None of my students are present — they all usually graduate in December — but the summer graduation ceremonies bring a last burst of life to the campus before it really shuts down for high summer. Not that there were any attendees yet present this morning when I took this shot. Not much light in Manchester this morning but the seats have caught a dim flicker.
Congratulations to the summer graduates of the UoM, who certainly had fair weather to mark their achievement, although I was not present at this (or any) ceremony this year. Most of my students graduate in December. The shot also gets in because of the mild comedy value, you see what I mean, I’m sure. Or maybe it’s the Watchmen reference. I love Watchmen.
Couldn’t take lots of photos at this happy event because I had an official role to play: it would not have done to have been snapping away from up on the stage while reading out the names of the many graduates celebrating their achievements this evening. (Reading the names out is a harder job than it looks, I can assure you.) This was the best shot to encapsulate the most important thing about the day however – it makes people happy.
I would say, somebody please tell our government that higher education remains a public good, but we have done so, and they don’t care. Very soon Fei, and I, will sod off to work and study in a country which still values the notion of higher education as something which benefits everyone, not just the student. And we will take all the expertise and economic gains that it represents with us. Their loss. I hope it never happens, but we teeter on the edge here in the UK system, right now.
Today I was the University of Manchester’s representative at the graduation ceremony of our partner, the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. Like all graduates these guys have worked very hard. Like all of us they face an uncertain future, but hey, that’s what futures are. Good luck to them all. This was a good day.
Being 42 