Top 5 quirky Annapolis collegiate traditions

I hope you saw my weekend story about the annual joint seminar between students from St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy, two very unlike schools that happen to be neighbors in the Maryland capital.

Faculty and students came up with the seminars as a way for students from the dissimilar schools to get to know each other. How dissimilar? Well, Annapolitans have little trouble telling Midshipmen from Johnnies. Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Patricia Dempsey at St. John's.

The point of the story, of course, is that the students are really more alike than not, deep down.

Students gathered at McDowell Hall, the oldest academic building in Annapolis. This year's text was "Gooseberries," a short story by Anton Chekhov about happiness and fulfillment.

Both colleges are steeped in tradition. Here, from their mutual archives, is a list of the Top 5 rites of collegiate passage.

5. Navy Ring Dance. Since 1869, each Naval Academy class has designed its own class crest. The crest is then incorporated into the class ring, along with the Academy coat-of-arms. A complete collection of the rings can be found in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum. Second class Midshipmen -- juniors -- do not wear their rings until they are "baptized" at a Ring Dance during Commissioning Week, a tradition from 1925. The water for dipping the rings is said to be acquired from each of the Seven Seas by academy alumni.

4. Ringing of the Bells. Between 12:30 and 1:30 a.m. on a cold February morning, each St. John's senior is allowed one celebratory peal of the college bell in the cupola of McDowell Hall, to mark completion of their senior essays, due that evening.

3. Running of the Game Ball. Since 1982, the midshipmen of 13th Company have run the game football from Bancroft Hall to the playing field for the annual Army-Navy game. Spawned from a desire to get the "unlucky" company off the yard, the ball run has evolved into a highly spirited event, dedicated to those who have served in times of war.

2. Spartan Madball. Oddly enough, the meanest athletic contest in Annapolis takes place at St. John's. Johnnies are divided into two sides, the Means and Extremes, and "tear into one another in a no-holds-barred version of rugby," according to one Post account. "The only rules are: You can't wear shoes, carry a weapon or drive a vehicle onto the field. There is no limit to the number of players, and no restrictions about where or when players can punch, kick, scratch or bite their opponents. The battle does not end until an hour has passed or three people have been sent to the hospital."

1. Annapolis Cup. A signature collegiate sporting event, the cup pits St. John's against the academy in perhaps the single athletic event that finds them evenly matched. Croquet is an addiction at St. John's, and Midshipmen have actually had to play catchup ball in this nearly 30-year-old matchup. The match is held every April on the St. John's lawn. The history: Long ago, the academy commandant challenged a St. John's freshman to find an athletic contest the bookish Johnnies could actually win. And win they have, almost every year since 1983. But lately, the Mids have scored some surprise victories. The match transforms College Avenue into a scene from The Great Gatsby: pajama-striped shirts, ankle-length gowns, sun hats, parasols and champagne.

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