On the evening of Oct. 28, the Sigma Eta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. hosted a Political Jeopardy event with special guest Crystal Smitherman, District 6 councilor for the City of Birmingham.
“The Sigma Eta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority is a part of the National Panhellenic Council, which is composed of nine black Greek organizations,” Vice President Chots Holifield said. “We only have two active black greek sororities apart from the National Panhellenic council at Samford.”
Holifield explained the motivation behind hosting the Political Jeopardy event.
“We felt like it would be important to test the knowledge of students about different things like local government, state government, federal government, and amendments (as well as) political history,” Holifeild said.
At the end of the event, the floor was open for participants to ask Councilor Smitherman questions about politics and citizen involvement.
“Our organization really just promotes sisterhood, service, and scholarship. We do things in the community to get involved,” Holifield said. “We do a lot with voting registration and in February we do Go Red for Women, which is to promote heart disease awareness with the American Heart Association.”
Holifield said the organization has another busy semester ahead.
“This semester we are having a cohort of events that are titled, ‘Hear My Voice, See My Power,’ and it’s really just to empower students to use their voice,” Holifield said. “Just because we’re in college doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to be heard.”
On Nov. 4, Sigma Eta is planning a Brain Dump event where students can vent about anything weighing on them or their community. Next semester Sigma Eta is planning a talent exhibition for students to submit poetry, drawings, paintings, speeches, and creative writing to be showcased on IGTV and Facebook Live. These events will all be held on Zoom and will be open to the entire student body.
“Everybody is welcome,” Holifield said. “We’ve even opened it up to students who are outside of Samford to have a bigger outreach.”
An organization rooted in strengthening the African American community through community involvement, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. has been promoting political activism and awareness since its founding in 1913. Samford’s chapter is continuing that mission in 2020.
“Using your voice is powerful, and using your talent to express yourself is even more powerful,” Holifield urged students.
