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I'm Rupert, a CAJCLer, certamenator, and history specialist. I've been involved with the JCL for six years, and have attended seven regional conventions (one bonus virtual SoCal convention), five state conventions (the 2020 convention was cancelled), and five national conventions (this is my sixth).

More about me:
  • Reading
    • I love to read! Talk to me about books 😀. I read mostly history with foci in antiquity (obviously), eighteenth- and twentieth-century America, and whatever else catches my eye (I recently did a deep-dive into nineteenth-century European nationbuilding).
  • Music
    • I play the cello in the Harker orchestra, and the bagpipes in the Prince Charles Pipe Band.
  • Sports
    • I primarily run and bike!
    • Running: I compete in cross-country at Harker and have run lengths up to a marathon outside of school.
    • Biking: I mostly do endurance bike rides, and have completed six century (100 mile) rides, a two-week tour from the Alps to Rome, and, most recently, a ride from the (generally accepted) southwesternmost point of the United Kingdom to the (generally accepted) northeasternmost point (yes, there is controversy).
Accessibility
Email Me for any accessibility questions.

About this website
  • Coded in HTML/CSS/PHP/JavaScript by myself.
  • Hosted with Apache on Linux.

If you have any questions about me or my campaign or platform, please reach out!
Email Me

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What unique experiences or expertise do you bring to the First VP position? (Warning: big paragraph incoming)
My perspective is unique in that I understand firsthand how certain other positions relate to the First VP position. Spirit, service, and outreach are all inexorably connected. For instance, a couple years ago, Athena (2019-2020 NJCL Second VP) made it much easier for small delegations to be included in spirit with her “no props” competition. Similarly, websites, though important normally, have become essential for outreach in the past few years. Many state JCLs have a minimal web presence (after all, it requires consistent effort to offer an up-to-date and helpful website), and this is something I would work with on the Communications Coordinator to remedy (perhaps by offering workshops on how technology can help with outreach, or by specifically working with individual states). Websites are one of the first things that prospective schools (or students) see, and a good website is critical for publicity. As CAJCL Second Vice President (and Board President) and Webmaster, I have worked in two positions closely related to First VP. My experience with other positions on the board gives me a greater perspective and will allow me to take a more holistic approach to membership. I hope to use this experience in order to work closely with others on the NJCL board and state boards.

There have been controversies surrounding other Classics programs in the past (see ACL Statement concerning the Paideia Institute). How will you navigate these possible issues when you work with external organizations?
Ensuring that the JCL is inclusive and welcoming is my highest priority. Making anyone feel out of place in the JCL is wholly antithetical to my objectives. I will gather input from the community and work closely with the National Committee to create only positive relationships, and I will make sure that, if there are any concerns about organizations, they are heard.

You have a lot of activities going on. How will you ensure that you have time to carry through on your ideas?
NJCL will be my highest priority. I will not be holding a CAJCL office next year, nor will I be serving on Student Council--ever since I became involved with the JCL and attended my first National Convention, I've fallen in JCLove with this community and will not allow other things to get in the way. I'll make sure that I have ample time to devote to executing my ideas and serving the NJCL.

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Strengthen Ties to Other Groups
  • Work with organizations such as the AAACC (Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus)--see "Promote Inclusion."
  • Possibly: Collaborations with the Ontario Student Classics Conference (which, by the way, was established as a part of the JCL in 1968), or other expansion/publicity in that area. I'm a US/Canadian dual citizen and have several relatives in Ontario who are taking Latin—there is a lot of potential with cross-border collaboration.
Promote Inclusion
  • Classics is often seen as an esoteric and exclusive pursuit.
  • I have been working with the AAACC (Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus).
  • I also want to work on anything that might make the JCL a more welcoming place!
Increase Geographical Spread
  • The best publicity constitutes schools joining the JCL and word spreading in their community.
  • I want to use the membership list (ideas that I'd like to explore) to seek out such areas of promise.
  • For example, I used to live in New York City. If I had stayed there, I wouldn't be a part of the JCL, even though my former school offers Latin. As far as I'm aware (although I have no membership list to consult), most of New York's JCL membership is in upstate, although so many of the city schools offer Latin.

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"Chapter" of members-at-large
  • Title pretty much sums it up. This is related to year-long events, but I'd love to set up opportunities for members-at-large to form their own, geograhically-spread "chapter." This is one of the ways that I want to leverage technology to foster a sense of community. (I'd love to hear from members-at-large on this, reach out to me.)
Year-long events
  • Take advantage of the new comfort with virtual meetings to run periodic nation-wide events.
  • My goal is to make State JCLers feel more a part of the NJCL, as opposed to only a member of their chapter/state.
  • Possibly: A reading group like the one I've been running for my school (either Latin or English but classically related).
  • Possibly: Timezone events, where JCLers from a certain state can meet others on a smaller scale than Nats.
Public membership lists
  • If lists of member chapters are published anywhere, I don't know where they are. However, they would make a great resource for publicity. Barring any concerns by the national committee, I would like to make public the list of chapters and the numbers of members year-by-year, to aid in analysis and outreach.
  • For instance, check out California's list. I'd like to have similar data in a structured, centralized database.
Technology Outreach Workshops
  • For First VPs and Webmasters.
  • In addition to the other positions I held as a part of the CAJCL, I'm a former Webmaster (and code as a hobby--this site is one that I built myself), so I have another really helpful perspective.
  • I think that increased First VP - Webmaster collaboration could be really beneficial and I want to help make that happen.

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Classics Journal
  • A place to share research papers pertaining to the classics written by NJCLers.

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Second VP/Board President (2020-2021)
  • 2nd in 2020 Nationals spirit/service
  • Created novel format for the state spirit competition: recording lines of classical theater. 116 people acted out over 1700 lines!
  • Created novel format for the state service project: an ongoing theme of random acts of kindness.
  • Created Service spotlight highlighting the various service projects of chapters across the state.
  • Ran regional service project of sending letters of thanks to people who have been influential in our lives. CAJCLers sent 88 letters.
  • Debuted spirit competition at one of the regional conventions. CAJCLers created 42 submissions.
Webmaster (2019-2020)
  • 1st in 2020 Nationals Website contest.
  • Laid the foundation for state website contest, and worked with my successor to tweak and implement it.

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Harker Class Council (ASB Community Service Committee)
  • Created monthly newsletter highlighting particular issues in our community and providing volunteer opportunities related to those issues.
  • Created database for volunteering opportunities.
  • Raised over $2,000 for those impacted by the California wildfires.
Harker Class Council (ASB Campus Development Committee)
  • Raised $11,000 for people in the community impacted by COVID-19. Ran significant outreach.
  • Several other Harker-campus specific initiatives.

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Harker JCL
  • As President, I quadrupled the frequency of our meetings.
  • Began Latin reading group
  • Began Greek lesson group, drawing interested students from the entire student body—not just Latin students!
  • Captained Advanced Certamen Team to first place win at CAJCL!
Philosophy Club
Ancient philosophy, anyone?
  • Ran two Philosophy Conferences (the first national conferences for high schoolers, we think) with several hundred attendees. Lots of outreach here, too.