esteem in teenage girls.  One of the primary goals of the night was to focus on a new concept of beauty, one that gave more weight to inner beauty than the unrealistic images that magazines portray.

“I thought that the Girl Scout sleepover was a great experience for both Kappa Delta and the Girl Scouts,” said Meredith Deming, president of Kappa Delta.  “I think that it’s important to talk about [these issues] with high school girls because there are so many misperceptions out there that affect their self-esteem.”

The Girl Scouts of the USA is one of Kappa Delta’s four national philanthropies, which also includes Prevent Child Abuse America.