The Department of Classics holds a Latin Forum for middle and high school Latin students in the Low Country. Students from about a dozen public and private schools come to the College on a Saturday in April to compete in academic, athletic and performance events such as orations, costumes, skits and projects. For details see Latin Forum.
CONTEST DESCRIPTIONS
Grammar-Translation I (Jr. Div.): Reading for comprehension.
Form: the six tenses of first and second conjugation verbs in the active
voice and indicative mood: the present, imperfect and future of Asum@: all
forms of first and second declensions nouns and adjectives excluding the
comparative and superlative degrees for adjectives): the following case
functions: nominative--subject and predicate nominative; genitive--possession;
dative--indirect object; accusative--direct object and object of preposition;
ablative--location, place from which, and means.
Grammar-Translation II (Jr. Div.): Reading for comprehension.
Form: all indicative forms of verbs of the four conjugations and of the
verbs Asum@ and Apossum@: all forms of the first and second declension adjectives
including the comparative and superlative degrees; the five declensions
of nouns: the following case functions: nominative--subject, predicative
nominative; genitive--possession, description; dative--indirect object,
with special verbs and adjectives; accusative--direct object, place to which,
duration of time, extent of space, with prepositions; ablative--agent, means,
manner, place where, place from which, accompaniment, with prepositions:
present active and passive infinitives and their use as complementary infinitives.
Grammar-Translation I (Sr. Div.)
Reading for comprehension. Form: all indicative forms of verbs of the four
conjugations and of the ver Asum ;@ first and second declension adjectives;
first, second and third declension nouns. Grammar: nominative case- subject,
predicate nominative and predicate adjective; genitive case--possession;
dative case--indirect object and with special verbs and adjectives; accusative
case--direct object, place to which and wit certain prepositions and ablative
case--agent, means, manner, place where, place form which, accompaniment,
and with certain prepositions.
Grammar-Translation II (Sr. Div.)
Reading for comprehension. Form: the five declensions of nouns and the three
declensions of adjectives; the four conjugations of verbs in all forms--indicative,
subjunctive, participle, infinitive, gerund and gerundive; all the forms
of deponent verb, possum, eo, fero, and their compounds. Grammar: everything
that is listed in the Grammar-Translation I test; genitive case--description,
partitive and objective; dative case--agent, with special verbs and with
compound verbs; accusative case--subject of infinitive, duration of time
and extent of space; ablative case--description, degree of difference, comparison
and absolute; use of the article; use of the subjunctive mood--purpose,
result, indirect question, cum clauses and conditions.
Grammar-Translation Prose (Cicero)
Reading for comprehension from the First Catilinarian Oration and other
works of Cicero; the life and times of Cicero; figures of speech used by
Cicero; all grammatical; constructions of Latin I and II and additional
grammatical constructions peculiar to Cicero.
Grammar-Translation Poetry (Vergil)
Reading for comprehension from books I and II of Vergil=s Aeneid and a sight
passage from the rest of his work; all grammatical constructions of Latin
I and II and additional grammatical constructions peculiar to Vergil; figures
of speech used by Vergil; the life and times of Vergil; and scansion of
the dactylic haxameter.
Vocabulary I
Words commonly found in first year Latin textbooks--root words, synonyms,
antonyms and idioms.
Vocabulary II
Words commonly found in second year Latin textbooks--root words, synonyms,
antonyms, idioms and military vocabulary.
Advance Vocabulary
All words found in reading the works of Roman authors.
Derivatives I
Basic Latin prefixes, roots and suffixes--how they operate in both Latin
and English. The sources for this test are various first year Latin textbooks
and workbooks.
Derivatives II
Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes--how they operate in both Latin and
English. The sources for this test are various second year Latin textbooks
and workbooks.
Advanced Derivatives
Latin prefixes, roots and suffixes--how they operate in both Latin and English.
There are no specific sources for this test.
Greek and Roman Mythology
The sources for this test are Bullfinch=s Mythology and Hamilton=s Mythology.
Roman History--753 B.C. to the death of Caesar.
Roman History--the death of Caesar to the end of Hadrian=s reign. Any good Roman history text may be used for both tests. The following are recommended: Boak=s History of Rome to 565 A.D. and Scullard=s From Gracchi to Nero.
Roman Customs
The source for this test is Jonston=s Roman Life.
