Scholars Admission Ceremony

It’s long overdue, so I guess I’m going to write something about it. But first, introduction: I got to be a Junior Scholar because I got a first in the exams. I can lose this next year if I don’t get a first again. To be a Senior Scholar, on the other hand, there are two alternatives. You can either get into the top 5 in the university (in your course and your year), which two friends of mine had done though it’s fiendishly difficult, or you can get a first two years in a row, which I’m aiming for.

There’s nothing much to the ceremony, actually. We had to dress up a bit (well, a lot; I finally learnt how to wear a clip-on bow tie, heh heh) and stand in the chapel waiting for our names to be announced. Then, the Master of the college said “By the authority given to me, I admit you as a Senior/Junior Scholar” or something like that. We then shake hands with the Master and made our way to the Master’s Lodge where we had cheesesticks and drinks. I don’t know what the significance is but it’s sort of a tradition where they serve you cheesesticks in the Lodge. I had this last year as well when the freshers were invited for a drink with the Master.

I went to the Jesus Christ iftar after that wearing my ceremonial attire. I felt proud =)

I’m sure there’s a patch of grass somewhere that only scholars and fellows can walk on, sort of like a special privilege, but I can’t tell precisely where yet.

This is the book that they gave us after the ceremony. Click on the picture. Notice anything odd about it?

Did you notice it?

Apparently, it’s actually correct grammatically. I don’t really have a proper explanation for it yet, so I won’t even try. But it’s interesting that we learnt these sorts of things in Cambridge. Last year, I learnt that the correct word for typesetting is actually fount. Then Microsoft (or whoever it was) changes it to font but some of the professors here still use fount and font is considered a spelling error, unless, the professor said, “…you can produce a valid American passport”. I thought that was funny.

Yaz.