Opportunities in and out of the classroom

Concordia University’s Curtain Club is a group for students interested in the dramatic arts. Members of the club are involved in various campus productions, including the two yearly major productions, Readers Theatre and One Act Plays. Curtain Club also assists with Gathering of the Talents and other drama-related activities on campus.

Curtain Club members have the opportunity to become members of a selective theatre honor society, Alpha Psi Omega, the oldest drama society in the United States. Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honorary Society, recognizes students for excellence in theatre performance and production and encourages their future leadership. Points earned through acting, directing and technical work make students eligible for membership. Concordia’s chapter, Omega Lambda, has had production photos published in Alpha Psi Omega’s publication, Playbill, for the last 21 years. New members are initiated every spring.

Students interested in joining Curtain Club may sign up at the interest meeting held at the beginning of the school year or contact a club member. Curtain Club, sponsored by Dr. Mira Wiegmann, has more than 115 members who have expressed an interest in theatre on its mailing list.

See also: Theatre at Concordia is a special area of the Concordia website dedicated to it with information about upcoming and recent performances.

Promotes better communication and educational practices, development of forensics educators, and comprehensive forensic programming.

Concordia University’s Rho Omicron chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, a national honor society for students studying English, is devoted to promoting scholarship among students of English at Concordia and interest in English language and literature among all students on campus.

Sigma Tau Delta is involved in a variety of activities both on and off campus. The group provides services for the university’s annual Gathering of the Talents, particularly in judging student writing. Sigma Tau Delta also takes on service projects such as recording readings of children’s books and writing out the stories of nursing home residents. Every year Sigma Tau Delta publishes Potpourri, a collection of poetry and fiction written by Concordia students from all programs of study. The group also holds campuswide literary events such as poetry jams and plays host on trips to theatrical productions.

Students with a major, minor or concentration in any area of English and who meet certain grade point average and class rank requirements are eligible for membership in Sigma Tau Delta. Rho Omicron has about 30 members who meet to discuss issues in English that are both contemporary and timeless. The society is sponsored by Dr. Jenny Mueller-Roebke and Dr. Lisa Ashby.

Find Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Society, at www.english.org.

Concordia’s bi-weekly newspaper, the Sower, covers campus news for the Concordia student community while also providing valuable pre-professional experience for staff members.

The Sower is produced by a staff of more than 20 students who do all the writing, editing, layout, photography and advertising sales and design for the paper. Students in Concordia's Journalism/Public Relations program typically hold the editorial positions, but students in many different academic areas take on important roles. All staff members except opinion writers are paid for their work. Journalism/PR students have the option of earning academic credit instead of wages.

The Sower aspires to meet the highest professional standards. Staff members pledge to adhere to the Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which requires them to strive for accurate reporting, to give thorough coverage to issues of importance to its 1,500 readers and to provide a forum in which diverse viewpoints among students, faculty and administration can be heard. As a forum for free expression, the newspaper is not subject to prior review or restraint by faculty or administration.

The Sower welcomes letters to the editor and other feedback from readers. You may contact the editor via email at Sower@cune.org or by calling the Sower Office in Jesse basement at 7307. Prof. Tim Ohlman serves as the Sower’s faculty advisor.

The Concordia Speech and Debate program offers students the opportunity to participate in all eleven American Forensics Association events, parliamentary and Lincoln-Douglas debate. The team travels regionally and nationally with regular attendance at the National Parliamentary Debate Association, National Forensics Association, American Forensics Association and National Christian College Forensics Association National Tournaments. In select years, the team also competes at the International Forensics Association tournament and at the World Debating Championship tournament.

Concordia has sent students to national or international tournaments each of the last 15 years with students breaking into elimination rounds at the American Forensics Association and the National Parliamentary Debate Association tournaments in 9 of those years. In 1998, the winners of the NPDA national championship were Concordia University students. Concordia has finished in the top five of competition at the National Christian College Forensics Association Tournament for each of the last five years.

In addition to regular competition, the team sponsors multiple tournaments for both college and high school competition each year. In the fall, Concordia co-hosts the Nebraska Double Up with Creighton University in Omaha. In the spring, Concordia hosts the Sleet and Snow tournament in Seward. Also in the spring, the team hosts the Concordia High School and the Concordia Home School tournaments for high school students.

Documents life at Concordia, one year at a time.