How should we view the moment of entry into a new status? Such moments are marked by rituals and ceremonies in almost all societies - taking place at puberty, at marriage, at the completion of apprenticeships, at the end of military training, at being accepted into a club or society, or at the point of being accepted into the citizenship of a country not of one's birth.
In the university world we have a particular ceremony to mark graduation. But, at least in the UK, we don't generally have a ceremony or ritual to mark the change of status that actually becoming a student involves. Instead we may have a 'welcome talk' from someone important within the university, but otherwise it is bureaucratic necessity that dominates the earliest stages of arrival at university - at least from the point of the university authorities.
Actually, when I arrived at Oxford there was a ritual to be gone through. We all had to put on subfusc (a dark suit, white shirt, white bow tie, and gown for the men - black skirt, white blouse, black ribbon tied round the next, and gown for the women) and parade to a Latin ceremony called 'matriculation' which took place in one of Oxford's grandest buildings - the Sheldonian Theatre. I have no memory of what was said or done, other than that my neighbour at this ceremony had smuggled into his mortar-board a tiny kitten which he then had to keep hushed throughout the proceedings.
I note from Oxford's web site that matriculation still takes place - symbolically admitting students to the new status of members of the university. Although I also note that the details of who should and who should not matriculate seem designed as much as anything to exclude certain groups who would elsewhere be very much included as members of the university. See:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/new/matriculation
(I will leave on one side recent accusations about other rituals of admission to aspects of Oxford life. I knew nothing of the existence of dining societies such as the Bullingdon throughout my 6 years at Oxford, let alone any alleged intimate relationship with pigs as part of initiation into other clubs.)
These thoughts about rituals and rites of passage have been set off because I have just returned from visiting some Portuguese universities. Established students in Portugal have a uniform that is remarkably similar to Oxford's subfusc - with the addition of a black jacket for women, and of a cape worn over one shoulder. This cape can also be adorned with badges showing various achievements whilst a student.
The start of the academic year is marked by a formal ceremony with processions of academics, speeches by the Rector, music (the Portuguese guitar, played by black-clad students features strongly), and food and drink receptions. I have witnessed these in previous years. Established students seeking to sign new ones up for activities are formally dressed. This all makes the process of becoming a new student rather impressive and significant - not just a signature on a piece of paper.
But there is another side to these activities. Down in the city centre I saw several groups of established students, in their black 'uniforms', instructing new students to perform various self-denigrating stunts - such as singing songs whilst wearing cardboard asses' ears, carrying signs with strange incantations on them, having tee-shirts smothered in various cooking sauces. It all looked as if it was being done with good humour. But there are reports in the Portuguese media about things getting out of hand. The rituals are collectively called Praxe and there have been reports of deaths in recent years (students swept off a beach in the Algarve while undertaking a Praxe task), and of serious injuries. Whist waiting at Lisbon Airport yesterday for my flight the television news magazine was clearly holding a debate about whether Praxe activities hold be curtailed, although the sound was turned off so I couldn't follow it (even if my limited Portuguese had ben up to it). The previous day, at various bars around the city, crowds of students - older in their black uniforms and capes, and new in ordinary dress - were singing and laughing in the late afternoon. But I didn't stick around to see how things progressed later into the night - although I would not expect alcohol to play such a significant role in Portugal as it certainly would amongst UK students.
So I have mixed feelings about these rites of passage and signs of 'club' membership. On the one hand I rather like the smartness and sense of belonging of the traditional Portuguese student 'uniform'. I also like the idea of some way of marking the accession of new students into the wider community of student status and as members of the university. But on the other hand initiation ceremonies - as so often in sports clubs but also in other spheres of life - can create opportunities for the abuse of the newcomers by those established within a group, and some of the tasks that (allegedly) have been asked of initiates may be beyond good taste and acceptability. The official side of rites of passage may be fine - it's the additional informal aspects that create difficulties.
In the university world we have a particular ceremony to mark graduation. But, at least in the UK, we don't generally have a ceremony or ritual to mark the change of status that actually becoming a student involves. Instead we may have a 'welcome talk' from someone important within the university, but otherwise it is bureaucratic necessity that dominates the earliest stages of arrival at university - at least from the point of the university authorities.
Actually, when I arrived at Oxford there was a ritual to be gone through. We all had to put on subfusc (a dark suit, white shirt, white bow tie, and gown for the men - black skirt, white blouse, black ribbon tied round the next, and gown for the women) and parade to a Latin ceremony called 'matriculation' which took place in one of Oxford's grandest buildings - the Sheldonian Theatre. I have no memory of what was said or done, other than that my neighbour at this ceremony had smuggled into his mortar-board a tiny kitten which he then had to keep hushed throughout the proceedings.
I note from Oxford's web site that matriculation still takes place - symbolically admitting students to the new status of members of the university. Although I also note that the details of who should and who should not matriculate seem designed as much as anything to exclude certain groups who would elsewhere be very much included as members of the university. See:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/new/matriculation
(I will leave on one side recent accusations about other rituals of admission to aspects of Oxford life. I knew nothing of the existence of dining societies such as the Bullingdon throughout my 6 years at Oxford, let alone any alleged intimate relationship with pigs as part of initiation into other clubs.)
These thoughts about rituals and rites of passage have been set off because I have just returned from visiting some Portuguese universities. Established students in Portugal have a uniform that is remarkably similar to Oxford's subfusc - with the addition of a black jacket for women, and of a cape worn over one shoulder. This cape can also be adorned with badges showing various achievements whilst a student.
The start of the academic year is marked by a formal ceremony with processions of academics, speeches by the Rector, music (the Portuguese guitar, played by black-clad students features strongly), and food and drink receptions. I have witnessed these in previous years. Established students seeking to sign new ones up for activities are formally dressed. This all makes the process of becoming a new student rather impressive and significant - not just a signature on a piece of paper.
But there is another side to these activities. Down in the city centre I saw several groups of established students, in their black 'uniforms', instructing new students to perform various self-denigrating stunts - such as singing songs whilst wearing cardboard asses' ears, carrying signs with strange incantations on them, having tee-shirts smothered in various cooking sauces. It all looked as if it was being done with good humour. But there are reports in the Portuguese media about things getting out of hand. The rituals are collectively called Praxe and there have been reports of deaths in recent years (students swept off a beach in the Algarve while undertaking a Praxe task), and of serious injuries. Whist waiting at Lisbon Airport yesterday for my flight the television news magazine was clearly holding a debate about whether Praxe activities hold be curtailed, although the sound was turned off so I couldn't follow it (even if my limited Portuguese had ben up to it). The previous day, at various bars around the city, crowds of students - older in their black uniforms and capes, and new in ordinary dress - were singing and laughing in the late afternoon. But I didn't stick around to see how things progressed later into the night - although I would not expect alcohol to play such a significant role in Portugal as it certainly would amongst UK students.
So I have mixed feelings about these rites of passage and signs of 'club' membership. On the one hand I rather like the smartness and sense of belonging of the traditional Portuguese student 'uniform'. I also like the idea of some way of marking the accession of new students into the wider community of student status and as members of the university. But on the other hand initiation ceremonies - as so often in sports clubs but also in other spheres of life - can create opportunities for the abuse of the newcomers by those established within a group, and some of the tasks that (allegedly) have been asked of initiates may be beyond good taste and acceptability. The official side of rites of passage may be fine - it's the additional informal aspects that create difficulties.
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