CAPPING CARNIVAL.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19612, 7 May 1929, Page 13

CAPPING CARNIVAL.

PROCESSION TO-DAY. THE WORLD IN BURLESQUE.

To-day is the students' day out. At 9.30 a.m. the procession leaves the College and will proceed down Worcester street, round the Cathedral and again down Worcester street to Manchester street to the Clock Tower. The procession will come to tho Square via High street and Cashel street. During the morning the procession will visit the Farmers' Co-op. tea-rooms where, through the generosity of Dr. Tbacker, morning tea will be provided for the students. -

There are altogether about 25 stunts including Major Seaweed's ' r Golden Barrow," the Futility Poultry Club laying eggs at the rate of fifty per minute, a Chinese Not ion) ess army with catapults and stink-bombs complete, tho "I'm Alone," the City Abattoirs, the Lily Copplestone swim, a contingent of American bums and Chicago gangsters and gun-men, undressing at Cave Itoek. and "Joey Ward's" seventy million loan.

Last year the procession' attracted the largest crowd Christehurch had seen since the visit of the Duke of York and to-day, given good weather., it promises to attract an even •larger' crowd.

In the afternoon a more orderly procession, clad in sober gowns, will wend its way to Ballantyne's and partake of afternoon tea. Later on an informal dance will be held in Dixieland.

To crown the day's efforts, the first performance of the students' revue w-ill be held to-night. There are to be three main farces and several bright interludes and songs. College House are producing a play entitled "Hell." The scenes take place in the lower regions and deal with a Yankee's endeavour to turn Hell into a paying tourist resort. In the end he makes things into a worse Hell than ever before. There are several good songs by a chorus of Devils and a Devil's dance. Rolleston House are burlesquing Shakespeare's "Hamlet" under the pseudonym of "Omlctte." There are several song hits in this farce also and some very amusing scenes, particularly in the grave-yard scene. Another farce is entitled the "Best of the Bunch," which portrays several well-known political gentlemen. Tho College Crower3 are singing the choruses in this play. "The Growers" are singing really good part-songs such as "Drake's Drum'' and the "Laughing Song."

CONFERRING OF DEGREES. A NEW CEREMONIAL, A change is being made this year in the method of conferring degrees on the graduates of the. year at Canterbury College or. Friday. The graduates, instead of marching up and receiving their diplomas, with a handshake from the Chancellor or his representative, will "proceed in double tile to the foot of tho central steps, carrying their caps in their left hand, the "hood with the loop in the front over the left forearm. As each candidate is presented to the Deputy-Chan-cellor he or she will make a turn to the right, and will then be invested by him with the hood." "The new method will give rather more meaning to the word "capping" and should be more interesting for the audience. Dr. J. Hight, Rector of Canterbury College, who will act for the Chancellor in conferring the degrees, said that as far as he knew this new ritual had not been used in New Zealand before. In some English universities the graduates were handed their diplomas, but in others they were literally capped.