NEWS FLASH:

Good Taste Wins Out in Love Poetry Contest

From staff reports

      
       WOOSTER, OH -  Student entries of the highest caliber and the most 
refined taste and sentiment graced the 2005 Greek and Latin Love Poetry 
competition this month in the Department of Classical Studies at The 
College of Wooster.
       Winner of the top award for Greek Love Poetry was senior Michael 
Ruttinger, whose pastoral idyll, reminiscent of Homer and Theocritus, 
won over the judges with its unmitigated expression of pain and 
hopeless passion for a goat.
       Winners of the top award for Latin Love Poetry were sophomore 
co-authors Megan Prichard and Lizzie Neely, who charmed with exactly 
the opposite effect, producing a sophisticated Latin version of the 
song "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick.  Their ironizing Latin 
aria, which hints at the darkness visible beneath the surface of the 
lyrics -- while at the same time maintaining comic composure -- earned 
breathless admiration from the judges.
       Prizes were awarded at meetings of the Mensa Latina, Wooster's weekly 
luncheon meeting for spoken Latin: the prize for Greek Poetry was 
awarded Feb. 16, and the prize for Latin poetry Feb. 23.
       Rachel Hall Sternberg, department chair, expressed her satisfaction 
with the event. "The whole contest went off in a most inspiring way," 
she said. "Nothing can keep our students from expressing the deepest 
feelings with the most exquisite language! All they need is a little 
prodding from the inimitable Professor Edith Foster."
       Foster, a newcomer to the department, initiated this contest as well 
as last December's "This Little Piggy" translation competition, won by 
sophomore Tara Thompson. Thanks to Fosterís untiring efforts, recent 
classical contests on this small midwestern campus have gained 
widespread recognition and attention.
       The next public event, a marathon reading of Ovid's Metamorphoses, 
organized by Professor Matthew McGowan, will be held Thursday, March 3, 
from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Lowry Pit. Observers expect it to be heavily 
attended by international celebrities and political figures.
       U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, however, sent her regrets and 
was unavailable for comment on the foreign policy implications of the 
Ovid reading.
       Her staff lamely attempted to downplay her absence. "Don't worry if 
Condoleeza can't go," said one. "She's busy right now. It doesnít mean 
that she fails to recognize your contribution to world peace."
       McGowan was unable to dismiss the matter so easily. "Sure, she'll be 
able to find out from other people afterwards what went on," he 
remarked sourly, "but it's important to attend these events personally 
and experience their true flavor. That's what really makes a 
difference."