It's official - Vermont now has a Latin motto.
Gov. Peter Shumlin signed it into law Friday at a ceremony at the University of Vermont.
He was joined by Angela Kubicke, the freshman at St. Johnsbury Academy who composed the motto. The text, "Stella Quarta Decima Fulgeat," translates to "Let the Fourteenth Star Shine Bright."
Kubicke came up with the idea last year while she was studying classic literature and language.
While perhaps not the most pressing issue at the Statehouse this session, the measure was not without controversy. The bill had unleashed a flood of negative comments on social media from immigration opponents.
Critics condemned a "Latin American” motto for an American state. But Kubicke has said that only highlights the need to keep teaching the classics in Vermont schools.
Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning sponsored the bill.
