NJCL NATIONAL CONVENTION 2016
A REVIEW
Salvete omnes! I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 NJCL National Convention this past July at Indiana University (Bloomington). I was the only delegate attending from Colorado, as I found out soon enough, but the whole JCL felt like family by the time I departed five short days later. To mirror a sentiment shared by all of us present, NatCon is basically State Convention, except on steroids. Everything is bigger, and better. Those five days have all blurred into one never-ending blob of fun in my brain, from pigging out in the dining hall with my unlimited meal card to cheering until hoarse at all the General Assemblies. NatCon offers an incredible variety of activities; I don’t believe I took a single break during the time I was there. There are academic tests, creative and graphic art contests, talent shows, Colloquia sessions covering a wide variety of different topics everyday, General Assemblies and Spirit, and voting/parliamentary sessions for the NJCL board and constitution. At night, the Agora is offered (Varsity Latin t-shirts, anyone?), and then we congregate with our delegation to share quirky tidbits of our day (believe me, when you put a bunch of Latin nerds together, things get weird pretty quickly) and to go over our strategies for the all serious daily spirit competition. In short, it’s impossible to be bored at NatCon, whether you’re participating in all the shows and contests, or chatting it up with kids from all over the country. I left very unwillingly five short days later, still wearing my JCL nametag now covered in propaganda boasting a multitude of national board candidates, with a couple more friends and tens of thousands of stomachache-funny kind of memories, fondly reflecting back on the only place in the whole world I know of where you can find 1,600 kids and adults alike dressed up in flower/farmer/bee themed costumes (see spirit: Ceres’ Always Blooming-a-ton in Indiana) jumping up and down and screaming/cheering in English, Latin, and gibberish. I’ve already started a countdown to next year’s Convention, eagerly marking off the days until I get to see my extended Latin Family.
activities; I don’t believe I took a single break during the time I was there. There are academic tests, creative and graphic art contests, talent shows, Colloquia sessions covering a wide variety of different topics everyday, General Assemblies and Spirit, and voting/parliamentary sessions for the NJCL board and constitution. At night, the Agora is offered (Varsity Latin t-shirts, anyone?), and then we congregate with our delegation to share quirky tidbits of our day (believe me, when you put a bunch of Latin nerds together, things get weird pretty quickly) and to go over our strategies for the all serious daily spirit competition. In short, it’s impossible to be bored at NatCon, whether you’re participating in all the shows and contests, or chatting it up with kids from all over the country. I left very unwillingly five short days later, still wearing my JCL nametag now covered in propaganda boasting a multitude of national board candidates, with a couple more friends and tens of thousands of stomachache-funny kind of memories, fondly reflecting back on the only place in the whole world I know of where you can find 1,600 kids and adults alike dressed up in flower/farmer/bee themed costumes (see spirit: Ceres’ Always Blooming-a-ton in Indiana) jumping up and down and screaming/cheering in English, Latin, and gibberish. I’ve already started a countdown to next year’s Convention, eagerly marking off the days until I get to see my extended Latin Family.
Ex animo,
Vivian Tang, CoJCL Editor
when you put a bunch of Latin nerds together, things get weird pretty quickly) and to go over our strategies for the all serious daily spirit competition. In short, it’s impossible to be bored at NatCon, whether you’re participating in all the shows and contests, or chatting it up with kids from all over the country. I left very unwillingly five short days later, still wearing my JCL nametag now covered in propaganda boasting a multitude of national board candidates, with a couple more friends and tens of thousands of stomachache-funny kind of memories, fondly reflecting back on the only place in the whole world I know of where you can find 1,600 kids and adults alike dressed up in flower/farmer/bee themed costumes (see spirit: Ceres’ Always Blooming-a-ton in Indiana) jumping up and down and screaming/cheering in English, Latin, and gibberish. I’ve already started a countdown to next year’s Convention, eagerly marking off the days until I get to see my extended Latin Family.
Ex animo,
Vivian Tang, CoJCL Editor
you can find 1,600 kids and adults alike dressed up in flower/farmer/bee themed costumes (see spirit: Ceres’ Always Blooming-a-ton in Indiana) jumping up and down and screaming/cheering in English, Latin, and gibberish. I’ve already started a countdown to next year’s Convention, eagerly marking off the days until I get to see my extended Latin Family again.
Ex animo,
Vivian Tang, COJCL Editor
P.S: The 2017 NJCL National Convention will be held at Troy University in Troy, Alabama from July 24-29. Shoot me an email (editor@coloradojcl.org) or check out www.njcl.org if you have any questions!
*All credit for these images goes to Eric Wang, the 2016-2017 National Historian.
State delegations at the General Assembly*
Audience held spellbound at That's Entertainment, the talent show*
the only place in the whole world I know of where