Epsilon at University of Iowa

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By lkoelle on January 4, 2012. No Comments

Epsilon chapter began the year by organizing

a booth at the UI Student Organization

Fair, where chapter VP Larry

Houston’s papyrus fliers were a big hit. We

got the word out for our semester-opening

meeting, which was enhanced with pizza

by a Caristia grant from CPL. In November,

we organized our semesterly poetry

reading, where students and faculty with

Classical interests get together and recite

selections of their favorite Classics-related

poetry.

Spring was the busiest part of the year

for us. We sent a six-member delegation to

Austin, TX for the Eta Sigma Phi convention

in March, where chapter president

Kyle Oskvig was elected Megas Hyparchos.

The 17-hour drive was long, but featured

one perfect stop for a bathroom break

(see picture). Don’t worry, it was only a

pretend bathroom break — the photo-op

was irresistible. Soon after we returned,

chapter treasurer Ryan Holley organized a

viewing of the UI Libraries’ Special Collections,

where we perused the Classical

holdings. We undertook a massive art

project, too — a 4’x4′ mosaic of the city

of Rome — with the artistic leadership of

chapter secretary Christine Miles, who

simultaneously led the charge to design a

chapter t-shirt.

In early April, a six-member delegation

went to CAMWS in Grand Rapids, MI.

We detoured to Ann Arbor on the way for

another Special Collections visit, this time

at the University of Michigan. We held

another poetry reading later in April, and

then geared up for our annual Homerathon

in early May. Instead of Homer, though,

this year it was a Virgil Vigil — we set

up outside in downtown Iowa City and

read Virgil’s entire corpus (in translation)

nonstop, which took about 15 hours. It was

a cold, rainy day, but everyone had a great

time.

Finally, we initiated three new members

at semester’s end, and we anticipate continued

growth for Epsilon chapter throughout

the coming year.