Students can no longer stand Oxford ritual of rising in silence as dons enter dining hall
St Catherine’s told that formal hall custom could put off poorer applicants from applying to college
Camilla Turner
Greg Ritchie
AN OXFORD college is abandoning the tradition of standing to address the Master at formal dinners in the name of diversity.
St Catherine’s junior common room (JCR) has ruled that from now on, students will make a “personal decision” as to whether they stand and stay silent when senior dons enter the dining hall.
Students argued that the custom, whereby students stand up and wait in silence while the College Master and those dining at his table file in, risks putting potential students off applying to Oxford.
Formal hall, a three-course dinner that is served to students by waiters, takes place every night at St Catherine’s. Students are allowed to dress casually which differs from other colleges, many of which require attendees to wear their gowns.
Alex Townsend-teague, a second year mathematics and computer science student, called for a formal negotiation with the college about allowing students to remain seated as senior tutors enter the hall for formal dinners.
According to the minutes of a St Catherine’s JCR meeting last week, he explained that the idea arose from discussions among students about the popularity of formal hall.
“A lot of people said they weren’t a fan of standing up when the Master comes in,” he said.
“I find it very hard that we stand up, pay respects, and stand in silence for another human being to walk in … [it is] wrong to have to pay such deference to another adult.”
He added that it almost put him off applying, stating: “[I] can’t imagine I’m the only person who feels that way.”
St Catherine’s, which was founded in 1962, counts Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, John Paul Getty, the petrol magnate and Lord Peter Mandelson, the Labour peer, among its alumni. With its motto, Nova et Vetera meaning “things both new and old”, it has long enjoyed a liberal outlook and became one of the first colleges to admit women in 1974.
Mr Townsend-teague argued that the common room’s stance should be formally articulated to the college authorities in order to make the practise of sitting down “acceptable”, adding: “If you sit now, you are making a point.”
Students eventually voted in favour of a motion to inform the college “that students will be making a personal decision whether to stand or sit, silent or not, when the tutors walk into the hall”.
One third-year student at the college welcomed the move, saying: “St Catherine’s
‘I find it very hard that we stand up, pay respects, and stand in silence for another human being to walk in’
is meant to be a modern and progressive college.
“I was surprised when I first arrived that it still had old and elitist traditions like this, which could put off applicants from poorer backgrounds.”
Another finalist added: “I don’t think not standing up is disrespectful to the fellows, it’s not intended to be a snub to them.
“It’s obviously better if more people feel more comfortable applying so it seems like a good thing to do.”
Earlier this month, the president of a different Oxford college demanded that octopus be removed from the menu as part of a drive to make disadvantaged students feel more “comfortable”.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, the head of Somerville, said she wanted to “change the culture” of the college to make sure it is “welcoming for all”.
The Labour peer told how after receiving a complaint from a first-year student about an octopus terrine dish, she instructed Somerville’s catering staff to replace it with a less adventurous alternative.