Alpha Lambda Delta initiate members Sunday afternoon

Freshman open preference major Ashley McFarland was humble Sunday afternoon about being inducted into the ISU chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta.

To be on the stage with 164 other freshmen in Tilson Music Hall required a lot of studying on the part of some students.

"Pretty much all day," McFarland said.

Her mother, Toni Thomas-Offutt, enjoyed the ceremony.

"It was very nice," Thomas-Offutt said. "Well organized."

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national society honoring students' academic excellence during their first year in college, said Greg Bierly, faculty adviser for the chapter and associate professor of geography.

One by one, the students filed onto the stage - some with a nervous gait - to sign the organization's charter and accept their certificates and pins. The ceremony had the feel of a high school graduation, but the audience remained mostly silent throughout.

"Your education is the means by which you learn to recognize the wonders of science," Bierly said. "To appreciate the beauty of great literature and art, to use well our own language, to learn the lessons of past history, to speak and read the languages of other peoples, to study the social and political forces of our world and to discuss the thought and philosophy of other ages."

"Through these means you can evaluate the forces and standards of your generation and learn to live significantly," he said.

As they walked across the stage, the students passed three lighted candles representing the organization's colors - red, gold and white. They burned as a reminder of the high standards expected of inductees, which are intoned in the symbol of a candle.

The golden base of the candle stands for honesty and integrity, the shaft represents strength and courage and the light truth and wisdom, said Anna Coffey, a sophomore chemistry major current president of the chapter.

Some inductees were nervous as they prepared for the ceremony.

Freshman nursing major Cassi Linko acknowledged that the honor would help her in the future with resumes and scholarships.

When it comes time for a new class to be inducted, those students will be held to the same standards Linko and the others were. The organization's motto, written in Greek, translates to: "We shall pass our torches on, one to another," Coffey said.