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50-615: Although student traditions and student lore in Portugal are much older and include features like the Praxe and the Latada , the first Queima das Fitas , or the ceremonial burning of the ribbons, was organized by the students of the University of Coimbra in the 1850s. The university is the oldest university of the country, and for many centuries it was the only one in Portugal. Coimbra's Queima das Fitas,

100-419: A cassock , black pants , a black straight tie or bowtie of the same colour, a black vest with a back buckle (If one wears the bowtie, the vest is excluded) and a simple white shirt, without motifs or cuff links , buttons of the same colour and one pocket on the left side, along with black classical shoes and a straight black cloak for men. Women's outfits are composed of white straight shirt, and like

150-521: A 4 meter wide by one and a half meter tall concrete wall to celebrate their victory. The wall end up collapsing in a few seconds, crushing to death three other Informatics Engineering male students between the ages of 18 and 21, that were standing at the bottom. The veteran students present were accused of homicide by negligence from the Public Ministry, but end up being absolved by the Braga Court. On

200-491: A NUTS 2 and 3 overlapped circumscription in the 2024 revision. It is part of the historical Estremadura Province . It includes the capital and prime city of Portugal, Lisbon ( Lisboa in Portuguese ). It is the main economical subregion of the country. It covers 1,376 km and it is the most populous and most densely populated Portuguese subregion (2,042,477 inhabitants and 1,483.6 inhabitants/km ). In spite of getting

250-691: A driver of the polytechnic, a van from the school was used in the process. In 2008, the students were convicted of the crimes of bodily harm and coercion. Other noted case happened in Bragança at the Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão of the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança . Other case involved a female student of the Instituto Piaget , a private higher education institution – in December 2008,

300-472: A little bit, and when they get to the Town Hall have to crawl on their hands and feet to walk by the mayor. Porto's Queima was the first to reborn after the 1974 revolution. In 1978 there was a first try with a Mini-Queima, with only a few faculties involved and having to stand fierce hostility. In 1979 a "Traditional Queima" was put up by an almost clandestine organising committee, gathering students from most of

350-523: A series of concerts and performances are held, turning Coimbra in a lively and vibrant city. It also includes a parade of the university students, sport activities, gala ball, and many other public events and traditions, such as the historical nighttime student fado serenade (Serenata Monumental) which happens in the stairs of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra for a crowd of thousands of students, tourists and other spectators. The Ribbon Burning festivities are

400-477: A series of concerts takes place on the Queimódromo, next to the city's park; here it is also a tradition for the students in the second last year to erect small tents where alcoholic beverages are sold in order to finance the trip that takes place during the last year of their course. During the parade through the city, different year students wear and play different parts: the graduates (the last year students) wear

450-403: A top-hat and a walking-cane, both the colour of their faculty; the sophomores wear the traditional costume with their capes fully crossed; the freshmen (who after being greeted by the mayor become sophomores) wear funny/silly outfits (usually with carnival props related to baby-costumes) the same colour as their faculty, sing songs as loud as they can, do some sort of group dances, usually get hazed

500-682: A violation of the so-called codes and values of the praxe. Hazing became a hot topic in Portugal in 2014, after the death of six students at Praia do Meco (Meco beach), Sesimbra , in December 2013. The president of the Associação Académica de Coimbra and the Dux Veteranorum of Coimbra (ruling body of the Praxe in Coimbra ) has described such incidents as a stain in its principles, and supports legal action being taken against perpetrators. One of

550-675: Is the Cortejo , a parade beginning in Alta (upper Coimbra, the university historic centre and home to the Rector's Office and the famous University tower) with the graduating students burning their grelo . The parade progresses down the hills of the Alta towards the Baixa (downtown Coimbra, near the river) with dozens of elaborately decorated floats , each in the color of their respective faculties, carrying placards with ironic criticisms alluding to certain teachers,

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600-514: The Portuguese Empire in the days of the authoritarian regime. The restarting of the celebrations took place in 1980, in the middle of an intense political controversy between left-wing students who opposed the celebration, and conservative students, who wanted to resume the practice. Such struggle took some time to heal, but the "Queima das Fitas" is now only contested by a small fringe of the more radical left-wing student movements. Nowadays,

650-537: The University of Coimbra were assaulted by older students, which created a strong wave of criticism inside the Associação Académica de Coimbra . In another case, eight freshmen had to hide from a mob of older students to avoid being hurt (incident which later resulted in police intervention). There are also instances where sexual acts are simulated between older students and freshmen, the older students taking

