Gaudy
Gaudy or gaudie
Universities in England
Durham University
At
University of Oxford
At the
Gaudies generally involve a celebratory
University of Reading
Wantage Hall, one of the university's halls of residence, holds an annual Freshers Gaudie, which is a legacy from when the University of Reading was an extension college of Christ Church, Oxford University.
Universities in Scotland
University of Aberdeen
At the
Universities of Dundee and St Andrews
At the
These evenings are followed by Raisin Monday which is used by the junior students to thank the academic parents (usually in a ritualised fashion) for gaudie night. The junior student provides a gift for the senior student, and in turn receives a "receipt" from the senior – this receipt can be an item of clothing such as a hat or costume, or something challenging to carry, such as a car tyre or a lavatory seat, and the receipt is worn or carried by the bejant or bejantine until midday. Raisin Monday typically happens at some point in the early winter of the first semester.
Similar traditions remain at Dundee University's erstwhile parent institution, the University of St Andrews, but are however incorporated into a Raisin Weekend and the term gaudie night is not used for the first night. Many traditions surround this event including Raisin receipts in Latin, a foam fight, and Raisin strings given by the academic mother to be hung on the Bejant/Bejantine's academic gown.
St Andrews has a separate ceremony known as the gaudie which involves a gowned torchlight procession and singing of the Gaudeamus in memory of a student, John Honey who risked his life in 1800 to save survivors of a shipping accident offshore.[3]
Schools
- At St Edward's School, Oxford and Radley College in Oxfordshire, gaudy is the name given to the end-of-year celebrations; occasionally taking the form of an evening event.[4]
Cultural references
The
The Gaudy (1974), set in an unnamed Oxford college, is the first novel in the A Staircase in Surrey quintet by J. I. M. Stewart.
References
- ^ Aberdeen University Students' Association – GAUDIE
- ^ Polly Curtis (16 May 2003). "MPs debate future of Scotland's oldest student paper". The Guardian.
- ^ "katekennedyclub". Archived from the original on 24 March 2010.
- ^ "Archived copy of RADLEY COLLEGE: NOTICES JULY 2007 (does not actually mention gaudy)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2010.