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The Spike or Victoria University College Review September 1927

[introduction]

"Glory and loveliness have pass'd away."

—Keats.

Although it is a debatable point whether Keats in his dedicatory Sonnet to Leigh Hunt was referring specifically to capping ceremonies, nevertheless his melancholy words may stand as epitaph on the grave stone of Capping, 1927. Capping is over now; yet it cannot possibly fail to go down to history as one of the most extraordinary that has ever been held in any university the world over, no time or place excepted. Once upon a time, and indeed in some universities to-day, it was customary to regard Capping as the summit, crown and glory of the university year; to regard it, that is, as a period in which those who had long laboured in the search for light, should receive some measure of mead and honour for their success in gaining a first step in the direction of the Delectable Land; and as a period in which the thankless lot of undergraduates should find temporary surcease in dance, song and student gaiety. Alas, this is not now the case at Victoria. The old order passeth, with hardly a struggle or death-bed groan. Although the Representatives of Democracy swept away from university life such "useless" ceremonies as public conferment of degrees, yet they left it to the discretion of the various college councils to decide as to whether there should be held any forms of congratulatory ceremony in honour of the graduates of the year. Thus the way was left open for some retainment of old time forms and ceremonies. But the Victoria College Council, on some obscure ground, and also in direct opposition to the recommendation of its own Professorial Board proved itself deficient in both discretion and wisdom by holding such an emasculated ceremony in the College Library. And the result? ... One can but draw the veil and hope the Council is not yet too old to learn by experience.

Yet it would not be fair to the Council to lay all the odium upon its shoulders. Some should be reserved for the Students' Association. Is it far from the mark to suggest that had the Executive of the Students' Association shown itself to possess some modicum of that initiative, courage, resource and ability which one usually associates with a student Executive, it would still have been possible to celebrate capping of 1927 with some show of that student abandon which is usually one of the high lights of any capping proceedings? But what for instance, did the Executive do about the Extrav? Though in possession of an extrav. early in the year, no move was made until it was too late and thus the extrav., of which we had such high hopes, perished a miserable death. All the blame for this regrettable state of affairs was con page 5 veniently thrown upon the apathetic indifference of the student body. Again, what did the Executive do in regard to the Undergrads. Supper? Apparently took no move beyond a half hearted sounding of one or two caterers in town, and then, when they received an insulting rebuff from one of those so called "gentleman" profiteers, take things lying down and let everything drop. Would it have been impossible, one asks, to hold such a supper in the college gym'. Finally, what did the Executive do about the Capping Procession? Another mystery: though presumably they let themselves be brow beaten by the Professorial Board. In each and all of these instances, the Executive, by pursuing a firm and determined course, could have changed the capping of 1927 from a failure into a success. But nothing was done, or if anything was done, it ended in an inglorious and lamentable fiasco. Truly "glory and loveliness have pass'd away."

What inspired the above reflections was the thought of having to chronicle for "Spike" the capping celebrations of 1927. And as it is useless crying over spilt milk, possibly the best thing to do is to get on with the task. First then the evening given by the Graduates and Past Students' Association.