700-461: The initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities. Praxe is replicated by other higher education institutions across the country. Examples include Queima das Fitas and its parade, the Cortejo da Queima , the Festa das Latas and the Latada , where the freshmen walk throughout the streets with cans on their feet, and the ripping of the traditional academic suit of

750-542: The 14th century, when practiced by the clergy, which greatly influenced the design of the academic outfit, but it did not attain recognition until the practice spread to Coimbra, first being named the Investidas, in the 16th century, upon the establishment of the university. From Coimbra, the tradition spread into Lisbon and Porto in the 19th century, when those cities gained access to higher education, and students from those same cities transferred closer to home and brought

800-414: The 18th century, having maintained a very similar appearance to the original up until the 19th, when the more significant changes occurred, such as the shortening of the cassock and, by the end of the century, the definite presence of the long pants. There are some myths surrounding this outfit, such as the belief that the cloak should not be washed, because it represents the giving up of the memories of

850-507: The Queima das Fitas in the city, was acquitted of paying indemnification to the parents of the victim because no wrongdoing or fault was found on the part of FAP as temporary employer and organizer of the event. Praxe The Portuguese term praxe ( [ˈpɾaʃɨ] from the Greek πρᾶξις , praxis ) describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to

900-502: The Universidade Lusíada of Vila Nova de Famalicão would die from wounds resulting of massive trauma to his spine which the coroner would rule as having been dealt by a blunt object during a praxe event. Judicial proceedings would come to find that the university was guilty of not supervising such events on campus grounds and award the parents of the deceased student 90,000 euros. Two suspects were arraigned as defendants but in 2004

950-443: The academic life. This one in particular has been since clarified by Conselho de Veteranos of University of Coimbra (the council responsible to protect Praxe Académica) explaining students should actually wash it for hygienic purposes, and since historically students were recommended to look presentable while attending classes. The wearer can ask someone special to tear a little of their cloak, to symbolize that person's importance during

1000-436: The beer industry has become an important sponsor of Coimbra's Queima das Fitas, which has given still a wider projection to the festival, quite popular among young people from all around the country and even from Spain . During the festival's week groups of students from other universities, such as Lisbon or Porto , among thousands of other visitors, come to enjoy it. This growth in popularity has involved significant change to

1050-446: The big yearly celebration for the students and townspeople as well. The festivities run for a full week in May, beginning with the traditional nighttime fado serenade in the square of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra . The square is packed with students in their black capes and according to the ritual, studies are forgotten for a week of joy and all-night revelry. The high point of the festivities

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1100-514: The blessing of the students' briefcases, decorated with ribbons ("Fitas") of the colour of each faculty, a Charity Day where all revenue from the selling of small cardboard briefcases with poems (some original and cheerfully offered by poet Pedro Homem de Mello) was given to a charity institution, several balls, rallye-paper, Garraiada (mock-up bullfight with small calves) and, specially, a huge parade that attracted an assistance of more than 150,000 that blocked Porto's downtown for several hours, cheering

1150-404: The burning of the ribbons including an open-air Catholic mass for the students, a nighttime student serenade , a student parade through the streets of Lisbon and a music festival which have been always scheduled every year. Porto 's Queima das Fitas traces its origins to the beginning of the 1940s, and is a major event in the first week of May, before the beginning of the study period preceding

1200-456: The case would be closed due to insufficient evidence to proceed any further. On the night of 15 December 2013, six members of an academic troupe of the private Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias would drown after being caught by a rogue wave on the Meco beach with the sole survivor, João Gouveia, Dux Veteranorum of the praxe of Lusófona University, alleging temporary amnesia regarding

1250-528: The court required the Instituto Piaget to pay nearly 40,000 euros to the student. Among the sadistic practices sometimes found in praxe, specific humiliations of the freshmen by older students are the most common, such as by forcing them to perform large numbers of push ups, "kiss the ground", or stand in uncomfortable positions for prolonged amounts of time. There are also more extreme events, such as accounts of violence, for instance, when two freshmen from

1300-455: The educational system, national events and leaders. The parade is made up of thousands of "newly liberated" students set apart by their top hats and walking sticks. After the outbreak in 1969 (April 17) of a crisis opposing the students to the dictatorial government of Marcelo Caetano , the festivities, as well as all other manifestations of the academic traditions, were suspended by the students as an act of protest (decided on May 8, 1969). This

