Junior Classical League works to revive Latin language at HC

Here at HC, the Junior Classical League is active in making their fellow students more aware of the Latin language. JCL is open to all Latin students and students interested in the Mediterranean world and its history. The HC JCL Chapter, sponsored by Latin teacher Andrew Gollan, meets every other Thursday to do various games and activities that make Latin relate to daily life.

“Spirit is a big thing,” Gollan said. “We do a lot of exciting activities like dodge ball and toga making.” “We also do many service projects in the school,” he said.

Gollan has been the JCL sponsor since 2008 when he joined the staff. He described the benefits of a JCL membership to students.

“The Junior Classical League is well respected by college admissions,” Gollan explained. “We have talks led by university students and staff, in addition to visits from a local, professional Latin translator.”

Latin is often considered a “dead language”, one that is no longer used; however the members of JCL are eager to promote the language in HC.

“It brings a lot of people together,” Alex Wyllie, an HC senior said. “I have friends in Ohio, Florida, and Texas that I would not know otherwise. It reminds people that Latin is not a dead language.”

Wyllie is the State President of JCL, which includes doing planning for the State JCL Convention. Wyllie spoke of how important and enjoyable Latin is.

“We do a lot of stuff with etymology,” he said. “It has a lot to do with how we look at English and also Latin. I like tracing back the origins of the words that we use today. When you start looking at the etymology, it becomes more interesting.”

Many others share Wyllie’s passion for Latin. Sophomore, Rhianna Culp, the President of the HC JCL chapter, spoke of the language’s significance.

“It is an interesting language to learn,” Culp said. “It makes a lot of other languages easier to understand.”

As a leader in the state JCL community, Wyllie desires to share with his fellow students that Latin is a beneficial language to learn.

“Latin is fun, and not that hard to learn after you get past some of the basic things,” Wyllie said.

Next spring, the State JCL Convention will be held near Cincinnati and all Latin students are able to attend and interact with fellow Latin enthusiasts from across the state.