St Andrews Traditions - Will You Fall Victim to the Curse of Patrick Hamilton??
So St Andrews is over 600 years old. The third oldest university in the English speaking world and like everything that's 600 years old, it has a history. And from history, it's not uncommon to find traditions. St Andrews has a lot. Some are a bit weird but they make St Andrews the unique experience it is.
The Red Gowns
Perhaps the most visible of St Andrews traditions is the Red Undergraduate Gown. These have been worn by students in St Andrews for years. They used to be compulsory but are now an optional garment often only worn for special occasions such as church, pier walks, hall photos, or the Gaudie.
The way in which someone wears their Red Gown will tell you what year of their studies they are in. First years (so freshers pay attention to this one!) wear it fully on, with it up over both shoulders. Second years (such as myself) wear it slightly off both shoulders. Third years will wear it fully off one shoulder (left for arts, right for sciences). Fourth year students will wear it fully off both shoulders. This may seem like a lot but seeing the procession of students in red gowns along the pier is quite a sight.
Pier Walks and the Gaudie
Speaking of processions along the pier. Pier Walks are a tradition inspired by John Honey, who saved the crew of a ship that ran aground off the East Sands in 1800. On the 30th of April, students take part in a torchlit procession along the pier called the Gaudie before the May Dip the next morning (more on that later). Unfortunately I wasn't able to take part in the Gaudie this year because of a job interview but I know a lot of people who said it was great fun.
Throughout the rest of the year, pier walks take place on Sundays at noon after church. They are of course optional and are open to all students regardless of religion. On the move in weekend there will be a Pier Walk and hall committees will most likely lead you to the quad as a group from halls for the first Pier Walk of the year.
May Dip
I alluded to this before so I suppose I should explain what the May Dip is. This is perhaps one of the more insane traditions but is a lot of fun to do. At dawn on the first of May, students gather on the East Sands and run into the North Sea as a way to cleanse their academic sins (that can be anything from wearing your gown wrong to falling victim to the curse of Patrick Hamilton) and as a way to gain good luck in your exams. People do it in a variety of fashions from shorts and t-shirts to full on skinny dipping (you risk It's normally preceded by a night of partying (most people drink but not compulsory). It's not uncommon to do an all nighter for this tradition but most people aren't really functional for the rest of the day (I speak from experience). The May Dip is a lot of fun (if bloody freezing) and I for one am very glad I did it.
The Curse of Patrick Hamilton
In the 16th century, it wasn't unheard of for people to be burnt at the stake for their religious beliefs (don't worry, St Andrews has moved past this I promise). One such victim of this was Patrick Hamilton who was burnt at the stake for his Protestant beliefs in 1592. The site of his rather excruciating sounding execution is marked by the PH initials in the pavement (or sidewalk for any Americans) outside Sallies Quad. It's said that any student of the University who dares to step on the PH will be bound by the curse of Patrick Hamilton to fail their degree - not a pleasant eventuality. Whether there's any truth to the curse I don't know but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And if you do happen to step on the PH then you might want to consider doing May Dip.
Academic Families
If returning students have infiltrated all the freshers chats like last year (I'm not blameless. I'm in the Physics chat) then many of you will have heard of the Academic Family already. This is a sort of informal mentoring system in which returning students (normally 3rd years but sometimes 2nd, 4th, or 5th years) "adopt" first year students as their Academic Children. This is a good way to make friends in your year but also to get to know older students at the uni as a lot of academic parents will hold joint events with other families (often with their friends). There is no formal way to get adopted into an academic family but it normally isn't too hard. A lot of people are adopted in freshers week at the union, or through society events. I myself was adopted at the S Club 3 night in Freshers. I'm not saying it's the best way to be adopted. I got lucky and my academic mum is great but there are other ways. A lot of my friends met their academic parents through societies and sports clubs they joined. Don't worry though, if you want to be adopted, you'll probably manage to be adopted pretty quickly. Just talk to people and you'll find prospective parents lining up to adopt you.
For most people. The biggest thing they'll do with their academic family is Raisin Weekend. This consists of Raisin Sunday - where families get together and take part in games and scavenger hunts (it's a lot more fun than I just made it sound - there is a lot of alcohol involved, some of which you'll never touch again. I know I won't drink Bailey's again for a long time) - and Raisin Monday, where your parents will dress you up in costumes (my siblings and I were the Von Trapp family from "Te Sound of Music") and send you to Lower College Lawn for a giant foam fight.
