STATE UPDATES
Right: St. Joseph's Academy won first overall at the LJCL Convention.
MARYLAND
Maryland JCL just finished its second-ever two-day convention! It was even better than last year, with successful colloquia on coin cleaning, myth and music, and more. For the first time, we elected Certamen MVPs at each level, held a dramatic interpretation contest, and taught Greek dancing. MDJCL has continued to grow over the past year, welcoming multiple new local chapters into the fold. We started making plans for another year of success next year. MDJCL, through the past year, has not yielded to misfortunes, but advanced all the more badly against them.
With that, that's the last article of my tenure as MDJCL Editor. Ut valeas!
Casey Ohringer, Maryland JCL Editor
MASSACHUSETTS
The three-day, two-night MassJCL State Convention is irrefutably one of the most anticipated events for Massachusetts JCL members. Delegates from all over the state (and yes, there is more to MA than just Boston) count down the days until they will venture to the venue of the annual convention. This year, the convention was held not at Barnstable High School at the Cape (as in recent years), but in Sturbridge, a historical little town, located in the southern part of Central Massachusetts from May 1-3 at the Sturbridge Host Hotel and Conference Center.
The opportunities, events, and energy of States were all preserved despite the new locale. There were both Olympika track and field and swimming for some of those artistically challenged individuals and then creative, graphic, and impromptu art contests for others who may have been completely uncoordinated and non-athletic.
The talent show That's Entertainment featured unbelievable acts ranging from soloist singers to the recitation of a monologue. MassJCL president Connie Chang and vice president Julia Pan of the 2014-2015 year broke out microphones and electrical guitars to perform "Uma Thurman" together by Fall out Boy as Fall out Girl, and Publications Editor, Linda Qin showed off her moves as she appeared in a contemporary dance group. MassJCLers sung their hearts out in karaoke, got a serious work out in the chariot races, and mostly likely acquired laryngitis from their toga parade cheers.
Fifteen schools from across the state attended States, and over all Boston Latin School ranked first, Boston Academy second, and Mount Greylock third. As the third GA came to a close, the new officers for the 2015-2016 year were sworn in and sat in the seats of their predecessors. All in all, state convention allowed everyone to come together to celebrate and share their MassJCLove.
Najla Nassar, Massachusetts JCL Editor
LOUISIANA
Louisiana held its state convention on March 6-8, completely packed with events for spirit, tests, arts, Olympika, Certamen, and elections. St. Joseph’s Academy, a sorority from Baton Rouge, won sweepstakes this year and took home the Torch, but everyone went home with smiles after the fun-filled weekend. For the first time in our state’s history, Louisiana decided to encourage more delegates to participate in National Classics Week with the Louisiana Classics Week Cyber Challenge. Delegates from the state were encouraged to use the hashtag #LouisianaClassicsWeek2k15 when posting pictures of activities celebrating the classics. Our goal of promoting the classics throughout the week turned out to be a huge success. The Louisiana delegation is excited to see everyone in San Antonio this summer!
Jacob Summerville, Louisiana JCL Editor
STATE UPDATES · Torch:U.S. · Summer, 2015
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