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What's new?
The 62nd convention will have all of the convention favorites, but Silver-Bowl-aiming convention-goers will want to know what’s different this year. The Trinity campus shapes much of that. General assemblies will be held in the Laurie Auditorium, which has comfy seats, excellent acoustics, and, most importantly, the freedom to jump during spirit! But, alas, nihil ex nihilo: while we get more enjoyment out of GAs, dances will be on a gym floor where shoes aren’t allowed. I guess whether you enjoy dances in socks is a matter of opinion, though.
Some technical changes: the format of Agon will change to a trivia colloquium, and Certamen orientation is now earlier in the schedule to make the first day of convention more manageable. Plus, starting this year, the Bazaar is being renamed to the Agora. The Hospitality Lounge is back, too! It will be held in the Trinity Skyline, which offers a beautiful view of San Antonio.
Finally, the officers are excited to run a Scavenger Hunt colloquium on the first day of convention to help students familiarize themselves with the campus and get active. Prizes will be handed out for winners, so be sure to participate.
Spirit
Latin students might be quiet and pensive when they’re translating, but convention lets their JCL spirit loose! States will cheer, costume, or show any form of excitement for the classics. NJCL Second Vice President Narayan Sundararajan has revealed the spirit themes, and he can’t wait to see what JCLers’ creative juices come up with! Creativity will be weighted more than unity on the spirit rubric this year in order to give every state a chance to shine.
Certamen
A quizbowl-style buzzer game on classics trivia, Certamen might be best described like this: football is to Texas as Certamen is to JCL. Most states field a team in either the Novice (Latin ½ - 1), Intermediate (Latin 2), or Advanced (Latin 3+) levels and support them until the end of their journey, hopefully in semifinals or finals. Blood, sweat, and tears will be shed…from paper cuts, buzzer grips, and laughter, respectively. If this level of intensity is not your style, though, there’s always Open Certamen, a non-competitive version of Certamen. Or, for SCLers and teachers craving the same competitive flair in their Latin life, form a World Series team and compete against fellow post-JCLers.
CONVENTION PREVIEW · Torch:U.S. · Spring, 2015
Below: The Laurie Auditorium, where General Assemblies will be held and where jumping is allowed!
Below: The Trinity Gym, where JCL dances will be held. No shoes are allowed on the dance floor.
Above: The view from the Trinity Skyline, where Hospitality Lounge will be.
Above: Some distincive wall artwork in the Laurie Auditorium building.