Event: First meeting of the spring semester.

After some email voting, it looks like Wednesdays at 5 p.m. is the best time for most people.

We’re still meeting in Taylor 107 and the first meeting will be on Feb 4th to give us all a chance to get back into the school groove. I’ll bring goodies you all just show up. Enjoy the weekend!

What: First Meeting of the semester.
Where: Taylor 107
When: Wednesday, February

Event: Spring Open Mic Night

It’s official! We have a date for our Spring Open Mic Night, thought it’s not even spring yet:

• Where: Has Beens @ 5th and Main, Chico
• When: Feb. 20; 7:30pm to about 10pm
• Why: Fundraiser to come up with cash for this semester’s events.

The Spring Open Mic Flyers (PDF) will be put up around campus and town the week before.

I’d love some help hitting up all the usual spots to get the word out; I’m sure this will be covered in the first meeting of the semester. I know this is early, but it’s coming up quickly.

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

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.

Events: Open Mic Night Tonight!

Come on down to Has Been’s tonight for Sigma Tau’s annual Open Mic Night!

• Where: Has Beens @ 5th and Main, Chico
• When: 7:30pm to about 10pm
• Why: Fundraiser to come up with cash for next semester’s events

Come on down and support us! Proffessors Geoff Baker and John Traver will be performing, along with many of Dr. Traver’s students, as they quest for extra credit on their poem memorization for his class.

There will be original work performed, along with poems by the classics (I know for sure at least some Blake will be recited). This is a free event, and everyone is invited.

We hope to see you there!

Update: Meeting Moved to 12/11/08

The final meeting of the semester has been moved from December 4 to December 11, the last Thursday before finals.

We’ll hand out t-shirt and bag orders, and induct our new members. We’ll also have pizza.

This is our last meeting of the semester! Come by to say bye before winter break. Hope to see you there!

Meeting Notes: 13 November 2008

Hey English folk! Another short and productive meeting… the best kind

• We have a date for Open Mic Night! Friday, 12/5 at Has Beans, 7:30ish.  Come out the week after (12/12) to support Geoff’s CD release (he supports us it’s only fair). We even landed a date for our Open Mic Night NEXT SEMESTER. How awesome is that? If you’re still around on 2/20, come be part of the show
• T-shirt/book tote orders have been finalized; if you have not placed an order, you will get the same designs/styles that we are purchasing to sell to the public. Sorry.
• While the Graffiti wall was a good idea, and I was super stoked about it, the plan has been dropped due to lack of interest on the side of the Town Hall Students.

Next meeting is December 4, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. in Taylor 107.

Meeting Notes: 30 October 2008

It was another fairly short meeting, but we got a lot covered; thank you to all who came and contributed.

• The Open Mic Night has been moved from November 14th to December 5th. Come out and enjoy a great night with us.
• On a happy note, Geoff’s CD release is at Has Beans on Friday, December 12th. Come show your support for a project long coming.
• National Novel Writing Month is underway, but we have been unable to get enough support and energy to host an event of our own. Don’t let this stop you! Write stuff anyway, out of pure love for the activity.
• Town Hall was amazing. We have some brilliant students on our campus who are looking to make changes on many levels; one of these levels is artistic. There is an interest among some students to bring graffiti to the foreground as an art form, since it is frowned upon by most as mere vandalism and delinquent shenannigans. In an effort to bridge the gap between the artistic communities on campus (writers vs. sculptors vs. painters vs. actors, etc),  a suggestion was made that the Sigma Tau board in Taylor Hall be temporarily papered over with butcher paper and used as a space for this medium. Christina and Jen will be taking this idea to Aiping, who was in on the initial conversation at Town Hall. Of course restrictions will be set and consequences weighed. As there have been no outright objections to the plan, we will be getting this underway soon, hopefully. On November 14th, the Free Speech Area will be occupied by the results of the impact work discussions that took place at Town Hall. It is our hopes that a temporary graffiti wall will be made available, and that the butcher paper can be displayed as part of the show. Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and additional ideas.
• We have started taking orders for t-shirts and book totes! You can choose any color shirt you want, and if you would also like a tote, there are three different styles to choose from. Sigma Tau Delta will cover $5 of your order. Come to our next meeting to specify your order; otherwise, you will get the same style shirt/tote that we will be ordering to sell.
• The next meeting is November 11 at 5 p.m. in Taylor 107. See you there!

Meeting Notes: 16 October 2008

Hello, everyone! There was a much better turnout at the meeting this week; thank you to all who attended.

• Tomorrow (10/17), the Literary students are hosting guest speaker Amanda Wood. She will be in Taylor 107 at 1 pm.
• While we are still working on the details for our own Open Mic Night, EGSC is holding theirs tonight: 7p.m. at the 1078 Gallery
• Our Open Mic Night is still tentatively scheduled for November 14th (11/14) at Has Beans, but we are looking at the possibility of a change. We’ll keep you posted.
• Movie Nights: the first two weeks have not gone over as spectacularly as planned. We did not even show the first two movies, actually. There have been some conflicting events, apparently; in any case, the next two movies are most definitely going to be shown. For next Wednesday (10/22), we will be showing the 1999 version of The Haunting. The following Wednesday (10/29), we will show Tank Girl. Movies are shown in Holt 352, as close to 7 pm as possible. Come out and watch good movies in great company. Tell your friends. IT’S FREE!!
• NEW MEMBERS: Geoff needs your membership fee ($37) in check form by the end of October. Please 
• November is National Novel Writers’ Month!!  Interested participants make a pledge to write 50,000 words over the course of the month. Sigma Tau Delta is considering holding a kickoff event, or even a workshop sometime in November, to provide an outlet for all writers (not just novel writers). We are also playing with the idea of having local authors come to speak about writing. Lynn Houston has already pledged to do her 50,000 words, so whatever event we decide to hold, we would be requesting her participation.
• T-Shirts AND TOTES!!! Yep, you read correctly. The print shop that does our shirts also does bookbags. How perfect is that?! Anyway, we’re looking at doing half of our order in t-shirt form, and the other half in tote form. There’s a few different ways we could do this, but that’s one of the ideas. The T-shirt designs will be the simple yet classy “Sigma Tau Delta, English Honor Society” design on the front, and Michelle’s list of Hard Literary Truths on the back. The cost to make each shirt is $6, but throwing in the bags into the mix might change this. We’ll have more details next meeting. Also, we are looking at the possibility of each person getting to pick their own colors for their shirt. COME TO THE NEXT MEETING FOR MORE DETAILS.
• Bible as Literature has made it into the class schedule for Spring 2009!!!! It counts as an English class as well as a Religious Studies class. It will be offered on TR from 12:30 – 1:45. Please, please, please enroll. If you are even the tiniest bit interested, enroll. The more people who sign up, the more likely the class will “make.” A lot of us have been waiting for this class for a while, so… support us.

That’s all this week, lovelies. Tune in for the next update on October 30th… better yet, attend the meeting!! 

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.