Have you ever wondered what happened to the Latin Club? There has always been a French Club and a Spanish Club but never a Latin Club. As freshmen, this is our third year taking Latin, and we’ve always wanted the opportunity to join a club that celebrates the language and culture of Rome. So, we decided to create the club ourselves. Now, before you immediately flip to another article, let us try to convince you why Latin Club is worth your time.
First, we want to start by saying that Latin Club, just like any other club, is open to all students, regardless of the language you take. Even if you don’t take Latin, you can have fun in the Latin Club. We joined the French Club just for the crepes, so we won’t judge you if you join the Latin Club just for the food, too. Also, it’s important to know that we focus on Roman culture and not the Latin language.
We have a few fun activities in the works for the future, including Roman-themed movie night, Roman food and recipes, and Greek/Roman mythology discussions!
One of our ideas for the Roman-themed movie nights is to possibly air the first episode of Percy Jackson in the auditorium. Percy Jackson is a very popular and well-known series that many of you probably have enjoyed in the past and would be interested in seeing on screen. Although Percy Jackson is heavily based on Greek mythology, there are many parallels between Greek and Roman culture that we will discuss.
We will also explore the many different delectable foods that the Romans enjoyed. Our next club meeting will be based around Roman dishes, and we will have plenty of food to try! If you’ve ever wondered what kinds of food the ancient Romans ate, this is the place to find out. Don’t worry, we won’t force anyone to eat stuffed dormice and flamingoes. Do you know what kinds of hairstyles Roman girls used to wear? We will talk about it in the Latin Club! Even if you have no interest in Roman history whatsoever, trust that you won’t regret spending a Wednesday or two with us. We always have interactive activities and games that don’t require any level of Roman History knowledge.
Our advisor is Ms. Condos, one of our Latin teachers. We meet in the Latin room, D4, every other week or so. The club is very low-commitment, so don’t get stressed out about it. Think about this like an art club for Latin. Of course, you should try to come to all of our meetings, but if you can’t make it, that is completely fine. So far we have thirty people and we welcome everyone who wants to join!
Learning about Roman history and culture can always help you in Global classes or if you take Latin yourself, but it is also important in everyday life. Do you know how many buildings in New York City alone have roots tracing back to Rome? In addition, 60% of the English language is based in Latin! Now, we’re not trying to convince anyone to take Latin, but joining our club is also helpful and has much less commitment and stress.
Although anyone can join, we know that the majority of our members are going to take Latin, and we hope that if you do you will join our club.
Maybe you just want to join the Latin Club for a chance to relax with your friends or for the occasional food, but, either way, this is a community open to everyone and a great way to learn about Roman history while having fun.