Phrases, Mottoes and Abbreviations
Latin Phrases, mottoes, and abbreviations as they are commonly used in English.
There is no specific source for this test.
Classical Literature
This test is based on the content of the following classical works:
Homer, The Odyssey
Vergil, The Aeneid
Pentathlon I (for first year students) and II (second year students)
This test covers grammar translation, derivatives, classical mythology,
Roman history and customs.
Projects
This project must be on a classical subject and must not exceed card table
size. It must be displayed in the foyer of the Physician=s Memorial Auditorium
by 9:30 AM and must not be removed before 2:00 PM. The project must be the
work of an INDIVIDUAL student. The project must be accompanied by a card
on which the student=s name, school and division appear. Projects will be
judged and awards given in the following categories: 1. Models 2. Graphics
3. Charts and maps 4. Handicrafts 5. Mosaics 6. Other.
Mythological Costumes
The student dresses as a character or figure from classical mythology. The
costume must be made by the student; parental assistance is permitted. The
student will provide the judges with a 5" x 7" card which contains
that contestant=s name, school, division and the subject of the costume.
On this same card the student will outline briefly the significant characteristics
of the costume. The student should be prepared to answer any question which
the judges might ask.
Authentic Costumes
The student dresses like a specific person (e.g. Julius Caesar) or a type
of person (e.g. Roman Bride). The costume must be made by the student--parental
assistance is permissible. The student will provide the judges with a 5"
x 7" card which contains the contestant=s name, school, division and
the subject of the costume. On this same card the student will outline briefly
the significant characteristics of the costume. The student should be prepared
to answer an y question which the judges might ask.
Oration (in English)
This presentation must be an original persuasive speech composed by the
student who delivers it. The speech must be based on an even tin Greek or
Roman history. It must also assume an ancient audience (e.g. speech in defense
of Catiline delivered before the Roman senate). The student will furnish
the judges with tree copies of an outline of the oration. The outline will
follow the scheme of a Roman oration:
I. Exordium--introduction to arouse interest
II. Narratio--statement of the facts
III. Propositio--statement of what is to be proved
IV. Argumentatio
1. Confirmatio--affirmative arguments
2. Confutatio--refutation of opposing arguments
V. Peroratio--conclusion
The speech must be no shorter than three minutes and no longer than five minutes. Failure to stay within these time limits will result in automatic disqualification. No costumes or props of any kind are permitted in this contes.
Recitation (Cicero)
The student delivers in Latin from memory the first eleven lines of the
first oration against Catiline in the Oxford text (down through o tempora,
o mores!). No costumes, props, or notes are allowed in this contest.
Recitation (Vergil)
The student recites in Latin verse the first eleven lines of Vergil=s Aeneid,
I. No props, costumes, or notes are permitted.
Skit
The skit must be between three and five minutes long, delivered in Latin
and performed in a classical setting. It may focus on either a classical
or contemporary topic. Each school will provide its own props. A script
of the skit must be submitted to Dr. Morris, Department of Languages, College
of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424 by March 24. Include with the script
an estimation of the number of minutes the skit will last, a description
of the scenery to be used and a brief description of the skit. Three skits
will be selected to e performed. Notices of selection will be mailed by
April 1. A school which has students participating in both the senior and
junior divisions may submit a skit in each division. Sweepstakes points
for this event will be ten points for first place, eight for second and
six for third. Senior and junior division entries will compete against one
another (i.e. only one set of awards will be given), but points earned will
be added to each school=s sweepstakes total in their respective divisions.
Female Olympic Events
50 yard dash In the shuttle relays for both boys
100 yard dash and girls each team will be given a
440 yard shuttle relay (4 member team) baton during the course of the race.
880 yard shuttle relay (4 member team) The team whose runner crosses the
Marathon (1 mile run) finish line with the baton wins.
Male Olympic Event
100 yard dash
220 yard dash
440 yard shuttle relay (4 member team)
880 yard shuttle relay (4 member team)
Marathon (2 2 mile run)
Atalanta=s Race
The race is run over a 10 yard course by a team consisting of a boy and
a girl. At the starting signal both the boy and girl will begin the race.
At the 25, 50, and 75 yard markers the boy will drop or place down an apple.
As she runs, the girl will pick up each of the apples the team of the first
girl to cross the finish line carrying her three apples wins the race.
