NJCL
Convention
22
Fall 2020 · Torch: U.S. · CONVENTION RECAP
2020
Elizabeth Foster
2019-2020 NJCL Editor
For the second consecutive year, Ludi Ultimate Frisbee was canceled. During the 2019 NJCL Convention, a thunderstorm threatened a torrential downpour and a muddy field; during the 2020 NJCL Convention, a global pandemic threatened interstate travel and human interaction within six feet. At the 2019 convention, students moved their fun inside dorms and dining halls for an afternoon; at the 2020 convention, students attended the entire convention from computer screens via a toolbox of technology: SCHED, the scheduling program providing attendees access to all subsequent activities; Zoom, a video conferencing app popularized with this era of virtual communication, for general assemblies, social mixers, and group activities; Google Forms, for contest session submissions; and YouTube Live, for streaming Certamen and Agon rounds and That’s Entertainment! Needless to say, this convention occurred unlike any other.
Traveling a record-breaking distance to the nearest screen, 1107 delegates representing 32 states and one province tuned in to the 67th NJCL Convention. Virtually captained by Mr. Little, the executive director of the American Classical League, General Assembly I welcomed students, chaperones, and sponsors on Friday, July 24th. With undisputed professionalism, Jocelyn Robertson, 2019-2020 NJCL President, was the stable force (and face) keeping the JCL afloat through waves of technology glitches while Mr. Little and Mr. Henkel navigated from behind the camera.
For the first time, prerecorded videos presented the award winners, featuring words of congratulation by peers, past students, and even the grandchildren of the winners of the Ed Phinney Book Award, Mildred Sterling Award, and Silver Bowl Recipients (full awards lists available here and here).
displaying their knowledge on the subjects of Academic Heptathlon, Ancient Geography, Hellenic History, and Latin Derivatives.
Welcoming anyone new to nationals with a Zoom mixer, the NJCL Officers recounted their own first experiences at nationals, answered questions, and shared their favorite upcoming virtual activities.
Officers and members of the National Committee then hosted the NJCL’s second Diversity Mixer, a space created for the development of community and inclusive discussion of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race/ethnicity within the JCL and larger classics community.
Agon, Competitive Certamen, and Open Certamen rounds began on Friday afternoon and proceeded daily through Monday, July 26th. Agon returned after a six-convention hiatus by popular demand. Closing the first day of convention, the virtual scavenger hunt offered another forum for JCLers to share in a fun, vaguely-Latin-related experience with one another (read more about the activity here).
Testing began day two of virtual convention: forfeiting the usual mile-long morning walk to a testing location, delegates opened a new tab to arrive at the second contest session with tests on Reading Comprehension, Roman Life, Classical Art, and Mythology.
A day otherwise inspired by the muses, Impromptu Art, a spirit colloquia calling all artists, a live performance of the Odyssey in Song, and a virtual dance filled the schedule.
Appropriately themed “distance,” Impromptu Art challenged artists to create a piece within the hour. Kelly Brown of Louisiana, who earned a cum laude on her piece, describes the Zoom call as “amazing because it was just a hive mind of artists sitting quietly working as the chairs talked in the background about the Disney movie, Hercules.”
Dr. Mary Pendergraft ACL President,
welcomes attendees at the first General Assembly
Introducing this year’s Olympika equ-ivalent, Jamie Doyle, 2019-2020 NSCL Vice President, led the E-lympika Oath. Every day, JCL delegates submitted videos of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, marathons, Pacer tests, and trick shots.
Following the conclusion of GA I, students began Contest Session One,
Alexandra Sheldon, OH, poses after her winning trickshot