Latin Club Looks for New Members

By Dan McNair, Video Editor

Artist Antoine Callet's depiction of the Roman holiday Saturnalia, which is celebrated by Susquehannock's Latin Club. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Artist Antoine Callet’s depicts the Roman holiday Saturnalia, which is celebrated by Susquehannock’s Latin Club. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Latin club members welcome all students from grades 9-12  to join them.

After the Latin Club completed their early activities this year, the student-led organization refocused and planned to meet regularly to celebrate ancient Roman traditions, like the Roman counterpart to contemporary Christmas: Saturnalia.

Any newcomers will appreciate that planned activities are not based on the mechanics of the language but rather the complex, rich culture and mythology practiced by the Romans.

Latin student and club attendee Chase Summers appreciates the extracurricular activities at Latin Club.

“Latin Club is always a unique place to learn more about the culture behind the language. I’m able to meet with different students and play games like Tabula, and we always have pizza at the meetings,” said Summers.

At most gatherings, plentiful pizza is provided to those who choose to participate.

“What you really get out of Latin Club is the chance to build your knowledge about the topic in a less formal way,”said Summers.

Members have the opportunity to read and discuss Roman texts as well as play millennia-old board games.

One of the games played at Latin Club meetings is Tabula.

Based partly on luck and partly on strategy, the core of Tabula revolves around moving an entire set of pebbles along a board to the finish line while trying to knock an opponent’s pebbles off of the board.

A scene of a Roman forum, where citizens would gather to share ideas. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
This Roman forum depicts where citizens would gather to share ideas, much like students at Latin Club. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tabula may not seem very captivating to someone who has not played it before, but it quickly becomes an intense competition between classmates.

Latin Teacher Marcy Krebs hopes to spread the word about the club.

“If we had other people come into the club, that would be helpful because maybe they would get interested in the Latin language and then maybe that would help our numbers in general,” said Krebs.“But really, anyone can come to Latin club, whether they take Spanish, French, or no language at all; everyone is welcome.”

For more details and dates for Latin Club meetings, visit Mrs. Krebs in room 209.