As AEGEE-Groningen’s birthday approaches, excitement is building up! Every year, our beloved association turns a little older, a little wiser, and celebrates this milestone in style… and this year with even more style and thunder! ⚡️This year’s week of celebrations is specially brought to you by the Dies Committee!🥳
Who are those birthday enthusiasts working behind the scenes of the Dies Committee? Let’s Introduce these party warriors real quick!
Meet the team
Ola – Chairperson
This valiant warrior has been part of AEGEE for 5 years, bravely studying European Languages and Cultures. In an unexpected situation of a gladiator fight, Ola sees only one viable strategy: “Step 1: scream and act crazy (to distract the opponent) Step 2: when they lower their guard because they realize they don’t need to put a lot of effort to win this fight… change the strategy and attack them out of nowhere! Bam💥 surprise, that’s how you can win.”. At a Roman banquet, you’ll likely find Ola sticking to the corner with wine and olives. The reason? Simple survival instincts: “Seems like a safe choice” (or, as some might say, a healthy fear of food poisoning 👀). Lastly, which Roman god would Ola summon for help in a battle of Archery Tag? Bacchus is the answer! “In exchange for a good bottle of wine the Roman god Bacchus – the bringer of festivities would help me out and distract the opponents with a celebration, meanwhile with my questionable aiming skills I would take down the opponents.”.
Romy – Treasurer
Our fearless Quaestor, with great care manages our modern day denarius (Euros for those who don’t know). Romy has been in AEGEE for 6 years and counting, and currently studies Youth, Society, & Policy. If Romy were a gladiator, she’d choose a unique strategy to fight: “I guess I would run around and hope the other person would get tired faster than I would. Then I would take advantage of that and strike them down.”
And in times of war (or during an Archery Tag match), Romy would join forces with the Roman god Mars. Why? Because he’s the one that’s supposed to help in such times. Final Roman fun fact about Romy – where would you look for her at a Roman banquet? Of course next to Romy’s “go-to” which would be some good meat and a few cups of wine.
Cedric – Secretary
As the Scriba, Cedric takes his role seriously and uses words cautiously. Cicero would be Cedric’s pick for being a Roman figure. Frankly it’s not because of having the same amount of letters as Cedric, but because of his skill as an orator. If Cedric had found himself at a Roman banquet, what would he feast on? “Haha wine”. This is a dead giveaway for the next Roman fun fact about Cedric. For an Archery Tag match a supporting Roman god would be Bacchus! Why? “I think Bacchus the god of wine would support me because of my love for wine. At the gala at least I will have enough wine to convince him”. On a daily basis, Cedric is busy studying International Relations, and celebrating his 4 year AEGEE membership.
Nine – PR
As the youngest warrior of the Dies Committee, with only 2 years of AEGEE membership, and an untamed passion for Art History (which Nine studies when not planning birthday activities). A Roman figure that resonates with her is Agrippina. Why? “I would like to be Agrippina the Youngest, as she was quite rebellious. She was an influential woman in the Roman empire, refusing to be a boring wife, and behaving as a wife should. She broke all rules of appropriate woman behavior. However, there are also elements I don’t like about her life, such as the fact that she married her uncle. But she had a lot of power, even over her uncle (emperor Claudius) as he changed the law to be able to marry her. But to get rid of him (Claudius), Agrippina poisoned him, so that her son, Nero, could become the emperor.”
In a scary (and luckily highly improbable) scenario of a gladiator fight, Nine would try to stay alive. You might wonder how… here’s the secret: I think my strategy would be one that would keep me alive 😅. I’ll probably just try to protect myself, and not necessarily attack. I think that would be the safest to survive the longest… but I would like to avoid getting put into a gladiator fight altogether.
Last Roman fun fact about Nine is that at a Roman banquet she’d feast on the dessert and drinks! And avoid all the meats and fish as Nine is vegetarian.
Shenza – General Member
Outside of the Roman shenanigans, Shenza is a dedicated student of Information Science and she has been part of AEGEE for 7 lucky years! (Vivat to more years to come 🥳). Diving deeper into the Roman shenanigans, Shenza has quite a strategy for a gladiator fight. Her approach? “Always aim for the center. Unless I was fighting an animal then I would just pretend to be dead.” Wise, indeed.
If Shenza could embody any Roman figure, her choice would be Marcus Aurelius. Why? Because aside from being known as a good emperor he also had time to philosophize. And when it comes to an Archery Tag showdown, you might wonder which Roman god or goddess would Shenza pick for their divine support. She gives us a secret peek into her strategy: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Roman (and Greek) mythology is that it’s always best to just not be noticed by the gods, it usually doesn’t end well. But otherwise I would obviously want Diana on my side.” So, Diana it is, the goddess of the hunt and the perfect ally for a fierce game of Archery Tag! 🏹
Get ready to celebrate!
Prepare yourselves for a week of festivities that would make even Julius Caesar jealous! To warm up your inner warrior, the celebrations will kick off with a thrilling match of Archery Tag on Tuesday, 22nd October. Channel your gladiator spirit as you dodge arrows and outmaneuver your opponents. Whether you’re a fearless or a sneaky warrior, may the best archer win and thrive in the arena! Let the games begin! 🏹
The nice warm up of the celebrations will be followed by a delicious feast for all hungry warriors. All warriors will gather on Wednesday, 23rd October to enjoy panem and more festive food and drinks at the Dies Dinner. To go big is the only way forward here, so the celebrations do not cease here yet! The warriors will take their bows and arrows and continue the feast at our well known temple – The Brouwerij 🔥
The finale of these Roman themed celebrations will end in true Roman fashion! On the 25th October we will all gather at the Dies Gala, and feast till the morning sun greets us again. Be there or be 🟥🏹
NL