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91st Annual Convention

The 91st annual convention will be held in Northfield, MN from March 22-24, 2019 at the invitation of the Delta Chi chapter of St. Olaf College.  The convention will begin on Friday evening and conclude by noon on Sunday.

Call for Papers

Registration

The registration fee is $60 by PayPal or $55 by check via U.S. mail. The price includes a reception on Friday evening, lunch on Saturday, the activities on Saturday afternoon, and the banquet Saturday evening.  Registration is free for one faculty sponsor, provided that the registration is completed on-line by March 1 or received in reified form by March 1.  After March 1 registration must be made on-line, and the cost will increase to $65.

On-Line Registration Form

Hard Copy of Registration Form

Convention Highlights

Registration will open at 5:00 on Friday evening in Valhalla Hall of Buntrock Commons on the St. Olaf campus.  Shuttle rides from the hotel to campus will be available as needed starting at 5:00 p.m. (Behold, a map of St. Olaf campus appears here.) In keeping with the ksenia, guests will be offered light refreshments before being asked whether they are pirates.  The traditional ΗΣΦ certamen is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m., but because of traditional disorganization is likely to begin at 7:05 p.m.. Teams will be assigned upon arrival. The prizes for the winning team are being supplied by our friends at the National Latin Exam. 

Delegates are invited to sign up to compete in a Latin Declamation Contest. Registration for this competition will take place on Friday evening. Contestants will be given a Latin prose passage to read before a panel of judges on Saturday afternoon. Judges will base their decision on pronunciation, interpretation of text, smoothness of delivery, demeanor and textural accuracy. The winner will receive a prize of $100 and will be invited to read the passage to the entire assembly at the Saturday evening banquet.  The runner-up will be awarded $50.

On Saturday morning, after the first business meeting, there will be a session of student papers, selected by the Eta Sigma Phi Program Committee. In the afternoon, there will be a variety of classically-oriented activities and lectures.  Some will be fun.

On Saturday evening, we will gather for a cena classica; classical attire is strongly encouraged! There will be a prize for the vir et femina vestiti splendidissime.

A second business session will take place on Sunday morning. The convention will conclude on noon on Sunday with the election and installation of new national officers and the selection of the host for the 2021 convention.

Transportation

St. Olaf College is located on a hill in Northfield, Minnesota. Considered one of the best small college towns in America (Niche 2016), Northfield is home to the popular Defeat of Jesse James Days, a century-old college rivalry, and the great smell of cereal baking at the Malt-O-Meal plant.  It is located about 40 miles south of the Twin Cities, just off I-35 and 958 miles north of Dallas, TX.  It is served by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  The Delta Chi chapter has kindly offered to provide transportation to and from the airport.  If you would like a ride, please indicate as much on the appropriate spot on the registration form.

Hotel Reservations

The local committee, in consultation with Eta Sigma Phi, has reserved a block of rooms at Marriot Fairfield Inn for the conference.  The hotel is located at 114 2nd Street West, Northfield, Minnesota 55057.  The group rate is $134 per night for a room with two queen beds.  Reservations must be made by phone: (507) 366-5000 by February 8, 2019 to secure the convention rate.  Use the code ESPN (dana-dant, dana-dant) to reserve rooms at the conference rate.

Dress

Dress will be casual, with the exception of the banquet on Saturday night, when business casual clothes or traditional Roman or Greek dress are appropriate.  The latter  is highly encouraged, and a prize will be awarded to the vir et femina vestiti splendidissime.

Chapter Reports

During the business sessions, one delegate from each chapter will report on the activities of the chapter since the last convention. Reports should be no more than five minutes long. A $100.00 award will be given at convention for the best service project sponsored by a local chapter promoting classical languages and cultures. Chapters interested in competing for these prizes should bring written summaries of these activities and include detailed information about their projects in their chapter reports. Chapter reports will be published in Nuntius and may be submitted via the website at https://www.etasigmaphi.org/members/membership-forms .

Chapters Contests to be Decided at the Convention

  • Outreach Prize (above)
  • Best Chapter T-Shirt or other Regalia
  • Vir et Femina Vestiti Splendidissime
  • Latin Declamation Prize

Is your chapter interested in hosting the convention?

The 92nd Annual Convention will be hosted by the Theta Omicron chapter of Carthage College in Kenosha, WI.  The dates for this convention are April 17-19, 2020.

Proposals for hosting the 2021 national convention will be considered at this year’s convention.  If your chapter is interested in making a proposal, some things to consider are (1) the support of your adviser; (2) the availability of lodging, either on campus or nearby at a motel or hotel; (3) travel to the convention by air, train, bus, and automobile; and (4) financial support of the chapter, the appropriate department(s), the institution, or state and local organizations.  The society is particularly interested in holding a convention more than 250 miles west of the Mississippi River or in the southern states.  For more information, see Convention Bids.

Are you interested in running for a national office?

Nominations for national officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer) will be accepted at the business meeting on Saturday, with the election and installation at the business meeting on Sunday.  Any undergraduate student who has been duly initiated into his or her local chapter, with the report of the initiation and the initiation fee received by the national office, is eligible to run.  The national president must be a senior during the year of the office. Candidates must be present for the election process and for the induction ceremony on Sunday. Delegates who have to leave the convention before Sunday noon are not eligible to run for office.