The ΗΣΦ convention in Columbia was a runaway success, the best convention for our chapter in recent years.  As usual, our venerable status as the oldest chapter present gave us the honor of voting and speaking first. Kyle was elected to the national presidency, thanks to what everyone said was a wonderful support speech from newly minted chapter officer Janet Lawler.  There was a contest to name the ΗΣΦ owl (the one appearing on the logo, lapel pins, etc.), and Ryan Holley's suggestion of "Quisτίς" was voted the winner. He was recognized and awarded a golden, gem- and pearl-set owl lapel pin.  The "quis?" owl is of course a classic theme for Epsilon chapter's t-shirts, and the official, national appellation of the owl only accents the need for us to get going on new chapter shirts.  More on this as the semester rolls along.

Inter-chapter relationship building was another highlight.  We talked with the host Missouri chapter (Alpha Mu) quite a bit, and are beginning to toss about ideas for some joint events or meetings in the coming year. We also connected with the Hillsdale College contingent, a series of interactions which was amiable and educational.  As in past years, everyone we talked to who knew anything about classics at Iowa remarked on how good the people are here.   

All in all, a great trip.  We will definitely be sending a delegation to next year's convention -- early April 2013, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

-posted by Kyle on 03/20/2012 @ 22:54

             Conference trips finalized

 

         We've finalized the details of our conference trips this semester.  The CAMWS trip to Baton Rouge has been called off due to a brutal combo of distance, cost, and inconveniently scheduled labs and exams.  But the Eta Sigma Phi convention in Colombia, MO is full steam ahead.  Huge thanks to the Department of Classics for helping fund the trip!  Our delegates will be Kyle Oskvig, Ryan Holley, Lindsey McCoy, and Janet Lawler.  Four is exactly the number needed for one full certamen (classics quiz bowl) team, and despite our lack of an all-around super-genius to carry us (like Claudia did last year in Austin), we will certaminate valiantly.

Also, there is a rumor that our hotel rooms will have moose heads in them.

A couple updates on events coming later in the semester: the Department of Classics coffee hour, along with our poetry reading, has been scheduled for Thursday, April 12 at 4:30pm.  Our marathon poetry reading will feature Ovid, and is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 3 from 6:00am to sometime in the late evening.  More info to come on both these events in a couple weeks.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 7 at 7pm in the IMU's Kirkwood Room (note that location, it's different from our past two meetings).

-posted by Kyle on 03/01/2012 @ 17:54

             First meeting goings-on

 

         At our first meeting last week, we decided to read Ovid at this spring's marathon poetry reading.  A tentative date is Thursday, May 3rd (the last week of classes before finals).  We read on that Thursday last year, and it worked out well.  Class schedules tend to be lighter for most of us on Thursdays, too.  We'll talk more about the date at our next meeting, and work on narrowing down a final roster of Ovid's poems to read.

We discussed the March conference/convention trips, and gauged pretty strong interest in the ΗΣΦ national convention.  CAMWS is a little uncertain as of yet; we'll try to nail down head counts before February is out, and see if there's sufficient interest to make the trip to Baton Rouge.

Finally, we discussed national membership in Eta Sigma Phi, which costs a one-time $40 fee, and opens up some great opportunities for scholarships and whatnot.  We'll try to nail down a head count on new members before the end of the month as well, so we can get the initiation form off to national HQ before the convention.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 22 at 7pm in River Room I, IMU.

-posted by Kyle on 02/07/2012 @ 14:45

             Meeting schedule for Spring 2012

 

         The meeting schedule for this semester is now up.  The first meeting will be this Wednesday, February 1, at 7pm in River Room I, IMU.  Agenda item #1 will be choosing a text for this year's Homerathon.

Due to room availability issues, we'll wait three weeks until our second meeting.  Regular bi-monthly meetings will also halt for most of March, as many of us will be away on the conference trips.

You can view the full semester schedule on the Events page.

-posted by Kyle on 01/25/2012 @ 15:37

 

             Spring semester planning

         Welcome back, everyone. We're starting to plan for spring semester. First of all, we may switch our regular meetings from Tuesday to Wednesday. Secondly, we're going to work on the details of sending delegations to both the Eta Sigma Phi convention and the CAMWS conference in the second half of March. Finally, we need to choose a text for our Homerathon reading in the first week of May. 

If you want to be actively involved this semester and Wednesday meetings will not work for you, please contact me.  We hope to have a semester schedule put together and on this site by the end of this weekend.  If all goes well, we may have our first meeting next week as well.

More updates to come!

-posted by Kyle on 01/17/2012 @ 16:47

             Tuesday, 11/15 meeting mostly canceled

 

         Due to the unavoidable absence of our chief movie review writer, and general pre-Thanksgiving break hijinks, the meeting for Tuesday, November 15th has been mostly canceled.  So it's postponed, you ask?  Kind of.  We have a deadline of this Sunday, November 20 for submitting our review of Immortals to the Nuntius newsletter.  So, Ryan and I will be meeting Saturday afternoon, November 19th to write the review.  If you came with us to see the movie -- or saw it on your own -- and want to pitch in, contact me, and I'll get with you about place and time for Saturday meeting. 

I understand that break will have begun at that point, at many people will have left town.  Don't worry about it if you'll be gone.  If you want to have some say in the review, email me your impressions, and we'll try to pass a draft by you before final submission.

-posted by Kyle on 11/14/2011 @ 23:48

             Immortals movie review

 

         I've worked out a spot in the upcoming NUNTIUS (Eta Sigma Phi's bi-annual national newsletter) for our chapter to write a review on the upcoming movie, Immortals.  We'll go to see it as a group on Saturday, November 12, and then put our heads together and write the review at our meeting the following Tuesday, November 15.  Details have been posted on the Meetings/Events page.

-posted by Kyle on 10/15/2011 @ 02:29

             Lysistrata performance October 20-23

 

         It had somehow flown under our radar until very recently, but we've just become aware that UI's Division of Performing Arts is putting on an adaptation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata next weekend (10/20-23).  We'll bring it up at our meeting this Tuesday, see how many people are interested in going to see it as a group, and try to pick a day that's good for everyone.  If you can't make the meeting but want to go see the play, email me (kyle-oskvig at uiowa), and we'll take your schedule into account as well.

If you want more info on the play, the production website is here.

-posted by Kyle on 10/14/2011 @ 16:11

             Tuesday lecture (10/18) and meeting

 

          We've had a lull in new developments lately, which accounts for the lack of updates here.  A few new things for us to be thinking about now, though.

First, we have an event/meeting this Tuesday, 10/18.  We're going to meet at the Main Library's Shambaugh Auditorium at around 7:15pm to hear a visiting Classics lecturer (details are on the Meetings/Events page).  After the lecture, we'll go out to eat somewhere downtown to discuss our impressions of it, as well as our involvement in the Music/Classics conference coming to Iowa City at the end of the month.

-posted by Kyle on 10/14/2011 @ 15:59

             Events update

 

          We've set up a couple new events in October, and the date for the departmental coffee hour has been set for November 10th.  The Meetings/Events page has been updated with all the info.

-posted by Kyle on 09/17/2011 @ 13:44

             Meeting place change - IMU

          We've been directed to the IMU for all regular meetings from here on out.  Farewell Schaeffer, we shall miss thy comfy new chairs.  Our Sunday meetings (there are only two) will be in the Iowa Room (#335).  All Tuesday meetings will be in the Wisconsin Room (#339).  See the Meetings/Events page for the full schedule.

Our first IMU meeting will be this Sunday the 18th.  If we can get the projector going, we might start watching I, Claudius.  Hope to see you there!

-posted by Kyle on 09/10/2011 @ 23:52 -- amended 09/12/2011 @ 22:27

             2011-12 chapter officers finalized

 

          Nicole Fields has been chosen to fill the vacant Consul office.  Congrats, Nicole!  The officers page has been updated accordingly.

-posted by Kyle on 09/10/2011 @ 23:47         

             Follow-up meeting

 

          Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday, September 6 at 7:00pm in 143 Schaeffer Hall. We'll follow up on the possibilities tossed about at the Opening Meeting, deciding on a new officer, movie titles and screening times, and the fate of the mosaic.

-posted by Kyle on 08/31/2011 @ 02:06

 

             Opening Meeting notes

 

          Thanks to everyone who came to our opening meeting!  Special thanks to Professor Ketterer for stopping by to tell us about the Music/Classics conference happening in Iowa City in October.  Stay tuned for more on that as it approaches -- we'll be involved and helping out however we can.

We discussed the open officer position.  Anyone interested in filling it should contact Kyle by or at the next meeting (Tuesday, 9/6).  The position will be filled as soon as the current officers come to a consensus following that meeting.

It was suggested that the BBC series "I, Claudius" be watched at our meetings, maybe spread out over the course of the entire academic year.  Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" is a movie-night possibility.  Gore Vidal's "Caligula" is not.

Our mosaic project is in danger of being resurrected.

And a full semester schedule will be available by this weekend, to be posted here as soon as it's decided.

-posted by Kyle on 08/31/2011 @ 01:51

 

             Opening Meeting, semester schedule

 

          The Opening Meeting for the 2011-12 academic year has been set: Tuesday, August 30 at 7:00pm in 143 Schaeffer Hall. Everyone is welcome!  Pizza and pop will be provided.  The meeting schedule for the rest of the semester is taking shape as well, though it’s contingent on room reservations that can only be finalized next week.

See the Meetings/Events page for more info.

-posted by Kyle on 08/23/2011 @ 02:30

 

             Formatting issue, start of semester

 

          I'm aware of a formatting issue visible on widescreen monitors. Odd, given my incredible web-design skills. But I'm working on fixing it.

Stay tuned for information on our opening meeting, and come by the Classics table (#7) at the college Open House on Friday!  Details for the Open House can be found on the Meetings/Events page.

-posted by Kyle on 08/17/2011 @ 18:41

 

             Website (more or less) finished 

 

          Fixed up a few things and filled in all pages with content.  Minus a couple forthcoming officer pictures, the site is essentially finished and ready for updates.  These will be regular and informative throughout the fall and spring semesters -- I hate outdated and useless websites.

-posted by Kyle on 07/12/2011 @ 17:26

 

Website up

          The website is up.  Hooray!  Maybe soon it will even be functioning properly. 

-posted by Kyle on 07/11/2011 @ 21:03

 

 

 

 

This page last updated on 05/04/2012 

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