By TAYLOR MORRIS
Student Reporter
The Red and Black Scroll Honor Society is taking applications to celebrate Northwestern’s outstanding sophomore students. The society is an honors organization specifically for sophomores. It is not an active organization on campus, but is a way to honor students who meet their qualifications.
Applicants must have at least a 3.0 grade point average over the last three semesters of their college career, be active in at least two organizations, have never failed a course, have no incompletes on their transcripts, have between 45 to 60 hours and attended at least one previous semester on Northwestern’s campus. The application process is not difficult. The most confusion that students tend to face is the two-active-organizations policy. Students often are more involved than they seem to realize. Just attending an activity does not count as an organization, but being a member of the basketball team, doing intramural sports, being a part of a sorority, a religious organization, or just being a part of a group that puts on the school blood drive counts as being in an organization.
The applications will be due at 5 p.m. March 2. Accepted students will be notified through email before spring break. There will be an initiation ceremony at 6 p.m. March 31. The ceremony is closed to the public, but administration will be in. The ceremony lasts about 35 minutes. Those inducted receive a certificate and a group picture is sent to appear in the school newspaper and the school’s website.
Being accepted into this society can be beneficial to students. It is a great line on a resume and helps immensely with obtaining scholarships. Junior and inductee in last year’s group Edem Attor says, “Apart from the honor that it is gives you it also aides in the scholarship applications. I applied for a couple on campus and I got quite a few of them.”
The society has been on Northwestern’s campus since the 1950s.
The leaders of the organization are Sheila Brintnall, professor of mathematics, and Dena Walker, assistant professor of mathematics. Walker says, “We want to emphasize a well-rounded individual that can play and be involved and be a leader in an organization, but also be a leader in the classroom.”
This honor society is specifically aimed toward sophomores because Northwestern wants to start students early with getting involved on campus. According to Walker, “There are some statistics that say if you get involved as a freshman and as a sophomore your college career will be more successful and you learn so many things from being involved in organizations.”