National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society Forms at TAMIU, Introduces New Members

A new chapter of the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society (Sigma Delta Pi) has formed at Texas A&M International University and 28 new members will be inducted into this prestigious organization tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 14.

The new members of Phi Xi, as the chapter will be known, will be introduced to the University community at a special reception to be held at 2 p.m. in the Student Center Rotunda. In addition to 23 students, five honorary memberships will be accorded to teachers in the Laredo and neighboring areas who have demonstrated a commitment to the teaching of Spanish language literature and culture.

Sigma Delta Pi, also known in Spanish as La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica, was established in 1919 at the University of California in Berkeley. The Society has over 500 chapters nationwide and almost all state universities have chapters.

The honor of active membership is bestowed upon undergraduates with a grade point average of 3.0 or better in at least three junior-level courses in Spanish, and graduate students with a GPA of 3.0 or better in at least two graduate-level courses.

Phi Xi will operate under the guidance of Dr. Ezra Engling, professor of Spanish.

Other universities with Sigma Delta Pi chapters include Stanford University, Brown University, The Citadel, Texas Christian University, Brigham Young University, College of William and Mary, Howard University, the Catholic University of America, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Southern Methodist University, Baruch College-City University of New York, the University of Hawaii and Oral Roberts University.

For further information, please contact Dr. Engling at 326-2648, e-mail engling@tamiu.edu or visit offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 435B. University office hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.