Academic tradition in Portugal

It has been a while since I finished undergrad, but I can still remember the sense of union that our academic traditions give us. Some of these traditions, present in most Universities in Portugal, started in Coimbra and have its origins in the 17th century. Back then, everyone used the same academic outfit - it was meant to be humble and warm, so that there were no visible differences among the student's social conditions. Things evolved so that eventually there was a distinction in the clothing - and the way of behaving - among different majors, years in school, etc. Nowadays, most of the tradition is still respected: university students still wear this uniform, called "traje académico", freshmen have to respect their elders and join in the praxe, and there are several academic groups. When their main activities are traditional folklore, "fado" and dances, they are called "tunas". These photos are from a performance of the "Tuna Feminina da Faculdade de Engenharia do Porto", in the ITW'08 conference, at the Palácio da Bolsa, in Porto.

(Porto, Portugal)