Speak protest at Oxford Uni honorary degree ceremony

It was the honorary degree ceremony for [tag]Oxford[/tag] University this morning at the Sheldonian Theatre – called for one reason or another, The [tag]Encaenia[/tag] Ceremony.

I have to confess I haven’t heard of any of those getting their honorary degrees, which is a blessing I suppose as it means they comes from academia and aren’t the usual TV presenters who frankly undermine the entire idea of universities by accepting degrees.

According to the Uni, “leading scientists, prize-winning writers, a historian and a senior university administrator are among the international group of eight men and women who are set to receive honorary degrees from Oxford University this year”. You can read who they are here.

So anyway, I turned up to get a few snaps of the ceremony – which comprises of dons and so on strolling out of Brasenose College around [tag]Radcliffe[/tag] Square, into the back of the Bodleian and then into the back of the Sheldonian Theatre for the ceremony. Although I understand it is usually out of Jesus College, along Turl Street and then down and around Radcliffe Camera. The reason for the change in plan – and for police-manned barricades all around the square, preventing anyone from getting close to the march was, it seems, [tag]Speak[/tag].

Yes, the [tag]animal rights[/tag] group were here again, chanting “Stop the Oxford animal lab” ad naeseum, standing in front of the Bridge of Sighs and flanked, as ever, by Her Majesty’s Constabulary. You could hear the chanting, but as the attendees strolled into the back of the Sheldonian – a carefully judged distance from the protestors, only a few looked across at the noise.

There were 25 protestors and I’m not entirely sure how they weren’t breaking the court injunction against them. And they had megaphones. But leader Mel Broughton wasn’t there. It was a pretty small protest, the only interesting thing really that some French students on an Oxford trip stood to watch and started joining in and giggling before being escorted away by their teacher.

And then I came back home to get lunch as I couldn’t be bothered to hang around in the vague hope that some kind of confrontation would kick off.