1350-461: The events, over allegations of the students having been caught by the wave while performing a hazing ritual related to praxe and academic tradition. João Gouveia would go on to be judged as to whether he was guilty of reckless endangerment. On 23 April 2014, during an in praxe course face off between Informatics Engineering students and Medicine students at Gualtar Campus, part of Universidade do Minho , four freshmen of Informatics Engineering climbed

1400-565: The events. Greater Lisbon Grande Lisboa ( European Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡɾɐ̃dɨ liʒˈβoɐ] ) or Greater Lisbon is a Portuguese NUTS II and III region and subregion. It was previously only a NUTS III subregion integrated in the Lisboa Region and, previously, in the Lisboa e Vale do Tejo until it was abolished at the January 2015 NUTS 3 revision. It was revived as both

1450-525: The festival, ever more professionalized, moving it a great distance away from its origins at the end of the 19th century. Students of more traditionalist or leftist sensibilities have occasionally decried this as an increased commercialization and commodification of their "mystique" and traditions. In Lisbon, higher education students enrolled at colleges and universities of Greater Lisbon area have also organized an Academic Week ( Semana Académica ) following many traditional events and cultural manifestations of

1500-402: The form of the active participant. Not participating in the praxe also warrants consequences to the freshman in question, such as not being able to participate in praxe-related traditions and activities and being actively discriminated from academic life, as freshmen are encouraged to set aside and discriminate those who are anti-praxe. In 2001, Diogo Macedo, a 4th year Architecture student of

1550-402: The heritage of the real academic traditions, usually in contrast of new practices instituted in younger universities and higher education schools. An increasingly larger number of institutions organize alternative initiation events for the freshmen based on solidarity activities and community work – it is called "Solidarity Praxis" ( Praxe Solidária ). The roots of the Praxe date back to

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1600-524: The main ingredients of Praxe . Older students tend to produce funny situations and jokes with the freshmen; giving a warm welcome to them through initiation rituals. Praxe usually occurs without the consent of the universities, which means, the students are usually responsible for creating and maintaining the praxe group together, with "Veterans" - the older students - planning the activities, rituals, traditions, gatherings, travels, meals, parties, etc, usually without any type of supervision, or knowledge, from

1650-433: The male one, without cuff links, a black jacket with two pockets, a skirt, equally black, black tie and stockings and low heeled shoes. The outfit, originally created for the students of the University of Coimbra , is a key part of the praxe symbolising equality, respect and humility. It originated from the original outfits monks wore, demonstrating the influence of the clergy on the education, which lasted up until

1700-470: The mottos of Praxe is Dura Praxis Sed Praxis ( Latin for the Praxe is harsh, but it is the Praxe , like dura lex sed lex ). These incidents have led to criticism against the Praxe, and the creation of student organizations against it. With the spread of higher education institutions throughout Portugal in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the concept of Praxe became different from university to university. Coimbra and Porto claim to maintain

1750-857: The name Grande Lisboa, the subregion did not take the entire area of the Lisbon metropolitan area , because it does not include the municipalities on the South bank of the Tagus river estuary, known as Península de Setúbal , which the term at times also applied to. The area is bordered in the North by the Centro Region , in the West by the Atlantic Ocean , in the East by the Ribatejo region and in

1800-545: The night of 23 September 2015 a female freshman of the Universidade do Algarve would end up being hospitalized in an alcoholic coma, after hazing rituals in Faro which involved burying the freshmen in the beach and forcing them to drink alcoholic beverages. After the event the university started an internal investigation to determine disciplinary procedures to those involved. The state prosecution proceeded to open an inquiry regarding

1850-715: The oldest and most famous, is organized by a students' commission formed by members of the students' union Associação Académica de Coimbra . Celebrating the end of graduation courses, symbolized by the ritual burning of the ribbons representing each faculty of the University of Coimbra (UC), it takes place at the second semester (starts on the first Friday of May at 00:00), being among the biggest student festivities in Europe . It lasts for eight days, one for each of UC's faculties: Humanities, Law, Medicine, Sciences and Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology and Education Sciences and Sports Sciences and Physical Education. During this period,

