An Oxford Student Was Barred From Graduation Because of Her Sandals

An Oxford University student says she was turned away from the school’s graduation ceremony for wearing sandals without stockings.

The student, Eleanor Broome, wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that she was not allowed entry into her July ceremony because she was “showing too much flesh.”

The dress code for the ceremony was “sub fusc,” or academic dress, meaning graduates were required to sport formal dark clothing — defined by Oxford as a dark suit with dark socks, a dark skirt with black tights or stockings, or dark trousers with dark socks or dark hosiery.

Given the July heat, Broome opted to go stockingless under her black trousers, assuming that the rules only applied to lace-up shoes or to those going barelegged.

“I read through the regulations before my ceremony, and I thought that black trousers and black shoes would be fine given that these were stated as appropriate sub fusc,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle. “Black socks were also mentioned, but I just assumed that this would be for lace-up shoes. I didn’t expect that they wanted us to wear black socks with our sandals or heels.”

To be allowed in, Broome went out and purchased a pair of black socks, but this delay caused her to be late to the ceremony.

Broome said she later learned that around 10 other students were also denied entry into the ceremony based on dress code violations.

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