Student of the Force turned away for wearing Star Wars armour

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In the age of COVID, when mask wearing is rightly acknowledged and applauded, it’s strange that a marketing student arriving at his graduation ceremony should be turned away and told to change, but that’s what happened to 29 year old member of the Church of Jediism Patrick Day-Childs when he arrived at Southampton Guild Hall to collect his gown and register for the ceremony.

But 20 minutes before the ceremony last Friday, a member of staff approached him outside and told him that he couldn’t wear the outfit.

Patrick said: “I told her I wasn’t wearing jeans or trainers.

“I said I could take the armour off and wear what was underneath, and she just shook her head and said no.”

He went back to his car and removed his outfit, leaving the black jumpsuit he had on underneath, and then rushed back for the ceremony.

He added: “I anticipated that I wouldn’t be allowed in, but what frustrated me was the timing. It was 20 minutes before the ceremony.

“I understand that there are things you can’t wear, but there were people that were wearing jeans that were going up and getting their degrees. It was pretty frustrating.”

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
- Advertisement -
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In the age of COVID, when mask wearing is rightly acknowledged and applauded, it’s strange that a marketing student arriving at his graduation ceremony should be turned away and told to change, but that’s what happened to 29 year old member of the Church of Jediism Patrick Day-Childs when he arrived at Southampton Guild Hall to collect his gown and register for the ceremony.

But 20 minutes before the ceremony last Friday, a member of staff approached him outside and told him that he couldn’t wear the outfit.

Patrick said: “I told her I wasn’t wearing jeans or trainers.

“I said I could take the armour off and wear what was underneath, and she just shook her head and said no.”

He went back to his car and removed his outfit, leaving the black jumpsuit he had on underneath, and then rushed back for the ceremony.

He added: “I anticipated that I wouldn’t be allowed in, but what frustrated me was the timing. It was 20 minutes before the ceremony.

“I understand that there are things you can’t wear, but there were people that were wearing jeans that were going up and getting their degrees. It was pretty frustrating.”

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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