Classics Society (officially, The Classics Graduate Student Association) is the imposing name we, the Graduate Students of the Department of Classics of Rutgers University, have chosen "to further our social and academic interests in the department" (as the official statute goes). The initial purpose of the society was to create an officially recognized organization and receive University funding for annual lecture series. But soon, thanks to the vitality of all the members and their increased number, the Society has become the propelling center of Graduate Life in the Department.
Since the Spring of 1998, we have received from the GSA (Rutgers Graduate Students Association) funds for inviting four lecturers each academic year, to speak on topics related to Classical Studies. Each member can propose a guest lecturer who must be approved by the other members. The GSA generously funds also a series of Afternoon Teas, monthly breaks from strictly academic matters, that afford us the time and space to enjoy each other's company, plan events for our department, carpools to nearby lectures or conferences (New York, Princeton, Philadelphia) while tasting good cookies and coffee (well, the coffee could be better...). We also cooperate with Eta Sigma Phi, the undergraduate Classics Honor Society, helping them to organize picnics, movie screenings, and other fun activities that may appeal to undergraduates interested in Classics.
The Society has a chief officer, also called the President. This office is held by a Graduate Student who should be elected through a democratic process. In the Society, however, History has so far defeated the democratic principle. The current President just seized power three years ago, and has held it almost unchallenged ever since. In order to avoid a Dictatorship, therefore, since Fall 2000 a consulship has been established. The President is now a merely honorific charge (magnum nomen), with nominal powers, while the actual direction of the society rests in the capable hands of two Consuls. But how could a society survive without Historians? The Secretary of the Society is there to dutifully and annalistically provide the service of writing up a weekly bulletin announcing the events for the following week to all the members of the Department, especially to those who tend to forget the planned Fasti.
All of the graduate students currently enrolled in Classics are distinguished Members of the Society, and, although they lack any official title (but we are working on that), they have exactly the same powers as the consuls and the secretary. They just have less taxing duties. If you want to meet them and jam their mailboxes with queries and comments, just click here:
The events organized by the Classics Society are listed together with the other events of the Department. To see what has been planned for this semester, click here: