The North Carolina Junior Classical League (NCJCL) is a group of academically driven middle schoolers and high schoolers that share a passion for Classical Studies. In their creed, the members state:

“We, the members of the Junior Classical League,
covenant to hand on the torch of classical civilization in the modern world.
We believe an acquaintance with the civilization of Greece and Rome
will help us understand and appraise this world of today,
which is indebted to the ancient civilization
in its government and laws, literature, language and arts.
We affirm the JCL experience develops responsibility,
fosters brotherhood, promotes enthusiasm, encourages competition,
inspires dedication, and enriches our total growth.”

This Saturday, April 16, 2016, the University of North Carolina hosted the annual “Latin convention.” Students from all over North Carolina gathered at Chapel Hill clad in togas and chitons (the Greek counterpart to the Roman toga) to celebrate, appreciate, and further their knowledge in Latin, Greek, and Roman ancient cultures. Contests, performances, and readings ensued. Students competed in sight Latin readings, creative writing, costume designs, and a game show-esque event testing their knowledge of the classical civilizations.

The NCJCL convention was held at Wake Forest the year before I was a member of the Latin Club. My amazing high school Latin teacher took my brother and his classmates to the convention that year. While I wasn’t able to attend the convention in high school, I had the opportunity to go this past year as a performer.

THM, a member of the classics department here at Wake, decided that the final project for his Greek and Roman Comedy class would be to perform modernized Aristophanic and Plautic plays for the NCJCL members every year. Aristophanes and Plautus were ancient Greek and Roman comedic playwrights, respectively. My classmates and I had difficulty translating their work for a middle school appropriate audience. If you were able to see the wonderful performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, by Wake students last weekend, you were able to see how comedy was in ancient Greece and Rome.

It was a great opportunity to see the students’ young faces brighten at the jokes that many of my college age friends wouldn’t understand due to their lack of “classics knowledge!” Although I wasn’t able to attend the NCJCL State Convention as a high school student, going this weekend as a part of the event reminded me of great memories from Latin class!