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

Chapter Res Gestae 2007–2008 (Continued)We look forward to additional volunteerand social activities that we havebegun to plan for next year under theleadership of our new officers for the 2008-2009 academic year: Prytanis: MeganMiller; Hyparchos: Alejandra McCall;Grammateus: Jennifer Sons; Chrysophylax:McKane Hill; Pyloros: Bill Fisher.Eta Phi at Union CollegeThe chapter experienced another yearof rapid growth, initiating 22 new membersin April. Our members this yearenjoyed a stimulating series of talks byvisiting Classicists, attended a productionof Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by PeterMeineck’s Aquila Theater Company, andorganized a magnum convivium in honor ofthe Roman New Year. Initiates presentedtheir scholarly work in front of a varietyof audiences, from the Eastern Zone LatinTeachers Association to the Four College(with Hamilton, Skidmore, and Colgate)Parilia Conference, now in its third year.At the end of the year, we’re all lookingforward to a Cena Romana!Eta Omega at Austin Peay UniversityDuring the ’07-’08 academic year, the EtaOmega chapter hosted several events,most for the first time. We participatedin the university-sponsored G.H.O.S.T.night (Great Halloween Options for SafeTrick-or-treating), giving out candy totrick-or-treaters from a table decoratedand manned with an Underworld theme.On November 1st, as a charity fundraiser(proceeds going to the Visitation Hospitalin Haiti), we threw Gladiatorial andOlympic Games. Participants ran races,threw “disci,” played trigon, and foughtwith foam swords. In the spring, under thehospices of the Inauguration Committeewelcoming the university’s new president,we hosted McArthur Award fellow Dr.Jonathan Shay, author of Achilles in Vietnamand Odysseus in America. Shay spoketo several of the Classics classes and gavea public lecture about soldiers’ experiencewith post-traumatic stress disorderand their return home, showing all of thisin the light of what Homer tells about inhis epics. Finally, from April 9th-11th wehosted the Tennessee State Junior ClassicalLeague annual convention. Over thecourse of three days, hundreds of Latinhigh school students from across Tennesseecame to Austin Peay and competedin academic testing; athletics; certamen;and oratory, performance, and generaltalent competitions. During the convention,Austin Peay faculty gave a lecture onarchaeology and led some of the delegatestudents in a mock Roman sacrifice. Manyof the students, chaperons, and teacherscommented on how they wanted to makeAustin Peay the permanent home of thestate convention.Our elected officers for the year wereAshley Brown (president), Rachel Jones(vice president), Beth Turner (secretary),Scott Cochran (treasurer), and TimChoate (sergeant of arms). We gained ninenew members, mostly from students beingto take Latin or Greek.Theta Alpha at Franklin & MarshallCollegeThe Theta Alpha chapter at Franklin& Marshall College initiated nine newmembers on April 22. We participated ina Family Language Day that encouragesstudents from local elementary schoolsto study languages. We also held a movienight to view the series “Rome” and cosponsoreda trip to the newly renovatedGreek and Roman galleries at the MetropolitanMuseum of Art.Theta Delta at Seton Hall UniversityThe Theta Delta Chapter of Eta SigmaPhi has successfully completed its thirdyear at Seton Hall University. The 2007-2008 year witnessed the largest number ofevents and members thus far. In conjunctionwith the Seton Hall Classics Club,History Club, and other partners, EtaSigma Phi sponsored and co-sponsoredmany events including trips to New YorkCity to the Metropolitan Museum to seethe Greek and Roman rooms and the play,Conversations in Tusculum. In support ofthe local arts, members attended A FunnyThing Happened on the Way to the Forumwhich was presented by Milburn HighSchool. Here at Seton Hall, “Classics inthe Round” featured a talk by ProfessorRaymond Capra on “The Evolution ofGreek and Roman Theatre.” In conjunctionwith Roman Civilization classes, afilm series including the HBO Series: Rome,I Claudius, Gladiator, and Spartacus waspresented and sponsored by the Chapter.The final event of the year was the FatherCotter Memorial Lecture which was givenby Professor Matthew McGowan entitled“Exile from Rome to the Renaissance andToday: Ovid, Seneca, Petrarch, & DavidMahon,” which was co-sponsored by EtaSigma Phi.The year ended with the initiationof new members and the institution ofnew officers. This was a year of enormousgrowth and activity which will hopefullycontinue into the next year.Theta Zeta at Case Western ReserveUniversityOne of our major events of the year was tohelp out with the 4th annual City DionysiaCompetition. This is a competition hostedby Professor Paul Iversen and the ClassicsDepartment of CWRU that allows highschool Latin classes/clubs to prepare andperform 15- to 20-minute creative skitsbased on a preselected Greek or Romanwork (e.g. Oedipus Rex, etc). Our majorrole in facilitating this event is to representthe Classics Department in the competition,generally making quite the comedyout of some rather famous Greek tragedies.This year we did a hilarious version ofHippolytus.Another large event held by the ClassicsDepartment is the Annual ClassicsOuting, an evening for majors, minors,professors, and “closet classicists,” as ouradvisor calls them, to gather together andcelebrate the Classical world and classicallearning This year, students gave differentreadings or presentations representingtheir different classes. In addition,the members of Eta Sigma Phi put on acomedic spoof of Book 4 of Vergil’s Aeneid.We modernized the story: Aeneas was acollege football star, Dido a cheerleader.Also, the Classics Department hosts afew major literary readings throughout theyear in which many members of Eta SigmaPhi always participate. This year there wasan off-campus reading of Homer’s Odysseyas well as a 12-hour reading of Vergil’sAeneid held inside our main studentcenter.Membership of our chapter is growing42