Chariot Race
The chariot team consists of four girls who pull the chariot and tone boy
who is the charioteer. The team whose chariot crosses the finish line first
with its charioteer in situ wins the race. If the charioteer falls out of
the chariot during the course of the race, the girls must stop their forward
progress until the charioteer has climbed back into the chariot. The bed
of the chariot must have three walls--a front and two sides. The wheels
of the chariot must not exceed 27 inches in diameter. An 8 to 10 foot pulling
bar must have two crossbars attached to ti. The four girls (two on each
side of the pulling bar) MUST PULL THE CHARIOT ONLY BY HOLDING THE CROSSBARS
WITH THEIR HANDS. The crossbars may be of any comfortable length. For the
charioteer=s safety and the stability of the chariot it is suggested that
the charioteer sit or kneel during the race.
Pentathlon Award
The student must enter five events: Two academic (written) tests, one project
and two olympic contests, one of which must be a team event and the other
an individual race. The tormentum may substitute for an olympic team event.
First, second, third and fourth place awards will be given to the students
who accumulate the highest total of sweepstakes points in the events in
which they compete. A tie will be broken by consulting the student=s responses
to the tie-breaker questions in the academic tests. The sweepstakes point
values for this contes are:
first place, 10; second, 8; third, 6; and fourth, 4.
N.B. The pentathlon award is really not a new and separate contest in which
the contestants compete only against one another in their chosen areas.
It is an award for the student s who enter five of the regular contest in
competition with all students and win the most sweepstakes points. As with
other contest two students per division per school may be entered in the
pentathlon.
Tormentum (catapult contes)
The tormentum may be designed with parental advice. Adults may cut or tool
the individual pars of the tormentum, but students must assemble them. It
is to be designed to propel a softball. Except for steel nails, screws and
nuts and bolts all other components of the tormentum must be made of wood
and natural fibers (no rubberized or synthetic ropes). The propelling force
must be generated by torsion unaided by human strength. There will be three
members of the catapult team: Two to cock and load the tormentum and one
to fire it. Students in this contest may participate in five other events
as described in rule #9. The design and construction of the tormentum may
be a collective effort, but only the designated three team members will
receive awards. Awards will be given for first, second and third place,
and sweepstakes point values are 8, 6, and 4 respectively. For schools which
compete in the senior and junior divisions a different tormentum must be
entered in each division. Each team will fire three volleys. The team whose
projectile (i.e. soft-ball) travels the greatest distance forward in the
air wins. The tormentum must not exceed 5 feet in width and 8 feet in length.
RULES FOR THE FORUM
1. The contests will be conducted in two separate divisions--the junior division (grades 6-8) and the senior division (grades 9-12). A school which consists of grades in both these divisions may enter students in both divisions according to their grade level. These combination junior-senior division schools will compete for the sweepstakes trophy in both divisions.
2. Sweepstakes trophies for first and second place will be given to the two schools accumulating the most points in each division.
3. Individual awards will be given to the first, second, third and fourth place winners in the academic and performance events ( i.e. those which are not athletic) and to the first three place winners in the olympic events. All winners will receive certificates. Only first place winners will receive trophies.
4. The academic events are grammar-translation, vocabulary, derivatives,
mythology, history, customs, literature, phrases-mottoes-abbreviations,
and the pentathlon. The performance events are projects, costumes, oration,
recitation and skit. The olympic events are: dashes, relays, marathons,
Atalanta=s race and the chariot race. Sweepstakes points will be accumulated
in the following manner:
Academic events Performance events Olympic
first place 6 4 3
second place 5 3 2
third place 4 2 1
fourth place 3 1
Points for the skits are specified above in the contes descriptions. For
the chariot race and tormentum they are first place 8, second place 6, and
third place 4.
5. All participants must be currently enrolled in a class of Greek or Latin.
6. Students entering the grammar-translation, vocabulary, derivative, and pentathlon tests must compete at the level in which they are currently enrolled. A student currently enrolled in third year Latin or any higher level may enter either the Cicero or Vergil contest. Junior division students taking Latin for their second school year take Level II tests even if they are using a Latin I textbook and their school identifies their class as Latin I.
7. Junior and senior division contestants will take the same academic tests, but the test will be judged according to the separate divisions.
