By Nedal Ahmed

Student Correspondent 

The field of communication studies is a mosaic of talents, fields, opinions, media and personalities. One student organization is trying to piece all these fragments into a larger, functioning work.

Collin College's Sigma Chi Eta is part of the National Communication Association and hopes to do exactly this. The group, which applied for membership last spring, has its real launch this year and is ready to take on the 2007-08 year with a variety of goals aimed to connect not only communication studies majors, but Collin College's other organizations and its entire student body.

"I felt that there was a need on the Collin College campus to represent an important field of communication studies and for those students to engage in hands-on projects and research," said Eric Carlson, professor, advisor and founder of Sigma Chi Eta regarding the organization's origin.

As an honor society with academic standards, Carlson said that having these standards allows Sigma Chi Eta members to be a part of a nationally respected group with larger opportunities, particularly in research.

Work on Sigma Chi Eta is already underway, and the organization is contemplating several projects already including a digital yearbook available at the end of the year, hosting a debate series between various Collin College organization members and a partnership with Collin College's Cougar News aimed to provide a student voice in this online campus news publication.

"I'm excited to see initial commitment," Carlson said. "My hope is that we showcase how Communication Studies represents traditional rhetorical engagement, interpersonal communication awareness, as well as an opportunity to output media product."

Lon Morris, who says he has an interest in broadcast journalism, joined Sigma Chi Eta because of this interest.

"I was hoping to get involved in something at school," Morris said. "I found something that I was enjoying with broadcast journalism and I thought I'd enjoy Sigma Chi Eta, too."

To students involved in other organizations, Sigma Chi Eta provides an opportunity for these groups to showcase their views, members, and talents. The debate series looks to take representatives from various groups on campus and provide them with a platform to discuss their views regarding timely social, political with members of other organizations as well as to an audience of students.

"I'm president of Lions club, which is a community service organization that is really struggling right now," Hassan Barzani, Sigma Chi Eta's treasurer, said. "Hopefully being in Sigma Chi Eta will give us a step forward. I think we can put other groups on the map along with Sigma Chi Eta itself."

For more information or to join Sigma Chi Eta, e-mail sigmachieta@ccccd.edu.