The Mount Greylock Junior Classical League (JCL) attended the Massachusetts Classics Day at Boston University on Thursday, December 7. Classics Day is a convention centered around JCLs from different schools across Massachusetts “coming together and sharing in classical learning,” Latin teacher and JCL advisor Steven Zelubowski said. Students were able to attend different lectures on classical topics and participate in a group skit competition against other schools.
Professors from the Boston area gave lectures on a variety of topics. They ranged from mental health in the ancient world to an ancient princess from Delphi. Each member of JCL was able to attend two lectures of their choosing.
Junior Alec Sills attended a lecture about Roman theater. “It was really interesting, especially because I do theater normally… it was fun to see how the art form evolved over time,” he said.
In addition to sitting in on lectures, JCL students had the opportunity to participate in a skit contest about “Greece, Rome, and Beyond,” Zelubowski said. The Mount Greylock JCL presented a comedic skit about Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gall. Although they did not receive any distinctions for the skit, JCL President and senior Emma Kate Hane said, “I thought it was fun. It deserved to get more credit.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the JCL had a large presence at state-wide events like Classics Day. This trip to the convention marked the first time they were able to attend it since 2020. “We used to host [at Mount Greylock] the MassJCL Induction to kick off the MassJCL school year,” Zelubowski said. This convention invited schools from across Massachusetts, but Mount Greylock has not held it in recent years.
This school year looks bright for the JCL, Hane said, and “a big part of the JCL at Mount Greylock as a whole is to travel and meet other schools.” In the Spring, the JCL may be able to travel to a state convention on Cape Cod. The club is already planning fundraisers for covering the cost of travel. “I don’t want to see [travel] die out because it is so expensive” Hane said.
