Sigma Tau Delta, the English fraternity, has started a literary podcast series.
The series is called Lit Chat and showcases literary works in comparison with modern-day topics.
“Lit Chat is a discussion of literature and how it fits into our everyday lives, and how what is discussed in literature can help us better understand what it means to be human,” said Chandler White, English sophomore and Sigma Tau Delta vice president.
Sigma Tau Delta is essentially an English honor society, White said.
They host events like movie nights and round table discussions, along with running OCU’s literary journal, The Scarab.
“We’ve been struggling to come up with new ideas in Sigma Tau Delta for the past year now,” said Brandie McAllister, English senior and Sigma Tau Delta president. “We think we need to do something to get our voice out there and get it heard.”
Lit Chat recorded one episode so far. It was uploaded to SoundCloud in January and is titled “1984 and the Donald Trump Campaign.”
“Basically we just sat in a room in the library and discussed for 30 minutes,” McAllister said. “It’s not scripted, and we just bounce ideas off of each other.”
White proposed the series to WOCU on Feb. 2 in hopes that Lit Chat could become a regular series with them. WOCU is the new podcast channel at OCU that hosts several different shows, such as Thank You Ten and Devising.
“I did this because I think it’s one of those things that could unite every major, every class, every person on campus,” White said. “I really do believe it could appeal to everybody. Even if WOCU doesn’t accept it, we will still continue running it independently.”
As of right now, the Lit Chat team is unsure how often their podcasts will be uploaded.
“It’s my personal belief that literature can acquaint human beings with something that’s universal to all of us,” White said. “It can help us better understand ourselves, our own minds, our own hearts, our own countries, everything. It’s a way for us to give articulation to the human spirit. Essentially, that’s the idea here.”
Any student interested can submit ideas to White at cswhite@myokcu.edu, McAllister at bamcallister@my.okcu.edu or ocuscarab@yahoo.com.
“We want to include more people into it because it shouldn’t just be our thing. It would be cool to incorporate the student body as a whole,” McAllister said.
Ultimately, White said he values literature as more than just a subject to be studied.
“Literature is an art form. It’s not just this thing you have to sit through in high school. It can help us all,” White said.
Editor’s Note: White is the copy editor for Student Publications. He did not participate in the writing or editing of this story.
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