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No matter where you were on campus, if you didn't
see the parade of students in brightly coloured costumes,
banners and mascots, you could at least hear the marching
band or the chant of that familiar song, which announced:
"We are, we are, we are, we are, we are the engineers!"
Such were the opening ceremonies on Jan. 13 to commemorate
the start of the mayhem known as Engineering Week 2003.
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Civilized
Transportation
The final and very impressive Civprano snow sculpture
parks itself for an Engineering Week photo.
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What is Engineering Week? It's the proudest and longest running
tradition of engineering students at the University of Calgary.
It's filled with activities that push us to the limits of
teamwork and creativity, among them Iron Chef, Winter Torture,
the Film Festival, Snow Golf, a hockey tournament, Scavenger
Hunt and Key Clue. This weeklong competition pits the five
engineering departments - chemical and petroleum, civil, electrical
and computer, geomatics, and mechanical and manufacturing
- against each other.
Each department adopts a theme, which usually makes reference
to figures or events in pop culture. This year's themes, selected
by the departments for 2003, were Chemadian (Canadian theme)
for chemical, Civpranos (Sopranos) for civil, Kung-Zoo (martial
arts) for electrical, Geostbusters (Ghostbusters) for geomatics,
and Austinite Powers, the Mech Who Shagged Me (Austin Powers)
for mechanical.
The engineering building was decorated with thousands of
posters and the hallways were converted into live action sets.
If you were lucky you saw Austinite Powers and Dr. Evil on
the set of Derive Another Day. Or perhaps you spotted the
geomatics version of the Marshmallow Man, made famous in the
hit movie Ghostbusters.
Needless to say, students were dressed in theme costumes
and played their characters all week. Moreover, the campus
grounds surrounding the engineering building bore the awe-inspiring
creations of unique snow sculptures.
The week promotes and encourages engineering spirit and camaraderie
by testing the creative limits and teamwork of each department.
However, Engineering Week also has a more noteworthy side.
Throughout the week, students raise funds for a charity in
the Calgary area, and that's exactly where all the proceeds
from Engineering Week will go.
Engineering Week judges select what the charity will be. The
Calgary Urban Project Society, the Calgary Women's Emergency
Shelter, the Sheriff King Home and the Make-a-Wish Foundation
are but some of the past charities selected.
This year the judges decided to make the women's shelter
beneficiary of all proceeds raised during Engineering Week.
Throughout the week the judges accepted donations in the form
of cash or cheques (made payable to the Calgary Women's Emergency
Shelter), food, clothing, toys and other miscellaneous items
of value to the benefactors of this charity. In addition,
among the scavenger hunt items, were much needed winter jackets,
diapers and baby food.
Every year Engineering Week is highly anticipated, and many
U of C engineering graduates recall Engineering Week and its
related activities as their favourite memories from their
university days. Engineering Week was a great chance to witness
the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat - all the while
having a crazy time and solidifying new friendships.
At the end of the week, a congratulatory salute must be paid
to the Department of Civil Engineering, the Engineering Week
2003 champions. However, perhaps the real winner of the week
was the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter. University of Calgary
Engineering students raised $5,069.69 for this worthy charity.
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