French Honors Society recently held their annual induction ceremony to distinguish members who have been officially admitted into the National French Honors Society, a nationwide organization run by the French Teacher’s Association. Each inducted member was handed a certificate recognizing their hard work.

To be considered a national member, the student has to write an article for “Crayon Colorè”, FHS’s student-run magazine, tutor students who need help with French, and be enrolled in French 3 or above.

But the ceremony was not only for handing out certificates. It was also used as a way to pass on the torch. With the end of the year approaching and the senior officers ready to graduate, the junior officers will be running the club next year.

“The [candle] ceremony is representative of passing on the French spirit,” former Vice President Janani Sridhar said. “We’re passing on the love of the language to the younger generation.”

The first part of the ceremony took place on May 14. 2016 on the bridge that connects the A and B buildings. Members gathered around in a circle and passed around a paper containing a speech that has been used in previous years. All of the members recited an oath that translated to “By this flame, symbol of the transfer of knowledge, I engage myself/dedicate myself to continue, without fail, my efforts to instruct and transmit, to future generations, my love for the French language and culture.”

“Par ce flambeau, symbole du transfert des Connaissances, je m’engage à continuer sans relâche mes efforts pour m’instruire et transmettre aux futures générations mon amour pour la langue et la culture françaises.” – Oath that members took

Members then proceeded to blow out the candles and make wishes for the future of the club.

“It was just to make a wish for the future. That’s not technically part of the ritual because obviously you want to pass the flame to generations,” former president Nirupama Chandrashekar said. “But for us, we were like the wind is probably going to blow [the candles] out anyway.”

Junior Nithin Kumar, who is the incoming treasurer, emphasized that he is already looking toward the future of the club.

“One problem we had this year that we had events but we didn’t have anything between them,” Kumar said. “So we’re going to start doing things between them, just small things to get people to [be involved].”

While it was bittersweet for the senior officers to say their farewells, the night was also a chance for the incoming officers to set goals and think about the future of the club that is now in their hands.