Alpha Kappa Delta Update

It was a great start to the year for Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology Honor Society) and the Sociology Club.

The fall semester began with a pizza and game night at the Union, which had a great turnout. Students played Clue and a few card games (I believe the solution was Mrs. Peacock with the Revolver in the Hall). The group volunteered at the Food for Thought UND Food Pantry in the Memorial Union, which provides non-perishable food items and personal hygiene products to students in need. In fact, Food for Thought recently received a donation from a UND alum that is expected to fund the pantry for the next five years, allowing the pantry to begin providing perishable food items as well.

Dr. Julia McQuillan joined us this fall as an invited speaker after traveling to UND from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she is a Willa Cather Professor of Sociology. Dr. McQuillan gave an excellent talk on finding new and surprising places that Sociology can be useful, including: Comics to educate children about science, virtual reality in teaching social networks, systems theory, and applications to improve working conditions in poultry processing plants. She also shared strategies to address the opioid crisis. Dr. McQuillan discussed her work involving data analysis of pay disparities at a university, which led to raises for faculty and staff across departments. We were very lucky that Dr. McQuillan was able to join us this fall to discuss her interesting and important work!

A number of activities planned this spring as well. Beginning with another pizza and game night at the Union, Alpha Kappa Delta is looking forward to a mural activity with the theme of writing something we’re thankful for. At the end of the spring semester, we plan to join the annual UND-wide volunteer event known as the Big Event on Saturday, May 2 and have plans to host a Celebrating Sociology event to induct new Alpha Kappa Delta members. It will be the perfect time to acknowledge scholarship awardees and upcoming graduates. A possible collaborative activity with Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice Honor Society) is also in the works for the spring. Most importantly, we would like to thank our wonderful student leadership for their efforts in helping to make these events such a success!

Please note that these events are open to everyone, so please contact Joe Jochman (joseph.jochman@und.edu) to join these events, or for more information about Alpha Kappa Delta and the Sociology Club!