Marshall University’s Classical Association offers students an opportunity to learn about Greek and Roman history and culture and supplies an outlet to express their common interests.

Courtney Shrewsberry, the Classical Association’s treasurer, said the club is available for students of all majors and backgrounds to join.

“If you’re at all interested in Latin, Greek or the humanities at large, then we’re happy to have you,” Shrewsberry, junior classics and Latin double major, said.

The Classical Association is always looking to grow, Shrewsberry said, and this semester they have put on many events for the first time.

“This semester we had an Ides of March potluck, complete with a Caesar piñata to stab,” Shrewsberry said. “We’ve also done readings of Winnie the Pooh in Latin- Winnie Ille Pooh. We occasionally do game nights, too, with things like ‘Betrayal at the House on the Hill.’ Last semester, we participated in a ‘Graveyard of the Gods’ thing, and we took a trip up to Columbus.”

A major goal for the association is to create a Classical Ambassadors program next semester, Shrewsberry said.

“It’s still in the works, but we’re planning on beginning a sort of Classical Ambassadors program wherein we visit with local high schools and tell them about the humanities major here at Marshall,” Shrewsberry said. “The program is the best in the state, and very few incoming freshmen know about it.”

Adam Hill, president of the Classical Association, said Marshall is West Virginia’s only university to offer a Latin major, and the Classical Ambassadors program would reach out to students who may be interested but not sure there are opportunities for them.

“(The program) is a kind of outreach to high schoolers who are interested in the classics, Latin and/or Greek, opening up our experiences to them and encouraging their interest,” Hill, senior Latin and humanities double major, said. “Our discipline is kind of obscure, I think, compared to science or English or math, so parents and teachers don’t necessarily know what advice to give a budding Greek mythology buff. We’re also trying to sell prospective Latinists on coming to this university.”

The club meets at noon in Harris Hall Room 403 every other Friday.

“I’m grateful to be able to spend my college time around people who share my love of language and gross old things, and that rings a little cliché, but oh well, it’s true,” Hill said.

Amanda Larch can be contacted at larch15@marshall.edu.