On Saturday, October 2, at 1:00pm in the Huff Center, students and faculty from several departments combined their talents to create a series of performances to engage with Classic Greek dramatic literature and theatrical conventions. This was a day for the Classics Department to host High School and College students from across the state for Classics Day V which combined forces with Fusionfest VIII to create a new experience for the Monmouth College campus. Some of the events that took place throughout the day were Ancient Greek Olympic Events, Roman “chariot” Races, trying on ancient armor, military equipment and wearing other Greek and Roman clothing. Participants at the event were able to experience the Classical World through virtual reality as well and explore ancient sciences. “Virtual reality immersions into Greece and Rome also offered visitors opportunities to insert themselves into ancient societies in ways that are impossible otherwise,” said Professor of Classics and event coordinator, Bob Simmons. Throughout the day, Tin Cup served Greek Nescafe Coffee as well as Aramark served Greek food prior to the event. Chief student leader, senior English and Classics double major, Olivia Matlock stated that this year was a special year because “it was one of the first “normal” things for the department to do after Covid-19 hit. We had to push it from 2020 to 2021, and still follow all regulations needed to have a safe event. We were also inside due to weather, which worked out well since we were combined with Fusion Fest this year. This brought many more people to the event itself and gave each event a well-deserved crowd.” Matlock was able to prepare for the event with having past experience under her belt. “I was actually involved in Classics Day my freshman year when I took the course, so this year, when I took the class again, I was the one who had the most experience in planning and executing Classics Day,” said Matlock. Throughout the event, Matlock did a little bit of everything including a live debate that her Classical Rhetoric course did, helping out with the clothing booth and fashion show, talking to guests, coordinating the volunteers who helped before, during and after the event so everyone knew they had a place and knew where they could help out. Classics Day involved many different departments making it easy for any attendee to find something different to do at the event. “Professor Robert Holschuh-Simmons is the mastermind behind Classics Day; this is the 5th one he’s done here at Monmouth. We also had professors and faculty help out with the scavenger hunt: Sarah Henderson, Professor Lori Walters Kramer, Professor Anne Mamary, Professor Michelle Holschuh-Simmons, Professor Brad Rowe, Professor Eric Engstrom, and Dean Mark Willhardt with his wife Katie. Professor Michael Sostarecz had a table explaining his RTI process on artifacts. Professor Michael Solontoi presented on ancient timekeeping. Professor Ashwani Kumar and Professor Shweta Arpit Srivastava talked about Hindi and Sanskrit along with henna,” said Matlock. “Having more than thirty other stations and performances provided a wide range of things for attendees to do, and it took advantage of the diverse skills and knowledge of a great number of students, faculty, and staff. Among those stations, our “language trees” tables brought in people representing fourteen languages, both ancient and modern, from Sanskrit and Greek to Ewe and Arabic. They helped to demonstrate the ways that languages illustrate both the diversity of the world and the interconnectedness of peoples throughout space and time,” stated Simmons. Another student who helped with the event was Elisabeth Riedesel, a 5th year senior, physics major. “I had two main projects for the day as well as three smaller ones. My first project was the creation of the language tree posters. My second project was part of a group effort between Rahm, Cece, and myself. We worked with Ryan Doyle to get the tables set up for both Dunlap and the field house. We made sure that we had enough tables, chairs, and easels for the event, and we also made sure they were in an arrangement that was easy to see and had a good flow. That leads me into one of my smaller projects on the day of Classics Day. I was one of the main coordinators for the placement of the different posters and table presenters. With the help of several volunteers, members of the Classics Day Leadership Class, and Professor Simmons, we placed the presenters in such a way that everyone was visible and easily accessible. Another one of my smaller projects was communicating with Professor Solontoi, and getting his Ancient Time Keeping and Science table up and running. On the day of Classics Day, I played the role of the Oracle of Delphi. Asking Apollo to help answer the questions of any who came to the table,” said Riedesel. “The turnout was awesome,” said Simmons. “While it is hard to determine the exact precise numbers in situations like this, several people estimated 250-300 attendees, between contributors and visitors, despite our having to move the event to the Huff Center, where foot traffic was likely less than on Dunlap Terrace.” Simmons also stated that having seven short plays of Fusion Fest VIII coordinated by Professor Vanessa Campagna made for skillful and energetic performances on the main stage and involved people that may have not otherwise been a part of the event. “Fusion Fest has a strong ‘brand’ presence, which drew both performers and viewers to it, and added a level of professionalism to Classics Day that increased its quality,” said Simmons. Simmons began putting on Classic Days in 2011 when he was at his previous school, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where they put on the event four times. The first Classics Day at Monmouth was put on in 2015, Simmons’ first year at Monmouth. 100 people were a part of the event, counting both those who helped put it on and attended it. Classics Day was held twice in 2016; one being in the spring and one being held in the fall. After having a year off, the event was held again in 2018. “The most recent two events had around forty total events and demonstrations (similar to this year) and drew somewhere in the range of 300-350 people. Among those attendees were 110-180 high school students from around the state; almost all of those students were not able to attend this year’s event because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. What this means is that we drew close to the same number of people as in past years despite having a big part of our previous audience cut off,” stated Simmons. “While I could go on and on, I will make one more broad statement: the creativity and commitment of the members of the Classics Day Leadership class went a long way toward making this the great success that it was,” said Simmons.
Alison Barrington - Staff Writer