Extracurricular Student Organizations
Classical Studies
The Department of Classical Studies has two student organizations which allow students to meet informally for both social and academic activities:
MARSHALL UNIVERSITY CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION – The purpose of this organization is to promote and publicize the study of Classics on the Marshall campus, to provide social activities for students interested in Classical Studies which enhance their academic work, to encourage informal occasions for students and faculty to spend time together, and to develop student leadership skills. It is one of Marshall’s oldest student organizations; its records date back over a century. Any student enrolled in a Latin (LAT), Greek (GRK), or Classics (CL) class is automatically eligible to attend meetings and hold offices. All Basic Humanities majors are also eligible to join.
ETA SIGMA PHI – Eta Sigma Phi is a national honorary association for the strengthening of Classical learning throughout the United States. Its purposes on the Marshall campus are similar to those of the Marshall University Classical Association, but there are special benefits which come with membership. Upon completion of their B.A. degrees, members are eligible to apply for a scholarship either to the Summer Session of the American Academy in Rome, Italy, which provides educational tours of Italy and the Aegean, or to the Summer Session of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece, which provides educational tours of Greece, the Aegean, and Crete. These scholarships pay for tuition and travel expenses for six to eight weeks of summer travel and study. Students who are finishing the second semester of beginning Latin or Greek, have had one Classics (CL) class, and have at least a 3.0 average in all Latin, Greek, and Classics classes are invited to join.
These two student groups hold most of their meetings jointly and in the past have performed oral readings of Classical drama and poetry and sponsored marathon oral readings of Homer’s Odyssey and Vergil’s Aeneid. Students and faculty meet weekly for lunch along with all Humanities majors and sometimes take day trips together on the weekends.
If you want more information about this aspect of Marshall’s Classics program, please email us at classical-studies@marshall.edu