Winter 2020· Torch: U.S. · STATE UPDATES
by SARA RHOUATE
by JOLY LO
KENTUCKY
MASSACHUSETTS
Recently, MassJCL held its first virtual event, which was a combination of Kickoff and Classics Day. Kickoff, which is usually held in October, is the first event of the season, where attendees compete in marshmallow and large catapult contests, street Certamen, and more. Classics Day is typically held in December at Boston University, where various professors and others of knowledge give various presentations surrounding that year’s theme. Now that the event was virtual, it opened up new possibilities, such as welcoming out-of-state students, teachers, and NJCL officers to attend. Overall, we had an attendance of about 300 people, with around 130 out- of-state participants. The panel of presenters consisted of New York Best Seller Madeline Miller, former NJCL President and current Boston City Councilor and mayoral candidate Michelle Wu, Nobel Prize Physicist Sir Anthony Leggett, and member of the UK parliament and neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield. Even though this was our first time hosting such an event, it ran very smoothly and seemed to be very successful, so we have high hopes for creating a virtual state convention. We hope that all those who were able to attend had fun!
Recently, the KJCL has been planning the most festive of fall activities: Fall Forum. The first planning meeting was held a few days ago, and there will be another one soon—there’s a lot to do, so frequent meetings will be keeping up the pace! While we have held multiple virtual statewide events in the past, Fall Forum will be the largest yet. We are hoping to get an even higher turnout online than in person! Also, to promote our seasonal spirit, we are holding a pumpkin carving contest. Contestants are encouraged to carve a pumpkin or create a design (extra points for classics spirit, of course!). Submissions will be displayed on the @kyjcl Instagram. Throughout the month, we have also been continuing weekly statewide meetings to keep everyone in Kentucky connected. We are hoping to see more and more members present in future meetings!
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