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VOICES · Torch: U.S. · Spring 2016
STATE UPDATES
Below: Two Indiana JCLers are excited to show the "mosaics" that they made during a presentation about Classical Art!
Indiana
In November 2015, the Indiana Junior Classical League held its 38th annual Fall Latin Day at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. The event featured students, sponsors, and Purdue professors as guest speakers, and several chapters from around the state were in attendance.
In January, the IJCL held the 34th annual Hoosier Certamen Invitational at Herron High School in Indianapolis, IN, with several JCLers competing. Indiana Latin Week took place from January 24-30, and chapters participated by sending photos and descriptions of their interpretations of each day's theme to Second Vice President Kendal Paul for the annual contest. In February, the 28th annual Indiana Certamen Invitational took place at Bishop Guerin High School in Noblesville, IN.
Finally, the IJCL is thrilled to be hosting national convention right here at Indiana University, and we hope that you all sign up to attend!
Mary Piper, Indiana JCL Editor
Virginia
Salvete omnes! We are proud to announce that Virginia’s Latin clubs have hit their stride and enter the new year ready to continue our JCL’s proud history. This past November, over 2,500 Virginia Latin fanatics came together in Richmond as we held the 2015 VJCL Convention. In celebration of the theme of this year’s National (and VJCL) Convention, “Ubi Concordia, ibi Victoria”, the state officers implemented a program in which each school, from the largest to the smallest, voluntarily contributed a pair of experienced older students to help their younger brethren through the weekend. The result was a display of comradery and JCLove not seen since the heyday of the Roman Republic when Mrs. Schearer appealed to the honor and pietas of the Numidian army in a rousing speech of which they understood not a word, before leading them on a screaming cavalry charge against Hannibal’s flanks at Zama. It wasn’t all fun and games, however. In order to support our local charities, we hosted a Coin War (known to state officers as
“Ludi Panhandling” and to state chairs as a way of making sure that we wouldn’t be discouraged by our future finances as Classics majors) in which the VJCL’s elected leadership put aside its collective dignity for the greater good. After two days of guys in suits tearfully begging Conventio -goers for their hard-earned denarii, we managed to raise a grand total of $951.84, which was then donated to Best Buddies, a northern-VA charity focused on reaching out to those with special needs.
Not to be outdone by their outgoing counterparts, the newly elected VJCL Board resolved to focus on Spirit and Service in the upcoming year. We have planned an intensive series of service projects for the months of February and March, including toy drives and canned food collections. To encourage more VJCLers to participate in the organization, we plan to host a “Ludamus” day of board games and outdoor activities at the upcoming April VJCL Executive Board meeting. In addition, we have scheduled several Spirit Castra events at different schools throughout the state in order to encourage more students to actively participate in the JCL and come to state and national Conventions. See you there!
Ryan Klopp, Virginia JCL Editor
Above: General Assembly at the 2015 VJCL Convention