English professors Beverly Whitson and Susanna Clemans celebrated William Shakespeare’s birthday for the 13th year with a student event, taking place in Liberal Arts 22 on April 12 as students overfilled the classroom seats and had perks such as beverages and snacks, as well as brownies and cookies for treats.
With the love and devotion that Clemans and Whitson have for Shakespeare, they wanted to start a tradition for students to participate in.
“We both taught English for many years and we absolutely love Shakespeare,” Whitson proclaimed, “so we always celebrate Shakespeare one way or another and we want to bring our appreciation of Shakespeare to our students.”
April 23 is Shakespeare’s birthday, and making plans to celebrate his birthday was a way to get students involved by telling them that by partaking in the event it would allow them to earn extra credit.
Professors from the English department, such as Roger Ernest and Danielle Carney, got involved and recited scenes from Shakespeare with a 21st century approach.
A group of ten students who participated from in the classroom got to stand up in front of the room and did a cold reading with one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Another activity, which students were actually able to win a prize in, was a game of “Shakespeare or Cerritos.”
The game was made up by English Professor Lydia Alvarez, who asked a student to come up with a chance to win a calendar book, in which each day presented facts about William Shakespeare.
English major Neftali Castaneda stepped up to the plate and had to answer if each quote was by Shakespeare himself or made up by a Cerritos College student.
Receiving some help from the students in the room, Castaneda won the book and had a smile on her face at the end.
“I thought it was going to be a lot harder, but it was fun when I got to win a prize,” Castaneda said.
For Whitson and Clemans, having events like this gives them the chance to let their students become aware of how timeless Shakespeare’s work is.
“My students afterward always tell me that they are so glad they did this for extra credit, because they seemed to really enjoy it,” Whitson said.
