On Friday, Oct. 6, the U of M Classics Students Collective (UMCSC) held their first social event of the year – a movie night. 

It is a tradition that president of UMCSC Thomas McIntosh said has been continuing for years, “and we figured we’d just keep that tradition going,” he said.

“They’re always great for getting students to come out and chat and just get to know each other,” 

UMCSC had a slow start to the year in regards to hosting their first social event, but McIntosh was happy with how the night turned out. 

 McIntosh said that attendees seemed to be enjoying themselves and getting to know each other that night, and that “lots of smiles were had.” 

Despite UMCSC’s late social start to the year– the club does not appear to be losing any forward momentum. McIntosh said that through UMCSC events he wants to have students engaging with one another within the classics department. To support that goal, they plan to do a movie night once a month until the end of the winter term alongside one other social event which they have yet to decide on. 

McIntosh said the group is contemplating ideas like costume parties, or even putting on a play like a comedy or tragedy from ancient Greece or Rome.

Despite all the events in the making, McIntosh is most excited about a student conference that UMCSC is building towards. The conference would allow students to present papers to fellow students in both the faculty and the department, and provide them with exposure in the realm of public speaking and presentations.

“So, it’s as much we want to do events to get students talking to each other, interacting in movie nights, as we want to help them build up their academic performance, as well,” he said.

“I see them as deeply interlinked things. If you’re excited to go to school and have fun at school, you’re excited to do your homework because then you can brag about it to your friends.” 

Ultimately, McIntosh wishes to bring in more students to UMCSC, even if students come to these events just to watch a movie and eat free food. He hopes it sparks an interest in classics and inspires students to take more classes and come out to future events.