Sigma Tau Delta now accepting applications

The English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, ???, is taking membership applications until Jan. 30.

"Our main service function is to create some sort of awareness in the University and the community that there are a lot of talented students here, and literature is more than studying books and memorizing rhyme schemes," Dr. Michael Given, English and philosophy professor and sponsor of Sigma Tau Delta, said.

The central purpose of ??? is to confer distinction upon outstanding students of English language and literature for undergraduates, graduates, and professional studies

This was the second year ??? sponsored a book sale.

"The first year, we donated the money to the Women's Shelter of East Texas. We brought a bunch of children's books to put in the Women's Shelter so that the kids that had to go there would have at least some comforts," Given said.

This year's book sale money is going to help younger children

"We are taking some of the money we raised and donating it to the Head Start program to help them buy books for underprivileged kids that want to have some kind of children books," Given said.

??? raised a significant amount from both book sales.

"I think both years we raised about $600 or $700," Given said.

There is a banquet for the graduating seniors where the professors buy them dinner.

The organization also has a social picnic in the spring.

"We invite all the faculty and the honor students, kind of like (an) end-of-the-year thing," Given said.

??? also tries to bring faculty and students together.

"Last year, we also put on a faculty panel where different members of our faculty who had previous careers showed that there are other things you can do with a degree in English besides become a professor. Some had been in advertising; others worked for technical writing manuals for computer software systems. We tried to broaden the perspective and this wasn't just for our honor students. (It) was for everyone that was interested," Given said.

Sigma Tau Delta's national office publishes two different student journals. One is for critical analysis of literature, and one is for creative writing and accepts student submissions.

"(Students] don't automatically get published just because they are in (Sigma Tau Delta), but they have access to (it) which can be very tangible. You can take it out with you if you want to go to grad school or do something else in the future, like get a job in publishing," Given said.

Any student interested in joining Sigma Tau Delta should keep a 3.25 cumulative GPA in English and a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. Also, students must have completed a minimum 36 college courses with at least 12 hours in English at SFA.

"It's not extremely time consuming, but I want to make it clear that it is more than just putting (the organization) on your resume or just getting your graduation cord. We really encourage them to be active," Given said.

Students should contact Dr. Given at 936-468-2231 or Dr. Escobar at 936-468-2339.