Varsity Streaking Team Strikes Again

(Sept. 29) -- Many of us have had some wild nights in college when we took off more clothing than we should have, but only a select few have turned those romps into a documentary.

The Hamilton College Varsity Streaking Team is back in action, spreading its message of peace and love for running around prestigious college campuses au naturel.

Four years ago, students at this picturesque upstate New York college sent shock waves through New England, prancing naked through the grounds of Tufts, Wesleyan, Amherst, Williams and Trinity, among many other institutions of higher learning.

Now, the team's exploits are hitting the film festival circuit, screening last week at the New York Television Festival.

And, of course, you can't unveil a movie called 'Streak to Win' without treating the crowd to a quick dash through the aisles in nothing but sneakers.

"I think everyone was expecting it, including the organizers," said Sean Tice, the Hamilton grad and streaking team veteran who co-created the documentary. "So we didn't let them down."

It's amazing to consider how 20 Hamilton students turned a silly college prank into something much, much more. In the documentary, they wax poetic as they recall their exploits with sheer glee.

"When I streak, I hear Mozart," one fresh-faced young man says as the film begins.

A female team member concurs: "It's not sexual, it's a profound feeling of interconnectedness."

At Middlebury College in Vermont, the Hamilton crew interrupted a rugby game, upstaging the home team cheerleaders as they sprinted across the field with the wind gusting between their legs and appendages flapping.

At Connecticut College, they strolled across the tree-lined campus like prospective students, with one of them walking backward like a tour guide, pointing out important buildings and points of interest. Of course, no one in this strange entourage had on one stitch of clothing, except for a few masks, a tutu and footwear.

As a cultural phenomena, streaking became a rage in the 1970s, when it became quite common to go to a sporting event and see someone drop trou and run on to the field of play.

Hamilton students revived the tradition in 2002, forming the streaking team, largely as a joke, but also as a social club for students who wanted to shed more than just freshman inhibitions.

"It was fun, but it eventually became boring to streak at home," said Tice, who majored in English and religious studies.

"We knew we wouldn't truly be a varsity team unless we competed at other schools."

In the fall of 2004, the team finally went intercollegiate. They piled into a rented, 30-foot RV, and toured the 11 Northeastern colleges that Hamilton competes with in sports -- a group of schools known as the NESCAC. They also made a couple of stops at Princeton and Wellesley for some Ivy League and Seven Sisters frolicking.

"The game plan was to stick together, not to lose anyone," Tice said.

And by that standard, the Hamilton squad was pretty good. At Wellesley, three of them lost their way, and got detained by campus police. No charges were filled.

Then, at Colgate University, the entire team was arrested, and each got slapped with a $200 fine.

It was a little harder to explain their antics when parents of young children complained. But that wasn't enough to stop them.

"It didn't happen too often, because we were at college campuses," Tice said. "But it happened. I think a conversation about the body with a child can be a good thing."

Nevertheless, Hamilton ranked itself the No. 1 varsity streaking team in the nation, declaring itself undefeated. Of course, in the nascent sport of college-level competitive streaking, victory is hard to quantify. Some would say you win simply by showing up -- without clothing.

A few years out of school, Tice and his cohorts are no less proud of their achievements, despite the minor blemishes on their police records.

"We premiered 'Streak to Win' at Hamilton in April, and 70 people streaked that evening on campus," Tice said. "It was quit a success."

And this was the sort of success that you dress for in just your birthday suit.