A torchlight procession

Well, this weekend was highly uneventful, especially compared to last weekend. I'm not even sure I could tell you what I did the past few days (but here's a hint: it wasn't much). Today was an interesting day though, because we got to participate in a University tradition that occurs only once every three years. This year, a new Rector of the University was elected. They are chosen directly by the students to serve as the head of the University Court (the supreme governing body of the University) for three years. In the past, people as varied as Rudyard Kipling, Andrew Carnegie, J.M. Barrie and John Stuart Mill have been elected to the position. Originally, the person elected was supposed to be one of "great national or international distinction who would be installed with much celebration but was seldom seen again in St Andrews", according to the school website, but this has changed over time, especially since the 1960s. Today, the student body aims to elect a person who will promote their interests to the University Court. Our new Rector, Kevin Dunion, will take on the role tomorrow after an official ceremony, but today marked the fun part of the tradition.

The day before their installation, the new Rector arrives at the University, traditionally in some spectacular or odd manner. In the past, methods have been as varied as the Rector getting himself shipped by post or riding up onto the beach in a historical landing vessel from World War II. Famous comedian and former Rector John Cleese apparently arrived carrying a pig. I still haven't gotten the full story on that. (He later went on to dramatically change the post of Rector, making changes such as making the role of Assessor, who can act in the Rector's stead in meetings, into a position for a student, elected by the whole student body. This granted direct access and representation to the student body for the first time in over 500 years). Kevin arrived today pedaling a vintage bicycle ice cream cart from Janetta's Ice Cream Parlor in St. Andrews. He brought some ice cream to hand out, and was even dressed in a red apron and straw hat over a white shirt and black slacks. After his arrival, he participated in the Rectorial Drag, where he rides around town from pub to pub in a carriage drawn by students. Along the way, he is met in these pubs by students of the university, in order to spend some time with the people who have elected him.

Later at night, there is a torchlight procession from the center of the school down to the pier that stretches out into the North Sea. The procession was quite a sight, with hundreds of students showing up. Most of them were wearing the traditional St. Andrews robes, with red for Arts and Sciences students and black for Divinity students. The robes are interesting, as they are worn differently for each class. Freshmen wear them normally, but as you progress through years, you wear your robes further and further off your shoulders, so seniors wind up with theirs around their elbows. My friends and I were originally packed into the middle of the crowd, but Kelsey and I managed to sneak around the side up to the front. We weren't fast enough to get a torch, as there were very few, but as we walked in the procession, we both spotted broken torches on the ground and snatched those up. Once we had them lit off of other people's torches, you couldn't even tell they were broken. As our torches put us in the minority, we were a novelty. I don't even know how many people borrowed our torches to take a picture for the night. And even more pictures were taken of us by people we don't know. Events like that gave the night a really strong feeling of unity among the university students, which I'm sure is the main purpose of the procession. It was definitely worth being here for.

Tomorrow is the official Rectorial Installation, which my professors keep joking sounds like a painful medical procedure. It's actually just the ceremony that instates Kevin into his role for the next three years. The event is free to attend, but it has limited seating, so I decided to leave the tickets for students that actually go here. Instead, I'm taking advantage of the fact that all afternoon classes are cancelled by going with three friends to the University Travel Services, the travel agent just for students, to talk to them about our plans for spring break. The four of us have planned out a trip for our two week Easter Break that looks to be absolutely fantastic. I have to leave a bit early because Mom and Dad will be coming to Scotland to visit me during that time, but before I come back here to see them, the plan is to go to Germany, Austria and Italy-- Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Venice and Rome. After I leave, the girls are continuing on to Florence and Sienna, then flying back out of Pisa, but I'll be there for most of the trip.

We are really excited. The four of us all did separate research on transportation methods, and we've gotten the whole trip planned for a few hundred dollars. And that's without any help from the travel services people. Tomorrow, we're going to see if they can get us even better deals than the ones we've found, so with any luck, our trip will cost even less. It's going to be great to actually see the mainland, because while I've been to Europe before, I've never left the British Isles and Ireland. Getting to see some of the rest of it was one of my goals for the term.