Two Ohio State honor societies are searching for intelligent, well-rounded OSU juniors and seniors for potential membership.
Mortar Board and Sphinx, two organizations rich in tradition and service, are accepting applications for membership.
Mortar Board is a national honor organization committed to “scholarship, leadership and service,” said Jill Craig, president of Mortar Board and a senior in sociology and criminology.
The organization began at OSU in 1915 in order to recognize female academic achievement. The organization developed chapters across the country and eventually admitted male students in 1975.
Prospective members must have a minimum junior class standing, a grade point average of 3.0 or above, and an expectant graduation date no sooner than autumn quarter 2003.
Mortar Board members are expected to attend bi-weekly meetings and participate in service and fund-raising activities. The organization’s biggest service project is reading to students at Hamilton Elementary School, as well as collecting books for the children.
“In a sense we have kind of adopted the school and the kids there,” said Craig Evers, a senior in economics and English and a Mortar Board member. “It is one of the more rewarding aspects of the organization.”
Members meet for social events such as barbecues, movie nights and dinners at different ethnic restaurants.
“We try to get out about three times per month,” Evers said. “We are as much a friendship-based organization as a service one.”
Sphinx, another senior honorary, is similar to Mortar Board but has fewer members and is the oldest honor society on campus. Initially started as an organization for men, Sphinx admitted its first female members in 1978. Sphinx is a local honorary based solely at OSU.
“Selection for Sphinx is based upon scholarship, leadership and direct contribution to OSU,” said Carl Zulauf, professor of agricultural economics and a Sphinx adviser.
Prospective members must have a GPA of 2.75 or above, at least 90 credit hours and an expectant graduation date no sooner than autumn quarter 2003.
Sphinx is a service-based organization with an emphasis on forming life-long friendships.
“We are a close-knit group, so much so that I have stayed in contact and remained friends with many Sphinx members long after their time with the organization is over,” Zulauf said.
Even though the two organizations are so similar and compete for the same types of OSU students, the honor societies say they respect and occasionally work with one another.
“To be in any honorary is a unique and special experience,” Zulauf said. “We have built many bridges with Mortar Board, especially over the past 10 years.”
“It’s a sort of sibling rivalry, you might say,” Craig said. “Though it is all a sort of friendly competition.”
A major event the two honor societies collaborate for is the annual Mortar Board/Sphinx Faculty Recognition Banquet. This year’s ceremony will be held Feb. 11 at the Medical Heritage Library. Sphinx and Mortar Board members nominate an OSU faculty member who has made a special impression on them during their times at OSU for a special recognition.
“The faculty members are deeply touched,” Zulauf said. “Because it is a personal nomination, by a student, they feel especially rewarded.”
Applications for admittance to both organizations are available online. The due date for Sphinx applications is March 5 and applications for Mortar Board are due Feb. 14. Current members will choose from the pool of applicants to pick the members of the next honorary class.
Both organizations say they are searching for well-rounded individuals from a variety of different cultures, ethnic backgrounds and areas of academic studies. New members of both organizations will be notified in a “special, secret way,” Zulauf said.
