18/03/2020
In light of current events, here is a message (originally an email) relayed from our President on how things will work going forward into Easter term;
Hi folks,
Apologies in advance for what is sure to be a lengthy email! There will be quite a few important points contained below, though, so please do read it carefully.
As I'm sure you already know, the University of Cambridge has officially entered the 'red' phase of its response to COVID-19, and the university is shutting down its regular operations. A lot of uncertainty is
abounding, locally, nationally, and internationally, as the world's response to the coronavirus pandemic develops. In the face of an unprecedented global crisis, the Cambridge University Ancient Literature Society might seem laughably unimportant, a silly group of wannabe bear worshippers drinking tea, reading dusty books, and making dustier puns.
However, this silly, laughable, lovable group –- this we can control. Whatever else happens in the days, weeks, and months to come, whatever gets rescheduled or cancelled or just slips through the cracks, we can make sure that Ancient Lit continues during the crisis. It's not much, but it's something that we can and should make happen, to maintain some sense of continuity and normalcy in our day-to-day lives during Easter term, whatever atypical shape that term ultimately takes.
The committee and I have conferred about what to do next, and we've decided that the society will go virtual using a video conference programme called "Zoom" ( zoom.us ). The essential practical elementsof how going online will work are as follows:
- Our meetings will be rescheduled for 12:30 PM UK time on Saturdays to
accommodate international time zones (that's 7:30 AM in Michigan and
7:30 PM in Malaysia and Singapore).
- You'll need to RSVP with your email address EACH WEEK, telling us that you'd like to join that week's meeting. Then, on Saturday at the appointed time, you'll get an email from Zoom asking you to join our weekly meeting. IF YOU DON'T RSVP EACH WEEK, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THISEMAIL.
A couple of other miscellaneous points:
(1) We're still looking for submissions of texts for next term! Our theme this year is the Women of Ancient Literature. If you'd like to run an extract, please email Leah at [email protected].
(2) We'll be holding our Annual General Meeting elections in the early weeks of Easter term, as planned. We'll probably conduct the vote using Google Forms. I'll send out another email about the details of the election in due course.
That's it for now! Stay safe and happy out there, everybody. I have tremendous fondness for you all, and I look forward to carrying on our meetings next term. If you have any questions or concerns or fun bear facts to share, you can write me at [email protected] or the whole
committee at [email protected].
All best,
Zoe Crane
President, Cambridge University Ancient Literature Society
