For those (like me) who suspected this was something to do with being a mother, matriculation is the ceremony the University requires you to go through in order to be a student there. Back in the day, before widespread secondary education, it was the entrance exam. Now, it's a chance to prat about in robes for the day...
1. I'd forgotten how much I hate bow-ties.
2. Two people told me I looked "dapper/carried off the robes look". And I was told I looked very attractive. Although the last one was by another guy...
3. Given the apparent intelligence of Oxford students, it's very hard to get them to get in a line and walk anywhere.
4. Freshers are definitely getting younger.
5. Robes should be reintroduced for teachers, if nothing else to send small children flying as they billow behind you.
6. The Sheldonian Theatre must be horrendously impractical for any real plays.
7. There's no need to do the important bit in Latin. It means only Classicists and Catholic theologians have any real idea of what's going on.
8. It also means I could have agreed to anything and wouldn't know...
9. Any event which dictates the type of socks to be worn is clearly more trouble than it's worth.
10. 'Soft cap' is code for 'Tudor bishop hat'.
11. Why do you get given a mortarboard you're not really supposed to wear?
12. This event is clearly kept going largely for the benefit of tourists.
13. I tried to convince someone we were sorted into colleges by wearing a hat which told us where we should be. Nearly succeeded...
14. Group photos are hard to organise.
15. This is greatly complicated when you add robes and unworn headgear.
16. Mortarboards are still good for storing cake in (proving my BA and MA weren't complete wastes of time...)
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