The craziest university traditions from around the world

Many consider the best memories of student years to be those associated with the traditions of the educational institution, and with original and unusual ones. Traditions give students the opportunity to rally, have fun and do things that in ordinary life they do not allow themselves. But among the traditions there are extravagant, immoral entertainment events that often lead to violations of the law and, no less important, interfere with learning.

Be that as it may, university traditions contribute to unification, allow developing a spirit of unity among students. And the longer they exist, the crazier they become, like these ten student habits.

(Total 10 photos)

1. Skinny jogging One of the most unusual traditions that is present in many colleges and universities around the world is the nude jogging. Generally, most campus dwellers frown upon public nudity. However, skinny jogging has become so popular that the administration is often even ready to involve the police and security to ensure the safety of students who have decided on such a bold act, for which, by law, they should be arrested. The venues for these kinds of events are very diverse, ranging from the streets of the campus to libraries, such as at Yale University. Of course, not in all educational institutions it is customary to run in the nude. In some colleges, students still prefer to wear at least underwear, but there are streakers everywhere.

2. Primal Scream Thanks to this popular university tradition, students can relieve stress by making piercing screams from their dorm windows. The time for such a stunning event usually falls on the week of exams, when the level of tension goes off scale, and you just need to get rid of negative emotions. Students like this “loud” tradition, which cannot be said about those who live near campuses and have no idea what is really going on.

3. Ohio State University: Jump into Mirror Lake Most Ohio State students are football fans. To support their team ahead of the game with the University of Michigan, its longtime rival, a week before the game, on a cold November night, schoolchildren arrange jumps into the lake located on campus. Despite the fact that the temperature outside at this time of the year can drop below zero, the students march in a crowd to the lake, sing cheerful songs, and then plunge into the icy water.

4. Barnard College: Huge Submarine Sandwich Barnard College, a private women's liberal arts college in New York City, has a unique culinary tradition. Every autumn, female students get together to cook and then eat a huge sandwich - "submarine", or "sub" (the bread from which it is made is shaped like a submarine, hence the corresponding name). The length of the sub already reaches over 210 meters, and every year it increases by almost 30 centimeters. It takes hundreds of kilograms of bread and toppings to maintain such an unusual but tasty tradition.

5. Texas A&M University: Aggie Campfire Aggie campfire (from the English aggie - as students of the agricultural college are called in the USA) is a tradition that is not officially allowed at Texas A&M University, because it is very dangerous and can harm both the life and health of people, as well as property. However, the ban did not upset the students, but, on the contrary, encouraged them to create an off-campus version of the event. The tradition of building a giant fire from large logs and even whole tree trunks dates back to 1909. The tradition quickly gained great popularity: the number of those wishing to look at the large-scale fiery spectacle sometimes reached seventy thousand. But unfortunately, in 1999, 12 people died and 27 were injured during the installation of logs for a fire. Since then, Aggie Bonfire has not been held as an official event. However, the off-campus and safer (due to a modified design) version of this tradition attracts about 15,000 spectators annually.

6. Vassar College: Serenade This college tradition has gone quite far from its origins. In the past, freshmen would just get together and sing songs for the senior students. Now, after this action, they arrange fights with food and verbal skirmishes. This event is traditionally held at the beginning of the school year. Each rookie community composes lyrics to perform in front of the seniors, who evaluate their work and choose the winner. Just recently, the students made some amendments to the tradition: in battles after “singing serenades”, they replaced food with water, but the fun and good mood that such an event gives students did not decrease from this.

7. Cornell University: Dragon Day Dragon Day marks a confrontation between students from two university colleges. Every year in March, freshmen from the College of Architecture create a giant dragon that they parade around campus with. Students of the College of Engineering await them on the route, who, seeing the approaching crowd, shower it with rude cries. At the end of the procession, the dragon is burned at the stake. This tradition has been going on for over a hundred years.

8. MIT: Falling Pumpkin On the Saturday before Halloween, MIT hosts a massive pumpkin tossing showcase of the wonders of the science of physics. At midnight, students gather around the tallest building on campus, the Green Building (90m high), to watch dozens of huge orange pumpkins fall down from its roof. A DJ is invited to such a party for more fun. According to Halloween traditions, MTI students dress up in fancy dress and go from one dorm to another, begging for sweets.

9. St. Andrews University: Raisin Weekend Raisin weekend is a tradition that goes back centuries. Once upon a time, freshmen gave raisins to senior students for helping them adapt to study and life at the university and join a new team. A lot has changed since then. Today, Raisin Weekend, which takes place in November, is a sea of drinking, unbridled parties and other entertainment. The event culminates in shaving foam fights, which round out the weekend-long frenzy on Monday morning.

10. Merton College, Oxford: Temporary Ceremony At the end of October, the UK switches clocks to winter time. It is at this moment that the Time Ceremony takes place. Students at Merton College dress up in academic attire and march backwards for an hour around the quadrangular courtyard while drinking alcoholic cocktails. This tradition originated in 1971, and its main and very important goal is to preserve the integrity of the space-time continuum.