in britannia

I am now, officially, a member of Oxford University. Previously, I was considered only a member of Keble College: with today's ceremony, I am now eligible for priviledges as a University member. We dressed up in sub fusc, which is a peculiar style of dress (dark suit, white shirt, bow tie, and gowns), and went to the MCR for a celebratory drink at 9:30 in the morning. At about 11, we were marched down to the Examination Schools for the actual matriculation ceremony. In the same way that the gown is a vestige of the older traditions of the Oxford University student, so too the matriculation, with its thirty-second Latin speech and short explanation by the Vice-Chancellor, is a throwback to the days of Oxford past, when indeed students admitted to the colleges were asked to sit a university-wide examination in Latin to determine whether they were also up to the task of University and not just Collegiate scholarship. Still to this day, matriculation is a rite of passage into the university world: without it, we are not allowed to sit for examinations, without which we will not graduate. It's silly, it's archaic, but it's still got enough pageantry and silliness attached to it to make it fun. Sub fusc is hilarious too. I'll try to post some photos reasonably soon.