The Rainbow Tour

May 22, 2012

The University of Utrecht was founded in 1632. Its symbol is the sun, which shines light on justice. On Tuesday morning, I donned my borrowed “toga” (see prior posting) to examine a student on his Ph.D. thesis. On my previous three PhD examinations in Holland I had examined female students, who had all worn beautiful dresses for their ceremonies. Apparently, however, the real tradition is to wear tuxedo and tails! You can see in the photo how nice the candidate (Peter) looks (shown here with Lieve) and his clothing added to the formality of the occasion.

Note that the gown I am wearing has a rainbow stripe on the sleeve, which is a nod to the sun symbol of the university. Each university in Holland has certain symbols on the gowns to distinguish them from Leiden’s, which are a somber black. I had to put on a white collar over my gown, which made me feel a little bit like Ruth Bader Ginsburg!

The Rector, who presided over the ceremony, wore a heavy silver chain with medals displaying many interesting symbols.  My job is that the thesis defense is called the “opponent.” I have to read the entire thesis and ask the candidate questions about it, including follow-up questions. It is like a cross-examination in a courtroom, except that we are all wearing costumes. After the successful thesis defense we had a reception in the 15^th century courtyard known as the Pandhof. The beautiful plants contrasted with the grey stone architecture.