Our chapter was pleased to make a
donation to the centennial celebration
of the Classical Association of Virginia
in memory of its chapter founder, Laura
V. Sumner, and to have its donation and
tribute noted in the association’s fall 2010
anniversary program.
We held three initiation ceremonies
this year. The first and third ones, held in
November 2010 and April 2011 respectively,
were to initiate three members who were
unable to attend the usual annual spring
ceremony. The second, in March 2011, was
our customary spring initiation ceremony,
in which we inducted 16 regular members
and presented Dr. Federico Schneider as a
candidate for honorary membership.
This year Beta Nu held its 11th annual
Classical Essay Contest for local middle
and high school students of Latin. In the
fall we sent flyers to Latin teachers in Fredericksburg,
Virginia, where Mary Washington
is located; to teachers in neighboring
counties; and to members of the Fredericksburg
Area Latin Teachers’ Association
(FALTA), the membership of which
extends across northern Virginia. We
invited essays, 2–3 pages or approximately
750 words in length, on the following topic,
Ovid (Met. II.137) once wrote “Medio tutissimus
ibis.” Do you agree or disagree with the
advice in general that “You will go safest by
the middle course?” We judged the entries
in January 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
two certificates for honorable mention at
the senior level and two at the junior level.
In March, Beta Nu hosted its 14th
annual Eta Sigma Phi public lecture at the
University of Mary Washington. Dr. Eric
Casey, Associate Professor of Classical
Studies at Sweet Briar College, spoke on
“Carrying Across: Metaphors of Cultural
Translation in the Letter of Aristeas.”
Finally, all members of Eta Sigma Phi at
Mary Washington are automatically also
members of the Classics Club. Throughout
the year, through the Classics Club, we
participated in numerous social events,
ranging from celebrating Classical holidays
such as the Saturnalia and the Lupercalia
to holding a banquet on Rome’s birthday.
Once a week during the spring semester
we watched an episode of I, Claudius, and
in April we held an all-night reading of the
Iliad and other Classical works.