college appoints a crew of eight
strong scull pullers or oarsmen and one small coxswain or
steersman to pilot a long narrow boat called a skiff or shell.
The coxswain calls the strokes and is generally the coach and
commander of the crew. Unlike in a canoe, the pullers face
backwards, and the one nearest the coxswain is called the "stroke
oar", because all the other oars watch him and match his stroke.
The racing takes place on the river which runs through Oxford,
and since because of the oars the river is too narrow for normal
passing as in most other kinds of racing, the race is sometimes
with just two boats, one ahead of the other. If the prow of the
second boat touches the stern of the first boat, the second boat
is considered the winner and advances in ranking. If the first
boat rows the length of the course without being bumped, it is
considered the winner and maintains its ranking. Sometimes the
winning crewmen put their little coxswain in the boat and parade
him through the streets of the town. At the end of the season the
honor of "Head of the River" belongs to the boat that has not
been defeated and is presumably the fastest, whereas the slowest
boat, Tail End Charlie, has been defeated by all the other
colleges. For another description of boating on the Thames in the
nineteenth century, see the humorous travel-log "Three Men in a
Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog" by Jerome K. Jerome, written in
1889, which also mentions the dangers of the lasher at the
Sandford Lock.

Students were required to wear the traditional student's gown and
mortarboard cap to classes. Professors wore floppy caps and
similar gowns with indications of their rank on the sleeves,
Doctor, Master or Batchelor. This garb dates from the Middle
Ages, but is now only seen at Graduation Day and special
university occasions, and the gown has survived in some church
choirs. A professor was also called a don, and graduate
assistants were called fellows or servitors.

The "tufts" or students from the nobility or titled families were
a privileged set, paid double fees and were not required to do
much of anything academically. Gentlemen-commoners were from the
untitled but wealthy families and also paid double fees. A few
students from poorer social classes were accepted if they had
good references. "Town and Gown" refers to the animosity between
the local permanent residents of the town and the rowdy students,
occasionally descending into actual