Activities - NJCL Convention - 2002 - Daily Highlights - Friday, August 2

"Mythology in the Morning" would have been an appropriate theme, as the fourth - and final - contest session took place at 8 a.m. today. Also offered in this testing block were the Latin Derivatives test, the most popular academic contest at this year's convention, and Academic Heptathlon, a comprehensive exam billed as the training ground for the Academic Decathlon offered earlier this week.

Ludi Basketball also took place from 8 - 10 this morning in the Seaton Center located mercifully near the Kirwan-Blanding dormitory complex. Other post-jentacular options included another round of seminar sessions, including topics such as

• Latin and Modern Medicine
• Latin for the Masses: Distance Learning in Kentucky
• Identifying Ancient Coins - Computer Activities
• Medusa Myth Exam

And if all that wasn't enough, Ludi Chess participants continued their rounds this morning, and both Open Certamen and Competitive Certamen held rounds near the midday hours. Following the semi-final rounds of Competitive Certamen five different states emerged from the three levels of competition to continue to the final round to be played the next day; those teams included

With the morning complete, lunch accompanied by the bazaar (as most meals this week were) gave way to a second seminar session for the day. One of the sessions offered this time included the topic of Oral Latin presented by Dr. Tunberg who had addressed the delegates in Latin during the first assembly of the convention. Also taking place after lunch was the Candidates Open Forum, during which candidates spoke one on one with delegates to answer questions, further explain their platforms, and get to know the concerns of the delegations as well as meet what for some would become their fellow NJCL officers for the 2002-2003 academic year. The Open Forum provided valuable input for each state and province as they decided upon their favorite candidates in a special afternoon fellowship held right before the evening's general assembly, which included the casting of ballots.

Also part of the agenda for this evening's general assembly was the vote for the proposed constitutional amendment and presentations by the chorus and the Texas state delegation, the latter as a formal invitation to attend JCL's 'Golden Anniversary' convention in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the first NJCL convention back in 1954. Since the attendance has grown just a bit since that first forum held at Incarnate Word High School, the venue this time will be Trinity University. The chorus presentation and Texas invitation also allowed time for the NJCL Parliamentarian to count the votes cast for the officer candidates and the proposed amendment to the constitution. This amendment did pass and the newly elected officers are:

• President: Michelle Wu from Illinois
• 1st Vice-president: Judson Clark from Texas
• 2nd Vice-president: Will Snider from District of Columbia
• Parliamentarian: Courtney Wang of Georgia
• Historian: Nelly Chang of North Dakota
• Editor: Monique Maes of Kansas

Despite the fact that the Historian and Editor ran unopposed they did still need to secure a majority of the votes cast. Since there were no candidates for Secretary, the declared state-of-emergency resulted in appointing a secretary from a pool of interested attendees who very quickly needed to apply in writing stating their desire for the office and presenting relevant qualifications to perform the duties of the office. The new NJCL president, the NJCL Committee Secretary and the NJCL Constitutional Advisor met to narrow the field of candidates to three, from which the remaining slate of officers selected the new officer - Ariel Hudson-Franklin from Wisconsin.

The NJCL Committee also had elections this year, as Liz Bouis, NJCL Olympika Chair, is retiring from the NJCL Executive Board after 10 years of service. Only sponsors and chaperones in attendance who are also ACL members were eligible to vote. As a result of the election, Scott Kryder of Louisana joins the committee as the new NJCL Olympika Chair. Jim O'Neil, the NJCL Computer Technology Chair, also was also re-elected for a second five-year term.

In a break from the cafeteria food, this evening's event offered special dinners for both the sponsors and the students. Students spilled out of convention onto Stoll Field for a cookout, accompanied by bluegrass music performed by Narrow Road. The adults, however, had to trek back to the dormitory complex from Singletary Center, as the venue for the Sponsor's and Chaperone' banquet was the same as for the ordinary meals held during the week for all convention attendees.

Sponsors and Chaperones would make a quick return to the Singletary Center, however, as the SCL-run That's Entertainment was held this evening. Memorable SCL acts this year include bits by the Soggy Toga Boys, Shania Twain (not!), and a patriotic performance by the Racketeers that had the entire audience standing and singing "God Bless the USA." For the student acts, Amy Hedges of Ohio, took the first prize for her original piano and vocal composition. A vocal performance by Jessica Brandhorst of Texas took second, and highstepping Karen Siklosi of Ohio completed the top three.

Convention Ear, Friday, August 2, 2002 (requires Adobe Acrobat)