On the far right Ferran Adria, the deservedly famous chef, receives an honorary degree from the University of Barcelona.
Izzy had never considered that European full academic garb might differ from country to country, but he was interested to see that Spaniards add bold color and odd cuffs to their black robes as well as have their own silly hats instead of mortarboards or four-cornered tams. Despite the apparent levity of such attire, Izzy thinks too many of us has forgotten that at one time only three professions were entitled to wear the gown: the judge, the priest, and the scholar.
Hi Izzy–
Actually, every university has its own colorful regalia; Harvard is in Crimson with a jaunty little tam, for example, and some distinct disciplines have their own color coding on the stripes of that garb (engineering is orange, for example). European universities often have very, very flamboyant regalia that has varied little from their Medieval origins.
My own regalia is from the University of California has is dark navy blue with gold piping, a velvet tam, and a bright gold tassel. I wear it whenever I can. I mean, think about it: how often do you get to wear a gold tassel when you are not a stripper?
Comment by Chaser — December 31, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Chaser,
Which UC are you from? I’m an alum of Santa Cruz and we have lots of fun colours also. I assumed Santa Cruz is this way b/c it was structured after English universities.
Comment by Ninjarina — January 14, 2008 @ 7:42 pm