Buckets of water were not enough to cool a few hot heads on campus this afternoon, as the University of Malta's annual water fight turned rowdy.
The event - an annual tradition which pits law student association ELSA against its architecture equivalent SACES - is known for its high-spirited nature, with black-clad architecture students and law students dressed in white battling it out on a water-drenched campus.
But video published by student media organisation Insite of today's event (see below) has opened participants up to charges of over-zealousness, with footage showing a group of students taking things a bit too far.
In the video, a small group of students can be seen shoving, dragging and scuffling with one another, ending up on a patch of vegetation. The rowdy moment can be seen at around 10 minutes in.
Perhaps aware that things are getting out of hand, the pack settles down, dusts itself off and returns to the main water fight group.
Presidents of both ELSA and SACES were quick to downplay claims that the event had gotten out of hand.
"It was no different to water fights in previous years, and we all parted as friends," said ELSA president Daniel Vella. "In fact, at no point did we have to stop the event and it was all smiles at the end."
His SACES counterpart Thomas Mifsud also insisted onlookers might have gotten the wrong end of the stick.
"I understand why people might think it turned rowdy, but it really wasn't the case. At no point did things get out of control," he said.
Water wastage
The yearly event is a fixture on the freshers' week calendar, but it has come in for criticism in recent years over the water wasted during the event.
READ: As water scarcity bites, farmers prepare for a drier future
Mr Vella said each side had one bowser's worth of water to use throughout the battle. The ELSA president was, however, at pains to stress that the water used was second-hand and not suitable for drinking.
Malta is one of the world's most water-stressed countries, with low amounts of annual rainfall and groundwater reserves stressed to the point of depletion by years of over-extraction.