John Brown University’s chapter of the international English honor society known as Sigma Tau Delta has been continuously chartered since 1989. While the international part of the club is primarily known for its connection to prestigious internships and scholarships, membership in JBU’s chapter allows students from all majors, regardless of their previous course experience, to engage in a literature-based community.
“We want to engage with college literary scholars and those interested in the subjects surrounding it, and be able to support them and grow that as a larger community,” Hallee Harp, a sophomore and president of Sigma Tau Delta, said.
Over the past year, JBU’s chapter has increased its efforts to reach out to the greater JBU and Siloam Springs community. In the fall, the club held a food drive for community members in need and reached out to students through showings of "Phantom of the Opera" and "The Princess Bride."The club also teamed up with JBU’s literary journal, Shards of Light, to bring Daylight Date Night to life in Ground Floor, offering the chance to do some blackout poetry and have a “blind date with a book.”
In planning for its events, Sigma Tau Delta works to delegate roles between members and find ways to embrace the needs of the larger public.
“I think it's really helped me with delegating and being open-minded because when it comes to planning events with other people, everybody kind of has different ideas,” Sigma Tau Delta Social Media Manager, freshman Kara Presley, said. “You have to learn how to work together as a team, to think about not what your idea is, but what is going to be the most beneficial and practical for other people.”
Sigma Tau Delta’s work to bring the larger community into its literature-based events stems from its desire to bring greater awareness to the national literacy crisis.
“It goes back to that idea of building up a literary community on the campus and larger community. We focus on sharing with the larger JBU set of people about looking at literature and understanding it and how it affects us, and getting that idea out to more people to kind of help with the national literary crisis,” Harp said.
Club meetings aren’t just used as a space to plan events; during their weekly meetings, Sigma Tau Delta members also focus on building personal connections within the group.
“Being a freshman at college is really intimidating coming in and not knowing anybody, but being part of Sigma Tau Delta has really helped me get plugged in and meet upperclassmen and have a great opportunity to be involved in my school community,” Presley said.
Sigma Tau Delta is not just for English majors but is open to anyone looking for a community of literature scholars to be plugged in to. Interested in joining? Meetings are in CTH 209 on Tuesdays at 4:15.
Photo by Becky Marietta