Save the Bay Research

In order to made our Save the Bay Project a scholarly event, Kayla, our Vice President of Scholarship, did research on animals common to the area we would volunteering at. She discovered that there were two native species in danger of extinction and lived only in these marsh lands. The two animals were the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and the California Clapper Rail.

Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse:
• Tiny, nocturnal rodent that lives in San Francisco Bay wetlands and only along the bay
• Among the smallest rodents in the US
• Bodies are less than three inches long and weigh less than a nickel
• Tails can be as long or longer than their bodies and they have grooved teeth
• Eat seeds, grasses, pickle weed and insects
• Bodies specially adapted to tolerate high concentrations of salt in food and water
• Known to drink and survive on salt water for long periods of time
• Live in dense pickle weed for hiding from natural predators like the California Clapper Rail
• Very good swimmers and climbers, but can live as long as a year
• Don’t reproduce quickly
• Most females bear only four young in a litter and have only one litter in their lifetime.

California Clapper Rail:
• A shy and elusive bird
• Endangered species native to San Francisco Bay
• Males and females look almost identical and are 1 to 1.5 feet long
• Once lived in coastal marshes throughout central and northern California but now are only found along the San Francisco bay
• Live in salt water and brackish marshes and tidal sloughs
• Prefer a habitat of card grass and pickle weed
• Use bright orange beak to obtain in their favorite foods, including worms, mussels, fish and crabs from the mud during low tides during long tides
• Known to munch on an occasional small bird or mammal like the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse.
• Compared to Chickens in size, shape and maneuverability
• Often seen at very high or low tides
• Rely on wetlands for protection and isolation from predators
• Lay their eggs on the ground in a shallow nest of dead marsh grasses

Summer Planning Session

This was the last summer planning session that was used to set the day and time of our weekly meetings and finalize what we were doing in the fall semester. We left the session excited for the start of the semester and a good foundation of what we wanted to do in the semester. The summer planning sessions allowed the officers to come together and make decisions for the upcoming semester.

Leadership Summer Planning Session

This summer planning session was dedicated to leadership. We spent the session learning more about what leadership is and how to better incorporate it with all the events we put on. This session was run by our Vice President of Leadership, Victoria. It was a great session that only taught us more about Leadership, but helped bring all the officers closer.

Blog

Chapter discussed and decided to use available blogging technology and combine it with the role of chapter Historian to create a more powerful way to communicate with chapter members as well as chronicling the chapter events around the four hallmarks.

Researching of the Honors Topic: The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges and Consequences

After distribution of the Honors Program Guide and much discussion, our chapter felt the place to start the conversation about the honors topic was with Issue 1, Definitions. After examining that section in the Honors Program Guide it was decided that several of the students would read and journal notes on a book entitled, Gross Domestic Happiness, by C. Arthur Brooks. In this book the author argues that the evidence shows a real "happiness gap" in America today, and it lies disconcertingly close to America's cultural and political fault lines. The great divide between the happy and the unhappy in America, Brooks shows, is due, in great part, to differences in social and cultural values. The values that bring happiness are faith, charity, hard work, optimism, and individual liberty. Secularism, excessive reliance on the state to solve problems, and an addiction to security promote unhappiness. What can be done to maximize America's happiness? Supplied with the unconventional wisdom Brooks has come to be known for, Gross National Happiness offers surprising ideas about how our government can best facilitate Americans in their pursuit of happiness. This occurred during a summer planning session not too long after Kayla’s return from the international honors seminar.

International Honors Seminars

International Honors Seminar is when members of Phi Theta Kappa get together for a week to learn more about the honors hallmark topic. This year’s topic is The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges, and Consequences. The seminar took place at San Francisco State University. We had our Vice President of Scholarship and Communications, Kayla, attend. She met people from all over the nation and gained a deeper understanding of the honors topic. It was a great week that was not only scholarly but also helped make better leaders.

Service Summer Planning Session

In order to be more successful in planning events, we decided to break each summer planning session down to each hallmark. The first session was dedicated to service. The Co-Vice Presidents of Service researched many events we could do that dealt with the service theme of Operation Green. They brought many service project ideas that we looked into and decide which events we wanted to do and which ones we did not want to do. At the end of the session we had not only decided what we could do but also what we wanted to do. After this session we were also able to start researching how to make each of the chosen events scholarly, if we could.