Vol. 82, No. 2, Summer 2008 - Monmouth College

Left, Stanley Lombardo reads at event sponsored by Eta Muat the University of California DavisBelow, Comedy Review at Eta Mu’s Classics DayOn the scholarly side, in the secondweek of April, the Classics Departmenthosted a dinner, followed by talk by Dr.John Pedley of the University of Michiganentitled, “Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and theConquest of Egypt.”Our final function of the year was ourannual Floralia, which featured Romanstyledining, a student-produced play,and the ritual assassination of the outgoingpresident and the installation of theincoming officers.Eta Zeta at Truman State UniversityThe Eta Zeta Chapter at Truman StateUniversity held several events during the2007-2008 academic year. In Septemberwe participated in a Classics Quiz Bowl, awelcome event for new Classics students.In October we discussed study abroadopportunities in Greece and Italy; thehighlight of the evening was a presentationby Josie Grillas, a senior Classics major,who showed slides and spoke about hersummer 2007 experience with College Yearin Athens. We also held a campus-wideHomerathon in which students invokedthe spirit of Homer by reading aloud onthe Quad from an English translation ofthe Odyssey. In November we hosted aGreek Dinner for students and faculty.Our five senior Classics majors presentedtheir research projects at the annualClassics Capstone Symposium. In earlyDecember, faculty and students gatheredtogether to read Book 6 of the Iliad aloudin Greek. Throughout the fall and into thespring, we held monthly showings of theHBO series Rome.During the spring, the Eta Zeta chaptervisited the “Mythological Subjects”exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museumin Kansas City, MO. In February severalof us participated in the Eta SigmaPhi translation contests. We celebratedNational Latin Teacher RecruitmentWeek in March with testimonials fromTruman alumni about their experiencesteaching Latin at middle and high schools.April was a busy month. Dr. Eric Ross, aguest speaker from Iowa State University,presented a lecture entitled “Hecuba’sRevenge: Gender, Rhetoric, and Justicein a Time of War.” We initiated eight newmembers into the organization and, followingthe initiation ceremony, we hostedour annual Italian Dinner for facultyand students. Several participants fromthe study abroad course “Sacred Sites inGreece” presented their research projectsat Truman’s Student Research Conference.We held another campus-wide Homerathon,reading aloud on the Quad froman English translation of the Iliad. Oursemester ended in May with the CatullusCantoria, during which faculty andstudents met one last time to read Catullus64 aloud in Latin.Eta Iota at the Univesity of ArizonaThe Eta Iota chapter has had a veryactive year. The chapter has welcomedover a dozen new members. The eventsbegan with a mosaic workshop for clubmembers who now present this workshopto classes of sixth grade students in localschools. Each student makes their ownmosaic and learns about the historicaland cultural roles of this art form in theclassical tradition. The annual LatinValentine’s Day card sale on the mall wasvery popular again this year. The chaptertook a trip to the Getty Villa in Malibuat the end of April, and volunteered forthe CAMWS conference hosted at theUniversity of Arizona from April 16-19,2008.Eta Mu at the University of California,DavisEta Mu, the University of California atDavis [UCD] Eta Sigma Phi chapter, hasworked vigorously over the past year toensure that students who study classics areactively involved on campus. The chapteris devoted to spreading the traditionsof classics on campus and allowing openaccess for any who wish to learn more. Our39