O.G.R.E. pages are updated!  There is big news regarding our upcoming marathon reading.  Click here for more information.

Also, initiation into the Classics Honor Society, ETA SIGMA PHI, will be on Friday, April 22 from 4-5 pm in K-101.  New initiates will receive an official invitation.

There are some other new things here on the small, but growing site.  Be sure to check out the new O.G.R.E. flier as well.

This is a reminder that our Movie Night is tonight 6-930 in room F118. We will be watching Alexander and there will be pizza and soda!  

Let’s fill the box!

Also, if you are interested in our trip over break to NYC to the Onassis Center’s exhibit on Greek heroes, please email me (stk37488@go.stockton.edu).  We will be going on Thursday, Dec 16^th, from 8:30 am till the evening via Stockton van.  Admission is free but you will need to bring money for lunch and any other purchases you’d like to make.  We’ll probably see the tree in Rockefeller Center and do some local site-seeing as well.

*We are planning a day trip to Washington DC's Natural History Museum for Saturday, October 23rd to see an exhibit on ancient Cyprus. More information on this trip to come. If you're interested in going, send me an email.

*Our next movie night is going to be October 26th (Precepting Day) 6-930pm. Room TBA. We're watching Alexander (Collin Farrel, Angelina Jolie).

*Our Book&Bake sale this week was a success! We're planning to do another one in November and we are asking for more book/cd/dvd donations!! If you have any you'd like to donate to our club to help raise money to fund our trips&events, please send me an email! We'd like to have the donations in by October 28th.

*Our next meeting is October 14th at 5pm in room K101. After the meeting, we will be going to a lecture at 7pm in the Alton Auditorium given by classics professor Katherine Panagakos "Marathon: The 2500th Anniversary of an Ancient Battle and its Modern Legacy". Hope to see you all there!!

` - As “rosy-fingered dawn” touched the hallowed halls of Richard Stockton College, a marathon was beginning. It wasn’t the traditional type of marathon. No runners were poised awaiting the firing of a gun. Instead, it was a collection of Stockton’s own students from various backgrounds carrying on the bardic tradition of reading epic poetry before an audience of anxious listeners. The tale was Homer’s Odyssey, the story of Odysseus’s ten year nostos, or journey home to Ithaca, after fighting for ten years in the Trojan War. The students were members of the classics club on campus called The Order of Greco-Roman Enthusiasts, or O.G.R.E for short. The event was hosted by them in order to raise money for The American Red Cross to help the victims of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, which is why they chose to subtitle the marathon: “From Ithaca to Haiti.” The day began bright and early at 7:45 a.m. when students gathered in the K-wing circle and did not conclude until the final words of the epic were read, sometime after 9 p.m.

Professor Katherine Panagakos began our marathon by reading the opening lines of Homer’s Odyssey in the original Ancient Greek, transporting us back to the world of the Homeric heroes and Olympian gods. The readers, consisting of both students and faculty, read Robert Fagles’ acclaimed translation of the Odyssey for intervals of 15 minutes, inciting passersby with the excitement of Odysseus’s adventures. Throughout the day students, faculty, and staff gathered to hear the tale of “the man of twists and turns” and to donate money to this worthy cause. Along with raising money for The American Red Cross, the members of O.G.R.E were raising money for their club through their own bake sale with delicious baklava donated by Yiasou, a local Greek restaurant.

Around 4 o’clock, the marathon caught the attention of NBC40 and ERT, which is the New York affiliate of the Hellenic Radio and Television. NBC40 interviewed classics student Phillip Bennett, who articulated the connection between Odysseus’ wandering and Haiti’s and Chile’s disasters, saying that despite the bleakness of their situations, O.G.R.E believed that Haiti and Chile would overcome their struggle as Odysseus overcame his.

After twelve hours of reading, which included a clever escape from the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, a trip to the Underworld, and the punishment of the suitors, O.G.R.E raised over $2500 for The American Red Cross, an unanticipated but most welcome amount. O.G.R.E would like to thank all those who sponsored the readers and all those who donated their time, energy, and money. O.G.R.E would also like to thank the cabinet members who organized the event: President Nicole Pietrowicz, Vice President Bobi Sobel, Treasurer Maureen Ingersoll, and Secretary Victoria Budesa and their advisor Professor Katherine Panagakos. We will have to wait to see what text O.G.R.E will choose for next year’s marathon reading and to which charity it will present its donation.  If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact either Professor Panagakos (katherine.panagakos@stockton.edu) or any of the members of O.G.R.E.  Meetings take place every other Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The room will be announced in the ARGO this September.

NBC40 interview: http://www.nbc40.net/pages/videoplayer/video.php?vid=12763