The Iowa State chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity hosted the first-ever PUSH America empathy dinner Friday evening.

The purpose of the dinner was to increase awareness of the struggles of the mentally and physically challenged. Eyes were opened in more ways than one, members said.

Troy Carmen, senior in civil engineering and a member of the house, said PUSH America is a national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi. “The program was started in 1979 to raise awareness and funds for the disabled,” he said.

PUSH America sponsors numerous events similar to this, including a bike ride across the United States.

“It’s a great program because it provides mutual benefits for the people we work with and the members of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity,” Carmen said.

The empathy meal not only raised awareness, but provided an opportunity to experience a disability first hand.

Every person who attended Friday’s meal was given a simulated disability, such as a blindfold to indicate blindness.

Other guests lost the use of an arm or a hand, became wheelchair bound, were given a hearing loss or were given an artificial speech impediment.

One guest had a walkman on and was listening to music to simulate Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Kevin Sutherland, junior in ceramic engineering and PUSH chairman for the house, said the dinner was a success.

“It was a lot of work to put together, but the accomplishments of the evening made it all worth it,” Sutherland said.

Overall, 35 people attended the empathy dinner. Sutherland said a number of groups were represented. “We wanted representatives from different organizations on campus to experience this,” he said.

The groups represented included People Understanding Disabilities (PUD), the director of Camp Sunnyside in Des Moines, ISU faculty, the Greek system and a representative of Chuck Grassley.

“We were very pleased with the response we got,” Sutherland said.

Matt Grillot, junior in accounting and president of PUD, is wheelchair bound. He said the dinner gave people a good indication of his struggles.

“Anything that can help people to understand where we are coming from is beneficial to this campus as well as to the world,” Grillot said.

Earl Dowling, director of Student Financial Aid, received the earphones simulating ADD.

“It was very frustrating not being able to participate in the conversation,” he said. “I never really considered a short attention span as a disability, but I sure do now.”

John Even, professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, said the evening increased his understanding of how tough it is to attend school with a disability.

“This night was a huge success and I’d like to commend the members of Pi Kappa Phi,” Even said. “I think this offered a fantastic contrast to the image of Greek houses on campus.”