Professor of English Dr. Alice Jewell and senior Megan Clanton diagram sen– tences in Latin and English on the board during Latin class Oct. 17. "[Diagram– ming] helps [one] to understand the relationship between the different parts of the sentence," Jewell said. -Chelsea Roberson Pdssiondl~ dboul Students 'beseech' professor to continue teaching Fo r four students, a dead language came to life in the classroom of Dr. Alice Jewell, professor of English. When seniors Megan Clamon, Allan Adams and Jo nathan Paulson, and junior Nathan Shank decided that one semester of Latin was not enough. they looked to Jewell to help them cominue their studies o f the language. Jewell was not only willing to help, she was excited to do so. "These students understOod that going a whole year without using their Latin wouM be detrimentaJ ro their goals," Jewell said. "So they beseeched me to continue with the second year to enable them to keep the language alive and active in their brains." One ofJewell's s(Udems found learning latin was beneficial in the smdy of his major field. "The main reason I take Latin is the rootS it has in the English language." Shank said. "Being an English major, I like to see the many derivatives and connections between the twO languages. It helps with vocabulary also." For some, the desire to learn Latin was based on a til IJ4 academics need to understand Latin phrasing that maybe found throughout writings in the scholarly world. "Since nearly aJl educated people in the Western world could read and wri te Ladn until the last 100 yea rs, most authors assumed that level of learning in their readers," Jewell said. "[They were] nOt considering the fact that our world would change to the point that their approp riate phrases would become unimelligible to future generations." But the class wem beyond the simple study of a dead language. The class was small in number, which allowed for more o ne-on-one teaching and the ability to make learning more in-depth. "One of our favorite things to do is to draw pictures that are associated with the texts that we have translated," Shank said. "While [Dr.] Jewell may put up a serious exterio r, she likes to know about our lives and to laugh, which provides all the greater contrast with the Roman, rigid language that we study." Jewell herselfwas not entirely sure why the students found such an interest in studying the language. She said most students found the subject a bore. "Ofcourse, these students thought Latinwas fun, or they would not have wanted to continue," Jewell said. "The camaraderie of the group is fantastic. Every teacher should be so blessed." The group said they were excited about their ability to prepare fo r their future careers and studies through the study of Latin. Latin, as a subject. was not o ffered in the course cacalog until 1998, when Jewell received her doctorate. She taught Latin on an individual basis to studems and others interested in the language for the 30 years prior to Lati n being an official class. "1 suppose you could compare the satisfaction of figuring out a difficult translation with the sat– isfaction some people get from working crossword puzzles," Jewell said. Beyond personal gratification, however. Jewell said her excitement about Latin stemmed from one simple reason: her love of studying languages. T he students were grateful for her willingness CO help. oj. Cliff Ganus
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