Selwyn College’s latest event does nothing to ease their culty reputation, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. One of their most cherished traditions – the Leith Run – took place on the Saturday morning of O-week, bringing together nervous freshers and hungover exies in a uniquely Selwyn display.
The freshers took to the river, carrying the iconic bathtub ‘borrowed’ from Knox many years ago. Starting their journey, they seemed naive and reassured by their numbers. Strolling down Dundas with their hands in their pockets, they didn’t seem at all perturbed by the sight of exies with armfuls of organic ammunition.
Once flat windows opened and food began to rain down, their energy changed pretty quickly. One fresher was seen to tap out early (a totally optional event, after all), while the rest pushed on, scrambling down the bank into the Leith, the cardboard shields they had constructed the night before now making sense.
The bathtub – incredibly heavy, steeped in tradition, and balanced precariously on their shoulders – replaced the flaming torches that were originally carried when the event began in 1935. The aim of the game is to not drop the tub. According to Selwyn, “The symbolism of this event – the community bearing a shared load – is made all the richer by the fact that it is a tradition new residents each year rekindle, modify and own.” And rekindle it they did.
As they trekked down the river (at a pace that could certainly have used improvement), shrieks of “eel!” and colourful words even Critic Te Ārohi won’t publish echoed through the Leith. One Selwynite reflected later that it was one of the “top three worst things I’ve ever had to do in my whole life,” although his broad grin said otherwise. Nothing like absolute terror to bring a college together!
From the banks and bridges, past Selwynites (and the occasional Knoxie) showered the freshers with projectiles ranging from the classics (eggs) to slightly more inventive contributions such as spaghetti, dinners from the week before, and water guns with undisclosed contents (hint: it was yellow). The rule of being willing to eat whatever you threw didn’t seem to hinder the exies at all, and the enthusiastic crowd waited for the procession at the end of the run with open arms and full buckets.
Warden Ziggy was seen passing his sombrero to one student, a last defence kind of shield. After witnessing the event for the first time he reflected on the “fine line between tradition and safety.” Calling the students of Selwyn “my kids” and giggling about it showed exactly where Ziggy’s priorities lie. “Though these things might start off quite fun, there's always those that don't follow the rules. Call me chicken, but it's all fun until someone gets hurt.”
Ziggy also acknowledged the deep roots of the tradition, “[This is about] trying to gel our college together, and it’s a tradition that's happened since 1935, and Selwyn is renowned for its traditions […] but things have changed too […] so we are just trying to balance the two.” He jokingly noted, “I’d probably be shot if I said no more Leith Run.”
He does want exies to consider student safety, however. “I would hope the exies keep in mind that this is a tradition we want to keep. It’s in their hands.” Indeed, the freshers are already ramping up for their turn on the other side, one snickering, “Next year's kids, they’re innocent y’know? Can’t wait to get my revenge.”
Ziggy also emphasised the positive reviews on the event from past students. Current students echoed this, with one participant saying, “Yeah, it was good.” Always so eloquent, aren’t they? Another said, “It was the worst experience of my life”, followed instantly by “nah, just phenomenal.”
Overall, despite getting out of the river early (cowards), the bathtub wasn’t dropped, and the college has bonded – or so they told Critic. The river was cleaned both before and after the run, and no one was harmed, leaving the only lasting impact to be on the memories of those involved.