Greek life leaders say fraternities and sororities are struggling to drop the “Animal House” stereotype as they focus on community service throughout BU’s scattered urban campus, where limited greek involvement means most students only associate the groups with weekend partying.

“At Tufts [University], if you went out during a greek event in the middle of the quad, you’d really see that philanthropy,” Zeta Beta Tau Philanthropy Chairman and College of Communication junior Ben Friedman said. “At BU, all students see is the partying.”

On Saturday, 200 greeks attended sorority Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash at the Fitness and Recreation Center, Delta Gamma raised more than $1,000 for its national philanthropic beneficiary Service for Sight, an organization aiding the visually-impaired. Greek officers say they are pushing for more philanthropic efforts to overshadow what they say students perceive as traditional partying.

“Each [Delta Gamma] member does at least five hours of community service per semester,” Delta Gamma President Daisy Shaw said.

Many members read to the blind or donated time to the National Braille Press, the COM and College of Arts and Sciences junior said.

“[Fraternities and sororities] are being judged not on how well they party, but on how well they make it fun without resorting to alcohol,” Inter-Fraternity Council President and CAS senior Kyle Jaep said.

The IFC meets with fraternities each Wednesday to plan and discuss philanthropic events.

“We’re trying to show the campus that we’re not just Animal House,” Chi Phi Treasurer and School of Management senior Corey Pederson said among flying dodge balls at Dodge This! on Saturday afternoon.

Fraternity Chi Phi and sister-sorority Delta Delta Delta sponsored Dodge This!, a dodge ball tournament in the Sargent Gym benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Participating students paid $20 or submitted 20 addresses of potential contributors to start a team.

Pederson said Chi Phi and Tri Delta planned to write at least 300 letters soliciting donations from recipients.

ZBT, which held its Safe Sex Party at BU Central on Thursday night, donates half of its time to hosting and attending philanthropy events, reserving the other half for social events, Friedman said.

ZBT raised $3,100 for the AIDS Action Committee on Thursday night.

Officers from Delta Gamma, Chi Phi and Tri Delta said their organizations divide their time equally between philanthropic and social events.

“Social time comes on the weekends,” ZBT Secretary and COM junior Jonathon Beck said. “But we’re not all about getting drunk.”

Pederson said BU’s relatively small greek community makes it difficult for fraternities and sororities to promote themselves as service-orientated. Jaep estimated only 3 to 4 percent of the student body belongs to greek organizations.

“There aren’t many greeks, and there are a lot of students who haven’t had any interaction with greek life,” Pederson said, adding that Dodge This! was the first event of its size to be sponsored by Chi Phi.

Pederson said films, like Animal House and Going Greek, promote the image of greeks as “party animals.”

Beck blamed the media for ignoring positive contributions fraternities and sororities make. He cited a successful Salvation Army fundraiser ZBT held last winter that the local press did not cover.

“We stood outside and collected close to $2,100 in four hours,” Beck said. “I personally called the newspapers and TV stations, but nobody came.”

Despite such drawbacks, Jaep expressed optimism about the impact of increasing greek philanthropy on student perceptions of greek life at BU.

“We’re throwing good events, and they’re dry,” Jaep said.