Convocation
Today, I attended a friend's convocation (which incidently is the 442th of Mcmaster) who got his Masters. The whole ceremony was pretty interesting, so I thought that I should write something on it. Of course if you have been through a convocation before then there isn't much essential difference but the thing I thought that is unique and different from the Singapore way/style is the carrying out of the rituals.
Apparently the ritual had been a tradition with a history of hundreds of years dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The whole ceremony proceeds as follows (as much as I remember).
(1) Guest will get seated and then the graduands are ushered into the hall. The graduands are all in plain black gowns except those who will be confered their Ph.D, where they are in brownish-red gown (I think...I am not good with colour).
(2) After the graduands have taken their seat, the president (of the school), the chancellor and his "company" will enter. All will stand and welcome them in. They will be seated on the stage. An interesting thing here is the person leading this group is so-called the Babel. He will also be carrying the University's Mace. There are two meanings behind this ritual. One is that in the early days, Bedels were functionaries and maces were weapons then. Thus the action where the Bedel carries the University Mace directly in front of the chancellor has the symbolic meaning of protecting him. The other purposes of the Mace is that it is the symbol of the authority of the University Senate to confer degrees, this authority being exercised by the chancellor.
(3) The chancellor sits on a massive oak ceremonial chair. There is a distinction between the way he confers degrees. Those to receive a Bachelor's degree kneel in pairs as he clasps their hands in his; a candidate for a Master's degree merely bends to accept the chancellor's hand; and the chancellor and the President stand to confer a doctorate. And when conferring the degree, the thing he will say is as follows: "(name of the candidate) I admit you to the (Bachelor/Master/Doctorate) degree of McMaster University. I hereby grant you all the rights and privileges pertaining to that degree". It seems that these words have been said to every graduands right ever since the founding of McMaster in 1887.
(4) There are also conferring of awards and speech from some of the people. But I thought the President gave quite an interesting speech. It's not the type of speech you will usually hear in Singapore in this kind of situations. Maybe this is just part of their culture. The speech is in a sense broader in aspects not just limiting to the usual stuffs like job aspects etc.
(5) Finally when everything is over, the Canada National Anthem is being sung. This is the first time I heard the anthem. I must say it is a nice song.
(6) After which the usual things happen, the president (of the school), the chancellor and his "company" will take their leave, followed by the graduands and the guests. From here on, it's photo-taking time and things like that la.
Apparently the ritual had been a tradition with a history of hundreds of years dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The whole ceremony proceeds as follows (as much as I remember).
(1) Guest will get seated and then the graduands are ushered into the hall. The graduands are all in plain black gowns except those who will be confered their Ph.D, where they are in brownish-red gown (I think...I am not good with colour).
(2) After the graduands have taken their seat, the president (of the school), the chancellor and his "company" will enter. All will stand and welcome them in. They will be seated on the stage. An interesting thing here is the person leading this group is so-called the Babel. He will also be carrying the University's Mace. There are two meanings behind this ritual. One is that in the early days, Bedels were functionaries and maces were weapons then. Thus the action where the Bedel carries the University Mace directly in front of the chancellor has the symbolic meaning of protecting him. The other purposes of the Mace is that it is the symbol of the authority of the University Senate to confer degrees, this authority being exercised by the chancellor.
(3) The chancellor sits on a massive oak ceremonial chair. There is a distinction between the way he confers degrees. Those to receive a Bachelor's degree kneel in pairs as he clasps their hands in his; a candidate for a Master's degree merely bends to accept the chancellor's hand; and the chancellor and the President stand to confer a doctorate. And when conferring the degree, the thing he will say is as follows: "(name of the candidate) I admit you to the (Bachelor/Master/Doctorate) degree of McMaster University. I hereby grant you all the rights and privileges pertaining to that degree". It seems that these words have been said to every graduands right ever since the founding of McMaster in 1887.
(4) There are also conferring of awards and speech from some of the people. But I thought the President gave quite an interesting speech. It's not the type of speech you will usually hear in Singapore in this kind of situations. Maybe this is just part of their culture. The speech is in a sense broader in aspects not just limiting to the usual stuffs like job aspects etc.
(5) Finally when everything is over, the Canada National Anthem is being sung. This is the first time I heard the anthem. I must say it is a nice song.
(6) After which the usual things happen, the president (of the school), the chancellor and his "company" will take their leave, followed by the graduands and the guests. From here on, it's photo-taking time and things like that la.
posted by MF, Lim at 10:47 PM
1 Comments:
Looking at the way you describe the convocation, it seems like they value the graduands. Not like Singapore where everything work like a conveyor belt, just take ur degree and go!
Moreover after reading what you have written, it seems more prestigious to get the degree at McMaster than to get a degree in Singapore. :P
Post a Comment
<< Home