I'll explain a bit more about Academic Families and Raisin Weekend in a future post so this concludes a quick look at some of the weird and wonderful traditions that make St Andrews such a unique university.
The Red GownsPerhaps the most visible of St Andrews traditions is the Red Undergraduate Gown. These have been worn by students in St Andrews for years. They used to be compulsory but are now an optional garment often only worn for special occasions such as church, pier walks, hall photos, or the Gaudie.
The way in which someone wears their Red Gown will tell you what year of their studies they are in. First years (so freshers pay attention to this one!) wear it fully on, with it up over both shoulders. Second years (such as myself) wear it slightly off both shoulders. Third years will wear it fully off one shoulder (left for arts, right for sciences). Fourth year students will wear it fully off both shoulders. This may seem like a lot but seeing the procession of students in red gowns along the pier is quite a sight.
Pier Walks and the Gaudie
Speaking of processions along the pier. Pier Walks are a tradition inspired by John Honey, who saved the crew of a ship that ran aground off the East Sands in 1800. On the 30th of April, students take part in a torchlit procession along the pier called the Gaudie before the May Dip the next morning (more on that later). Unfortunately I wasn't able to take part in the Gaudie this year because of a job interview but I know a lot of people who said it was great fun.
Throughout the rest of the year, pier walks take place on Sundays at noon after church. They are of course optional and are open to all students regardless of religion. On the move in weekend there will be a Pier Walk and hall committees will most likely lead you to the quad as a group from halls for the first Pier Walk of the year.
May Dip
I alluded to this before so I suppose I should explain what the May Dip is. This is perhaps one of the more insane traditions but is a lot of fun to do. At dawn on the first of May, students gather on the East Sands and run into the North Sea as a way to cleanse their academic sins (that can be anything from wearing your gown wrong to falling victim to the curse of Patrick Hamilton) and as a way to gain good luck in your exams. People do it in a variety of fashions from shorts and t-shirts to full on skinny dipping (you risk It's normally preceded by a night of partying (most people drink but not compulsory). It's not uncommon to do an all nighter for this tradition but most people aren't really functional for the rest of the day (I speak from experience). The May Dip is a lot of fun (if bloody freezing) and I for one am very glad I did it.
The Curse of Patrick Hamilton
In the 16th century, it wasn't unheard of for people to be burnt at the stake for their religious beliefs (don't worry, St Andrews has moved past this I promise). One such victim of this was Patrick Hamilton who was burnt at the stake for his Protestant beliefs in 1592. The site of his rather excruciating sounding execution is marked by the PH initials in the pavement (or sidewalk for any Americans) outside Sallies Quad. It's said that any student of the University who dares to step on the PH will be bound by the curse of Patrick Hamilton to fail their degree - not a pleasant eventuality. Whether there's any truth to the curse I don't know but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And if you do happen to step on the PH then you might want to consider doing May Dip.
Academic Families
If returning students have infiltrated all the freshers chats like last year (I'm not blameless. I'm in the Physics chat) then many of you will have heard of the Academic Family already. This is a sort of informal mentoring system in which returning students (normally 3rd years but sometimes 2nd, 4th, or 5th years) "adopt" first year students as their Academic Children. This is a good way to make friends in your year but also to get to know older students at the uni as a lot of academic parents will hold joint events with other families (often with their friends). There is no formal way to get adopted into an academic family but it normally isn't too hard. A lot of people are adopted in freshers week at the union, or through society events. I myself was adopted at the S Club 3 night in Freshers. I'm not saying it's the best way to be adopted. I got lucky and my academic mum is great but there are other ways. A lot of my friends met their academic parents through societies and sports clubs they joined. Don't worry though, if you want to be adopted, you'll probably manage to be adopted pretty quickly. Just talk to people and you'll find prospective parents lining up to adopt you.
For most people. The biggest thing they'll do with their academic family is Raisin Weekend. This consists of Raisin Sunday - where families get together and take part in games and scavenger hunts (it's a lot more fun than I just made it sound - there is a lot of alcohol involved, some of which you'll never touch again. I know I won't drink Bailey's again for a long time) - and Raisin Monday, where your parents will dress you up in costumes (my siblings and I were the Von Trapp family from "Te Sound of Music") and send you to Lower College Lawn for a giant foam fight.
I'll explain a bit more about Academic Families and Raisin Weekend in a future post so this concludes a quick look at some of the weird and wonderful traditions that make St Andrews such a unique university.
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