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09.16.05 Erskine's history honor society chapter wins national award For 15 of the past 16 years, the Erskine College Psi Xi chapter of the history honor society Phi Alpha Theta (PAT) has won the Best Chapter award in Division I, for schools with fewer than 3,000 students. Now the chapter has been judged outstanding among the best chapters of the society. Faculty sponsor Dr. Sandra Chaney said the chapter has won the Nels A. Cleven Award in Division 1. This award is described in a letter from the national office of Phi Alpha Theta as "reserved for those chapters who have won the Best Chapter Award five or more times, thus exhibiting a unique level of excellence for which we encourage all of our chapters to strive." Last year's Phi Alpha Theta officers were Amanda Sweeney, president; Justin Coates, vice president; Dawn Chamberlain, secretary-treasurer; and John Ness, historian. Other members were Drew Carlisle, Sandi Creasman, Mary Frances Milford, and Mark Ridgeway. PAT activities in 2004-05 included a fall picnic for history majors and other students interested in history and social studies; assistance with the Stukes Lecture, which was on the topic "Roman Arenas and Crowd Dynamics"; and a movie night in conjunction with the Stukes Lecture in which the visiting lecturer commented on the film "Gladiator" from an historical perspective. "The organization also participated in campus service projects, including Operation Christmas Child and Relay for Life," Chaney said. The Psi Xi chapter sent two students to the PAT regional meeting at Campbell University in North Carolina. Dawn Chamberlain, now chapter historian, presented a paper on Watergate and Sandi Creasman, now chapter president, attended as an observer. Creasman said she plans to present her senior thesis at a Phi Alpha Theta meeting this year. Chaney said the selection of best chapter is based on involvement of students in campus life and PAT activities, such as regional and national meetings. "We have a biennial meeting this year, and we hope to send someone to present their paper in Philadelphia in January," she said. "The award is also based on faculty-student involvement in activities together." "I hope that we can make Phi Alpha Theta an organization that is a little more well known than it has been in the past," Creasman said. She plans an active year, and said another PAT fall picnic is in the works for next month. This year's PAT officers in addition to Creasman and Chamberlain are Mary Frances Milford, vice president, and Drew Carlisle, secretary-treasurer. Carlisle believes the organization will grow this year. "We graduated a large percentage of the organization last year," he said. "However, we are expecting to induct many excellent candidates this semester." The chapter's efforts since its establishment in 1978 have brought some tangible benefits to the college. "The best chapter award, which we've won a number of times, comes with a cash award of $250 to be used toward the purchase of books for McCain Library," Chaney said. "Over the years we've managed to buy a number of books for the collection." This year's officers aim to help the college in other ways as well. Carlisle said he hopes the chapter will encourage academic research. "In Phi Alpha Theta we gather as historians to learn through intellectual and social exchange," he said. "I think it is important to study history so that we might be able to learn something from the past and make the future better," Creasman said. "I want to try to use the organization to help promote how useful and important history is." To be eligible for membership in the Erskine chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, students must have taken 12 hours of history, with at least two of these classes being graded classes at Erskine. Students must also maintain better than a 3.0 grade point average in their history classes, at least a 3.0 in their non-history classes and be in the top one-third of their class. |
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