Beta Nu held its third annual used book sale this past fall in conjunction with the University of Mary Washington Classics Club. Once again, faculty members from across our campus were generous with their contributions, and we made several hundred dollars to support our various activities.
Beta Nu also held its 15th annual Classical Essay Contest this year for local middle and high school students of Latin. We sent flyers in the fall to Latin teachers in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Mary Washington is located; to teachers in the neighboring counties; and to members of the Fredericksburg Area Latin Teachers’ Association (FALTA). Referencing Pliny the Younger’s description of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and how he quoted his uncle’s response to the emergency (Fortes, inquit, fortuna iuvat.—Fortune, he said, favors the bold. Epistulae 6.16), we asked “Do you agree that fortune and daring are interconnected? Why, or why not?” We judged the essays in March, at a combined essay reading session and pizza party, and we awarded Eta Sigma Phi medals, book prizes, and certificates to first and second place winners in two levels of competition, junior (sixth through ninth graders) and senior (tenth through twelfth graders). We also awarded a certificate for honorable mention at the senior level.
Beta Nu initiated fifteen new members in March and three new members in April. Also in March, we were pleased to welcome Josiah Osgood, Professor of Classics at Georgetown University, as he delivered our 18th annual Eta Sigma Phi public lecture at the University of Mary Washington. Prof. Osgood spoke on “Cicero and the Republic’s Last Laugh.”