Sigma Tau Delta and DSU’s Return to the Wizarding World

By: Kaitlin Schneider

            Although the semester steadily draws to a close, and we’re all just trying to muddle our way through these mountains of homework and projects, there are many clubs on campus that try to help us with our woes. Or at least they offer a chance for us to get away from them for a few hours.
            To garner excitement and psych up the campus for the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, DSU’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta sponsored a Harry Potter themed semester. Beginning at the end of September, the club began replaying the blockbuster films, beginning with Year One in order to completely re-experience the magic.
           Throughout the last few months, excitement grew steadily for the new film as new trailers and pictures were released; so, Sigma Tau Delta ensured that the semester keep getting more and more exciting. Especially when October 25 rolled around, because one DSU professor, Dr. Dale Droge, presented a brief PowerPoint about the animals of Harry Potter and the nature of Magizoology. Sigma Tau titled his discussion “The Care of Magical Creatures,” and it caught the attention of several students and faculty alike. Varying trivia questions accompanied his presentation, and it was an enjoyable experience for all who attended.
           Dr. Droge had much to say about the experience, his overall presentation, and his opinion on the synopsis of the upcoming film as a whole. “I enjoyed talking with everyone.  I was very impressed by our students’ knowledge of the wizarding world.  It was amazing!  The magical world created in the Harry Potter books is enormously entertaining in its own right, but also reflects on many of the attributes of our own “[M]uggle” society.  One of the themes explored in the new film is that fantastic beasts are not only wonderful to find and observe, but their existence makes the world a more special place.  Making sure these beasts survive to be enjoyed by future generations is a goal of Magizoology, but also encourages us to preserve the diversity of animals we enjoy in our world.  Many real animals are just as fantastic and awe-inspiring as the creatures of imagination.
            Moving on from Dr. Droge’s fantastic experience, the rest of the movie nights played out as planned for Years 6-8. However, to complement the last movie night and offer one more major trip down nostalgia lane, Sigma Tau Delta added trivia questions to the mix themselves. This difficult O.W.L. exam allowed viewing attendees to test their mettle against fellow Potter fans while the movie allowed them to return to Hogwarts one last time with Harry and his friends. The test included such questions as the name of Snape’s parents, describing how to de-gnome a garden with the Weasleys, or even to list all of the Horcruxes in the order they were destroyed and who assisted in that particular dismantling of Voldemort’s grand scheme to live forever. In the end, the top three scoring students received prizes, and everyone agreed that the shared experience of viewing the movies was fun for all involved. And certainly, everyone is excited to see where the new movies will take this mystifying universe next.
            Sigma Tau Delta is the International English Honors Society, and its mission is to foster a love of language and literature for everyone, and to continue scholarly study of the Humanities in a positive manner. DSU’s chapter, Alpha Gamma Lambda, offers several on-campus activities for like-minded students to get involved and create a more enjoyable college experience. Other events offered include English Help Nights, Poetry Readings, Open Mic Nights, the Annual Student vs. Faculty Poetry Slam, and more!