Flyer: Sigma Tau Information — Spring 2009

If you missed the first meeting of the semester, we handed out Spring Information Flyers (PDF). If you don’t feel like printing out a PDF—pretty as it is—the information is reproduced for you below, it all it’s goodness:

Getting Connected

• Sigma Tau Delta Blog (oh wait, you’re already here)
• Facebook Group
• MySpace Group
• Google Calendar (can be added to iCal or Outlook, or your own Google Calendar)

Upcoming Events

Movie Series. As part of the University Film Series, we are sponsoring the viewing of

The Color of Paradise
Tuesday, April 21 @ 7:30 p.m. in Ayers 106

Initiation. The new members need to be initiated, and we don’t know what to do! If you have any ideas, let us know. We don’t want to just tack it on to the tail-end of another event.

Odds and Ends

Graduation. If you would like to wear the Sigma Tau honor cords and/or sash, please let Michelle, Lisa, or Geoff know as soon as possible. They must be ordered directly from the head office, and the sooner we know how many to order, the better we can make sure they are here in time.

Booksale. Because last semester’s booksale went so well, we’d like to try to get another one going for this spring. Comb yours, your family’s, and your friends’ bookshelves for books to donate. Genre books sold really well, so don’t be afraid to pull out non-lit books. Money raised will fund end-of-year events, and books that don’t sell will be donated to Taylor 107 or traded to a used bookstore for books for 107. The booksale will probably be after spring break, and we will be looking for members to man the table.

Officer Elections. Most of the current officers are graduating this spring, and for Sigma Tau to continue on into the future, new members are asked to step up into a more active roll. If you are interested in an officer position next year, please talk to Michelle, Lisa, Christina, or Caitlin about what their duties entail. We would all be happy to talk about what Sigma Tau means to us, and how much work really goes into it.

Note: Internship Opportunity

I’m sure you all got this in your email, but just in case you missed it, there’s an internship opportunity that half our group should be jumping all over—Penguin is offering a summer internship for Sigma Tau members (hey, that’s us!), in exactly the field most of us are studying: publishing.

Better act fast, the deadline is in early February. Awesome opportunity, and I’d love for one of us to get it. I’m sure Casey would, too.

Sigma Tau Delta Summer 2009 Internship with Penguin Group (USA)

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  FEBRUARY 13, 2009

A paid summer internship opportunity is available from Penguin Group (USA) to provide an interested undergraduate student member of Sigma Tau Delta with experience in a variety of areas in publishing. Job responsibilities may involve editing, design, and marketing, among other possibilities. The Sigma Tau Delta/Penguin Group (USA) Summer Internship will run ten consecutive weeks beginning June 8th and ending August 14th. The recipient will work 28 hours per week and will be paid $7.25 an hour. The address is: 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York, 10014. The recipient of the internship will be responsible for securing and paying for housing as well as other expenses. Individual colleges and universities may arrange for academic credit for the internship but that must be worked out between the student and her/his university.

Each applicant must be prepared to accept the internship and its conditions if it is awarded to her/him. Failure to do so may jeopardize the continuation of the Penguin Group (USA) summer internship program for Sigma Tau Delta.

Interested undergraduate student members of Sigma Tau Delta must submit a current resume along with a two-three page letter addressing the applicant’s qualifications and interest in the field of publishing.

Submit materials by email attachment to sigmatd@niu.edu.

Official Groups on MySpace and Facebook

Well, it’s a new year, which for me personally always means trying to find new ways to stay organized and on top of events.

For Sigma Tau Delta, this means the creation of official groups for our favorite social networking sites, Facebook and MySpace.

These were asked for during our last meeting of the Fall ‘08 semester (or so I’ve been told; I was late because I brought the pizza), and I am only too happy to oblige.

These groups are open to all—the Facebook group open to all of Chico State, and the MySpace group to the world at large (there’s no way to limit it, unless it’s private to the point that people have to be invited, which I believe would defeat the purpose).

Most of the info posted to the groups will be the same as what goes out in the member emails, and posted to the blog. Other than that, these groups will be what the members make of them. It’s a great opportunity to bring up ideas and topics to your peers, whether related to Sigma Tau or not.

Links to the groups:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=40217861697
• MySpace: http://groups.myspace.com/chicosigmataudelta

Members are encouraged to start topics, post events, and to get involved through the groups, especially if you are unable to make meetings.

If anyone has any questions, leave a comment here, on either of the groups pages, or email csucsigmatuadelta@gmail.com

Fundraiser: Hard Truths of the Literary Life Bag

Christina is modeling our "Hard Truths of the Literary Life" bag.

It’s finally here! Our fundraiser bag has arrived, and it’s better than we imagined.

This black bag measures large, big enough to fit anything you might want to carry—laptops, books, perhaps even small children.

Screen printed on the side is this year’s Sigma Tau Delta list, “Hard Truths of the Literary Life,” penned by our president.

These bags are for sale at $12, and would make the perfect gift for the book reader in your life (or maybe just yourself).

To purchase, email  csucsigmataudelta@gmail.com.

Reminder: Scholarship Deadlines

The October 30 deadline is fast approaching to apply for Sigma Tau Delta awards, scholarships, grants, and internships . Rules for applying, applications, and other details are available at http://www.english.org/sigmatd/awards/index.shtml.

Don’t hesitate; tens of thousands of dollars are available.

Contact the Sigma Tau Delta Central Office (sigmatd@niu.edu) if you want more information.

Reminder: Banned Books Week

Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone is reading banned books this week (I’m rather enjoying re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird). We didn’t manage to arrange a place for the book swap next Saturday, so we’re going to have to scratch that idea and maybe set up a book swap for later in the year.

We are still going to have a raffle for the top 5 banned books:

1. The Catcher in the Rye
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. The Color Purple
5. Beloved

The entry box is in Taylor 107. People just need to put their names and email addresses in the box for the chance to win. Spread the word. See you on Thursday and don’t forget those T-shirt ideas.
–
Michelle Lee

Reminder: Watershed Submissions

Since many of you are writers, we have Watershed info for everyone.

Submissions to Watershed are due to the English Office (Taylor 209) by 4 pm on Friday, October 3rd. They accept: poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, Black & White photography, line drawings, and illustrations.

If you want your work returned to you, submit it in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Your submission requires a cover letter with your name, address, phone number, and a brief biographical statement. Do not put your name on your submissions.

If you have any questions, contact Casey Huff at (530) 898-5983, or email him at chuff@csuchico.edu.

September Newsletter, Scholarship Opportunites

The September newsletter from Sigma Tau Delta is now available on their website (http://www.english.org/sigmatd/enews/enews.html). You can go check out the scholarship opportunities, guidelines for submitting articles to the newsletter, and info about this year’s International Convention.

Also note that the deadline for submissions for the Southwest Region’s Conference is this Thursday, September 18th. If you already have something written, send it in now.  If you were planning to write something, do it very quickly.  Sorry for the short notice on this one. You can find the submission form and more details at http://www.english.org/sigmatd/conventions/regional.shtml and the conference will be held October 17-19 in Austin, TX. Let Michelle Lee know if you are interested in going to the conference.