Published by Eta Sigma Phi - Monmouth College

Back” puzzle which we fully intend toframe and hang in the Lounge of Destiny.After convention we plan to hold ourfirst annual “Vernal Ve/irgil Vigil” beingspelled as such in order to cater to theopposing powers. This magnanimouslybeneficial event will coincide with Baylor’sspring holiday, Dia del Orso (“day of thebear”). We will stake our place right infront of all the Baylor festivities so that wecan mesmerize the masses with our mysticalclassical powers and then convert themall into classicists.To bring an end to such an incredibleyear, we would like to consummate ourtime at Baylor with a Classics TeacherAppreciation Day to honor those to whomwe owe so much.Delta Chi at St. Olaf CollegeWe began our year with the First (hopefullyAnnual) Olympics, held in cooperationwith St. Olaf’s Society of AncientHistory; we received favorable portentsbefore the games with the sighting of aneagle! In October a group of us traveledto the University of Minnesota to see aperformance of Plato’s Apology by YannisSimonides. Shortly after Halloween, wecelebrated the Eleusinian Mysteries, as isour custom, with kukeon, dramatic recitations,and a bonfire. During the Christmasseason, we caroled down the streets ofNorthfield, singing in Latin and Greek.In February, several of us took the EtaSigma Phi translation contests. In March,a cast of 18 students participated in St.Olaf’s biennial Latin play; we performedPlautus’ Menaechmi, taking the showon tour throughout southeastern Minnesotain preparation for the two homeperformances at St. Olaf. Four Delta Chimembers plan to attend the national conventionin Philadelphia. We are lookingforward to initiating new members in Apriland ending the year with our traditionalBacchanalia in May.We continue to hold weekly ClassicsConversation Tables with a varietyof speakers: Classics alumni talk abouthow their college major has (or has not)influenced the course of their lives; visitingfaculty at St. Olaf and Carleton discusstheir research interests; and students whohave received grants for summer projectsreport on their experiences. We are gratefulto the Loomis family, whose generousdonation to our chapter has helped payfor guest speakers and for travel to theconvention.Epsilon Iota at the University of FloridaThe Epsilon Iota Chapter at the Universityof Florida has had a busy year. Just a fewshort days after our last Eta Sigma Phiconvention at Virginia Tech, we helpedhost the 102nd annual meeting of theClassical Association of the Middle, West,and South at the invitation of the Departmentof Classics. Our members were veryinvolved as hosts: our officers helped planthe event, and all our members served astour guides, wearing bright golden shirtswith the title “PAEDAGOGUS” emblazonedacross the back. Hosting CAMWSwas not only a great learning opportunityfor our members, but it also gave us aglimpse of our futures as graduate students,teachers, or professors.Although CAMWS was by far ourbiggest event in the past year, we havecontinued in our traditional activities aswell. We inducted dozens of new Classicslovers, and welcomed them all with a BBQafter both our fall and spring inductions.We sponsored our annual food drivecompetition among the beginning Latinclasses, and the winner was one of ourformer chapter presidents. The donationswere given to the St. Francis House, ahomeless shelter in Gainesville. That winningalumna and several of her colleaguesjoined us soon afterward for a grad schoolinfo session, where we learned what toexpect in applying to and attending graduateschool in Classics.We enjoyed games and festivities at ourOctogafest, the most authentic toga partyon the UF campus. We held a HolidayBake-a-thon, making and decorating treatsand cards for the children and their familiesat the Ronald McDonald House. Wealso tutor beginning Latin students in bothgroup and individual settings. With the UFClassics Department and the GainesvilleAIA, we welcomed guest lecturers, suchas Ian Morris, Denis Feeney, and AdrianGoldsworthy, with our traditional pizzalunches. A few weeks ago, the UF ClassicsDepartment Office Manager DruscillaGurahoo retired, after thirty years of dedicationto the university, and the EpsilonIota Chapter helped celebrate her manyyears with the department.Our chapter has had a very busy yetvery enjoyable year at the University ofFlorida. We will conclude our year witha celebration, awarding of scholarships,and graduation of ten of our most activemembers. Go Gators!Epsilon Xi at Gustavus Adolphus CollegeThis year has definitely been a busy onefor our chapter. We eased ourselves backinto the swing of the academic year byholding a cena at the newly opened OliveGarden where we stuffed ourselves withgreat tasting food – albeit not authenticancient Greek or Roman food. In Novemberwe attended a performance of OedipusRex at nearby Bethany College. Decemberbrought our annual broomball tournamentbetween the Greek and Latin language students(professors took part as well). Despitea few illegal checks and tumbles, everyonehad a great time reenacting the past on ice.The month of March was unofficiallydedicated to the Arts. We attended aproduction of Menaechmi at St. OlafCollege, as well as watched the newlyreleased movie 300 (after which we wereall impressed that Spartans kept their legswaxed). The end of the month was celebratedwith the first few episodes of themini-series Rome.In April we coordinated with ourClassics Department to sponsor visits byProfessor Joseph Rife (Macalester College),who spoke about his excavations ofa Roman cemetery at Corinth’s port city,and rhapsode Mark Miner, who performedBook 1 of Homer’s Iliad in Greek. Theannual ‘What can you do with a classicsmajor?’ program was a hit in recruitingfuture classicists (we have record numbersof majors this year!). Finally, and moreimportantly, we are proud to announcethat 9 new members were inducted intoour chapter in May.Epsilon Psi at Santa Clara UniversityThere was relatively little activity inEpsilon Psi Chapter during academic year2006-2007, in part owing to the absenceof its advisor on sabbatical. However, the29