Salvete amici...
Time to haul this one back up to the top of the heap.
A hair over a year ago, the Senate, after some internal debate, presented--and at the same time enacted--the proposal that opens this topic. This was not the usual procedure, even then; the Senate made proposals, the Comitia voted on them, usually in conjunction with one of our normal twice-yearly elections. We were reassured that the measure was only temporary, an experiment; that we would get a chance to vote on it once the experiment had run for several months. The 'sunset' on this
Senatusconsultum was to have been the Magisterial elections of last November.
Unfortunately, 2758 turned out to be a rather bizarre year. Most significantly, we had an admin shakeup of some severity. Instead of electing Rectors for the Collegia that summer, we had a Concilium in the fall to rewrite the Regula. When the new charter was 'reported out of committee', we found ourselves with no Magistrates...no Senate...and no mention whatsoever of the Collegia. Plainly they still exist; we post to them every day...but our chance to vote on the changes to them sort of fell through the crack.
For the newish among us, I post the original list of Collegia and the sorts of topics discussed in each:
Collegium Historicum: Roman history, historiography, personalities, archaeology, physical anthropology.
Collegium Artium: Roman arts, literature, architecture, humor, Roman-themed modern works, and member efforts inspired by any of the above (notably the roleplay section).
Collegium Religionum: Roman and other ancient religions, their Gods, rituals and beliefs.
Collegium Philosophicum: Roman and other 'period' philosophy, as discussed and actually practiced by our members, in daily life and in special symposia held here for the purpose.
Collegium Militarium: Roman military history, arts, science and daily life of the soldier.
Collegium Latinum: Latin language and how best to apply it in modern times.
Collegium Graecum: Greek language, history and culture.
Collegium Vita Quotidiana: Roman crafts, cultural anthropology and daily life; everything from kinds of pets to the price of bread in Pompeii.
Ludi Societatis: Virtual chariot-races, gladiator fights, and other competitions, such as an essay contest, from time to time.
By contrast, our present situation is this:
Collegium Historiae Antiquae: Ancient history in general, incorporating the historical side of the Collegium Graecum and all of Collegium Militarium.
Collegium Artium, Philosophiae et Scientiae: A real mish-mash, combining CollArt and CollPhil (which seem strange together) and 'scientia', which has never been clearly defined, to me at least.
Collegium Religionum: same as before.
Collegium Linguarum Antiquarum: As Collegium Latinum, but now including the linguistic side of CollGraec as well.
Ludi Societatis: same as before.
This is what Aurelius Tergestus referred to as the greater granularity of the old setup: things were a lot more finely divided. Everyone knew what to post where. Indeed, the SVR Website itself is still divided up thusly, pending final enactment of the changes, and this no doubt causes some confusions for members who visit both the Forum and the site. It's also not much fun for the Aedilis-cum-Webmaster who has to decide where to upload contributions. Just for that reason I would be in favor of a referendum; but there's more.
The original reasons given for the reform were that some Collegia were much less active (and therefore, in the eyes of the proponents, less sustainable) than others; and that we consistently had trouble finding Rectors for all the Collegia. Would you believe that in the beginning we had to field
three officers for each Collegium...? In latter days we were happy just to get a full slate of Rectors. As to inactivity, this charge was mainly levelled at Collegium Philosophicum and Collegium Graecum, although Collegium Vita Quotidiana (which at that point had existed for only several months) was also implicated.
Since the changes, posts on philosophy and Hellenic culture have dwindled to nearly nothing; and nobody seems to know for sure where to submit materials on daily life. To be fair, the military topics seem to be doing just fine. But the three Collegia that were supposed to have been helped by this consolidation have virtually died out. If Philosophicum had been merged with Religionum it might have stood a chance; I would support such a measure even now, as both Collegia are there to help us Think Big Thoughts. But VQ, as stated, was never given a proper chance; and its topics have been so scattered among so many other sections that it would be hard to think of it as one coherent field of study.
As to having to find enough Rectors...we don't even
have Rectors anymore. The Collegia, the heart and backbone of the Societas, have been written out of the Regula entirely. The Senate is dissolved. The only place we can do anything for the Collegia is right here, in Comitia.
As a duly-elected officer of the Societas, I propose that we discuss this matter for at least a couple of weeks. I have given you the history, in a (hopefully) mostly-neutral way, so that you have the information you need to make an informed judgement on the matter. I will take note of any ideas, whether for the current reorganization, a different one, or a flat-out return to the original setup. I'll eventually pitch in my own proposal, which would be no more valid than anyone else's...but no less so. Once we've talked it over, we can put the
Senatusconsultum to a vote; if it fails, we can take our own ideas and make them into an alternate proposal, or just put things back the way they were--but that'd be a separate vote, I think (Attice, Tergeste...
quid censites, magistri?).
The Collegia on this Board are the most visible and dynamic way a member can interact within the framework of the Societas. Whether provided for in the Regula or not, the Collegia are vital...and the things that affect them affect us all.
In fide,