USC chapter of Sigma Delta Pi to raise cultural awareness 
USC's chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, was recognized by its national organization this year for the first time since its creation in 1962.
The chapter received the inaugural Phoenix Award from the society, given each year to just one of 585 chapters nationally, for its activity in the 2011–12 year.
It was also recognized as an "Honor Chapter," a title only given to 14 such chapters this year.
The group is the only Spanish honor society at USC and hosts events throughout the year that help raise awareness about Hispanic culture and heritage among USC students, said Chi chapter president Taylor Jones.
"We sponsor a lot of Hispanic Heritage Month events, which gained the attention of the national office," Jones said. "Over 400 people showed up at the closing event we held on the Russell House patio last year."
The society has plans in the works for this year, too.
They'll hold Noche de Poesía y Breves Cuentos, a Spanish spoken-word event, on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Bates West Social Room and the Taste of Latin, usually their biggest event of the year, on Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. on the Russell House patio.
"We're going to have great food from all over the Hispanic world, great music and dancing," Jones said of the Taste of Latin event.
Currently the chapter has 20 members, Jones said, in part because of a fairly strict set of requirements for membership in Sigma Delta Pi, including 18 hours of Spanish coursework and an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher. They also require that students take literature and culture classes on the 300 level and maintain a 3.0 GPA in Spanish courses.
But Jones said the recently founded Gamecock Spanish Club, a non–honor society spin-off that shares the same set of goals, doesn't have those requirements and is open to more students.
"We're looking to engage freshmen and sophomores and give them opportunities to become leaders and develop into awesome Sigma Delta Pi members," Jones said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article misstated the location of the Noche de Poesía y Breves Cuentos event. It will be held in the Bates West Social Room.