8. Any test for which at least three students do not register will be canceled.
If a test is canceled in one division but has a sufficient number in the
other division, the students of ht e canceled test will compete with the
students of the other division and only one set of awards will be given.
Points earned by students under such circumstances will still be added to
their schools= sweepstakes total.
If a contest is canceled, the school will be notified and the students may
register for another contest. If neither division has three students registered
for a particular test but the total number of students is three or more,
the test will be conducted as outlined above.
9. A student may register for two academic or one academic and one performance and for two olympic events. One of the olympic events must be a team even-a relay, Atalanta=s race or the chariot race. In addition to the four events which involve bodily participation on the day of the forum a student may also submit on e project. Participation in the Tormentum and for the Pentathlon Award may be in addition to the foregoing.
10. Students will not be allowed to participate in any contest for which they have not been officially registered by their sponsor.
11. If additions or deletions are to be made to the original registration
form , the sponsor must submit these in writing at the registration desk
upon arrival at the forum. Once the forum begins, if it is necessary for
a sponsor to make a change or substitution in a contest, the sponsor may
do so by writing a note for the student concerned and signing it. This procedure
should be kept to a minimum and used only in unexpected circumstances.
12. In the event o f a tie for the sweepstakes awards, the tie will be broken
by counting the number of first place winners--the school with the highest
number wins. If necessary, second place winners will also be counted.
13. Each judge or proctor has total authority in determining the winners of the contest which they conduct. Any disputes must be settled with them.
14. Each student attending the forum must pay a registration fee of $3.00. This fee pays for the awards and covers other miscellaneous expenses. No refunds can be made once the fee has been paid.
15. Each school should collect the fee from its students and then send one check in the amount of the sum of all the fees collected. Make the check payable to The College of Charleston. Both the check covering registration fee and the registration form must be sent to de. Morris, Department of Languages, The College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424.
16. There must be one adult chaperone for every fifteen students or any fraction thereof. Chaperones should sit with their students during all assemblies.
17. There is no limit to the number of students who may attend the forum from each school.
18. A school may enter two students in each event except as follows: only one team may be entered in each relay, Atalanta=s race, tormentum and the chariot race. Two students may be entered in each category of the project contest.
19. Participation in the skit does not count as one of the events a student
enter.
ELECTIONS
The student officers and their duties for the coming year will be:
Consul: Presides at business meetings (election and presentation of awards)
Proconsul: Assists the consul in the performance of his or her duties, and
assumes those duties in the consul=s absence.
Scriba: Keeps a permanent record of the minutes of business meeting.
Quaestor: Keeps a record of the organization=s financial transactions.
Pontifex Maximus: Gives the invocation.
GUIDELINES AND RULES
1. Officers are elected to a term of one year.
2. An officer is elected by a simple majority vote.
3. Each school has one vote. If a school has students in both the senior and junior divisions, it still has only one vote.
4. Votes are cast in writing. Prior to the forum each school should designate one person to deliver its vote.
5. In order to be eligible to hold office, a student must:
a. Be enrolled in a course of Latin or Greek during the current academic
year.
b. Must intend to enroll in Latin or Greek next year.
c. Have written permission from his or her teacher to run for an office.
6. Each candidate completes a ACandidate=s Qualifying Form,@ copies of which are included in the registration packet.
7. Nominations are made from the floor.
8. After the nominations for an office have been closed, the nominees will be introduced to the assembly and will state briefly (no more than 1 minute) their qualifications for the office.
9. The delegations from each school must cast their vote within 3 minutes.
10. If one candidate does not receive a majority of the votes cast, there will be a run-off election between the two candidates who received the most votes. Each delegation must cast its vote in the run-off election within 3 minutes.
11. No more than two officers may be elected from one school.
CANDIDATE=S QUALIFYING FORM
Completion of this form is necessary before one can be nominated for an office. At the forum each candidate will make a brief campaign speech, not to exceed one minute. In order to qualify as a candidate, one must be a student in good standing at his or her school and must intend to enroll in a Latin or Greek class next year.
Name: Grade:
Phone Number:
Mailing Address:
School:
1. For which office do you wish to be a candidate?
2. What level of Latin or Greek class do you plan to take next year?
3. In the space provided below state briefly your qualifications to serve as an officer.
4. To certify that you are a student in good standing at your school, you
and your sponsor (teacher) must sign below.
Teacher=s signature
Student=s signature
Date
3/99