Activities

For the past fifteen years, Phi Xi has been one of the most active and successful of Sigma Tau Delta chapters. New activities are added, and traditional ones maintained. Each semester begins with a membership drive culminating in a business and initiation meeting at which plans are made for the term. Phi Xi usually sponsors a Faculty/Student Wine and Cheese Party each semester to which each member brings a delicious hors d'oeuvre or dessert. These parties offer the opportunity for student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom or office and are very well attended and appreciated by the English faculty and staff. Of course, only those twenty-one and above may drink wine, but other beverages are provided. We attend plays and discuss them with English faculty members, usually viewing an on-campus play in Fall term and taking a road trip to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery in the Spring. There is frequently a Halloween Literary Costume Party and always an end-of-the-year cookout: the April Fools' Party with Election of Officers.

Much of Phi Xi's energy goes into participation in the annual Sigma Tau Delta International Convention. We usually have the largest delegation and the most presentations on the program. We learn from and enjoy the analytic papers, personal essays, stories, and poems we hear read by students from across, and outside, the nation, and we feel a sense of empowerment in presenting the fruits of our own labor to an audience of like-minded individuals. Conventions also provide the opportunity to meet and hear outstanding writers, such as Amy Tan, Andrew Hudgins, Mark Doty, and Pat Conroy. Phi Xi members compete actively, and with good success, for the various scholarships, internships, and awards which are announced at the conventions. Because of our record of success, the university administrations typically cover all our registration, transportation, and lodging expenses.

Following Sigma Tau Delta's purpose "to foster literacy," Phi Xi supports Project Literacy in Tuscaloosa County and throughout West Alabama. In the Spring, "Lyrics for Literacy" or "$hakespeare'$ $onnet$ for Project Literacy" raises significant sums to underwrite the cost of materials for adult new readers. Throughout the year, over twenty of our members are engaged in tutoring, following the adage "each one teach one." This service project is our major local effort. Please click on the following link for further information on Project Literacy, and Phi Xi's involvement with it.