1900-602: The praxe and its customs with them. The Praxe is known everywhere in Portugal, being replicated inside higher education institutions of any kind and origin across the entire country. The process repeated itself, as more and more cities across the country had access to higher education, and today the traditions and costumes of the praxe are replicated nationwide, with each particular university or other higher education institution, having its own specific rituals and practices, and some praxe-related organizations have even attained international reach as well. The ritual burning of

1950-450: The public faculties: Engineering, Medicine, Economics, Pharmacy, Letters, Science. This team managed to frustrate the boycott efforts of left-wing students that opposed the celebration, and offered to the academy and the city the full traditional range of activities, that started with a Saturday to Sunday late night Serenade (starting at 00:01h), with traditional Coimbra Fado songs, in the courtyard of Porto's Cathedral. The programme included

2000-447: The ribbons of Queima das Fitas , the tradition of ripping and tearing of the newly graduates academic suit, the Festa das Latas with its Latada parade, the Cortejo da Queima parade of Queima das Fitas , among many other rituals, festivals and traditions, are examples of events which are associated with Praxe . Even though Coimbra's academic outfit is the traditional one and considered

2050-457: The school board, teachers, and other academic associations. In most Portuguese higher education institutions , girls and boys have some gender-separated rituals to preserve dignity and respect. Most of the freshmen's rituals are performed collectively in order to avoid open ground for abusers. However, the older students sometimes take the Praxe too far when the initiation rituals, jokes and traditions are degraded into humiliation and violence ,

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2100-528: The school year's last exams. The week comprehends 12 events, starting with the Monumental Serenata on Sunday, reaching its peak with the Cortejo Académico on Tuesday, when students from the universities and other higher education institutions of the city march through the downtown streets till they reach the city hall, where they are greeted (and greet back) by the mayor. During every night of the week

2150-497: The smaller ones . Some Praxe rituals have been accused of going against the principles set in the modern codes of the praxe, more akin to hazing -like sadistic practices meant to humiliate and demean the freshmen. The tone of criticism around Praxe , however, may sometimes reach levels of "excessive humour", in response to what happens with excessive Praxe practices. In the 2000s, the Ministry of Higher Education, Mariano Gago ,

2200-404: The student's academic life. The cloak is also used to show respect to places one is in or a person someone is in the presence of, and the maximum demonstration of academic respect is the laying down of the cloak on the ground for someone to walk on top of. However, Praxe Académica has been abused by some groups of students, regardless of whether they belong to large ancient institutions or to

2250-487: The students and showing that the Queima had its place in the city's celebrations. In early May 2013, Marlon Correia, who was 24 and a student of the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto, was murdered in the Queimódromo. This happened as a gang who were heavily armed tried to rob the money from the ticket office and eventually killed Marlon with a firearm. This did not prevent the festival from happening that year and Marlon

2300-435: The students when they finish their first cycle of studies. Its roots go as far back as the 14th century, but it became most known in the 16th, under the name of the "Investidas", in the University of Coimbra , the oldest of its kind in the country. The praxe is meant to initiate the freshmen into the University institution and to encourage the loss of social inhibitions. Tradition, ritual, humor, joy and parody are some of

2350-508: The symbol of a Portuguese student of higher education, some Portuguese higher education institutions have their typical academic outfit which differs greatly from that born in the ancient University of Coimbra. This is the case, for example, of those worn by the students of the University of the Algarve and Minho University . The academic outfit, in Portuguese "Traje Académico", being composed of

2400-513: Was called by students who wished to see justice applied against abusers, as the institutions themselves ignored their complaints. The first case of abuse in the Praxe involving court action against 6 perpetrators, happened in 2003 at an agricultural polytechnic institution from Santarém – the Escola Agrária de Santarém of the Instituto Politécnico de Santarém involving – among other things – forced facial contact with pig excrement. Driven by

2450-476: Was honored in the so-called "Bênção das Pastas". The crime expires in 2035, and according to the order of the Public Ministry and over eight years, the authorities investigated violent groups, including the 'Grupo de Coimbrões' and the 'Grupo da Cruz de Pau-Matosinhos' and even constituted six people as defendants. However, as of 2023, no suspects were sent to trial and the FAP, the student federation of Porto which organizes

2500-409: Was known as the luto académico (Portuguese for academic mourning). However, between 1945 and 1974, there were three generations of militants of the radical right at the University of Coimbra and other universities, guided by a revolutionary nationalism partly influenced by the political sub-culture of European neofascism. The core of these radical students' struggle lay in an uncompromising defence of

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