Matriculation (aka, the sorting hat)

I wanted to wait until today to write this post. Yesterday was matriculation, or the day that I was officially made a member of the University of Oxford. For those who have watched Harry Potter, think of the sorting hat day. Even though I have been attending class for the past week, I was not an official Oxford man until today.

I had heard that the ceremony was short and somewhat anti-climatic. This low expectation definitely helped me to be pleasantly surprised with how beautiful and meaningful the ceremony was.

New students walking into the gates of the Sheldonian

The ceremony of matriculation goes back to the earliest days at the University. Before the use of standardized applications and tests, the University would administer an oral exam to each individual who was beginning to see if they were intelligent enough to study at Oxford. The exam was given in Latin and it ended with the most senior college dean asking the vice chancellor of the University of Oxford to formally accept the students as members of the University of Oxford and the vice chancellor either agreeing to do so or rejecting some on the grounds of their lack of intellect.  Luckily they do not do that anymore, because we are still not sure how I was able to get in!

Vice chancellor of the University of Oxford and the mace-bearer

Dressed in traditional subfusc

Today, the ceremony consists of only the last part. Around 600 students gathered into the Sheldonian Theatre, an iconic site of Oxford, dressed in traditional subfusc (robes, hats, black suit). After a few minutes of waiting, the door suddenly opened and in walked the mace-bearer and the vice-chancellor of the University. The group stood up and was silent as the vice-chancellor walked to his chair and was approached by the head dean. A short conversation in Latin followed in which the dean asked us to be officially made members of the University and the vice-chancellor accepting us as members of Oxford. The ceremony was fairly intense for two lines of Latin, but Oxford is an old school and has many traditions that make little sense. This sense of build up for such a short event was similar to a sealing ceremony where the event only last five minutes but the entire production takes quite a bit of time.

Following the latin, the vice-chancellor, a gentleman named AndrewHamilton, gave a great speech about what it means to be a member of Oxford. He spoke about the need to give back while we are here, being changed by the University, and the need to be challenged in order to progress. He has been an immensely popular vice-chancellor and is retiring to January, so we are his last group to ever matriculate.

And just like that the ceremony was done. I was speaking with some college mates later and we were discussing this event. I learned that no matter how many times you come to Oxford, you are only able to matriculate once.

Now as an official member of the University, not much has changed I guess. I still have loads of reading to do, rowing, planning, and other great activities. The ward has been especially engaging and we have enjoyed being here greatly. I love you all and hope you are doing well!