“The worst part was having to drink a milkshake made from cream, oyster juice, anchovies, and pickled pigs’ feet… but it was worth it,” said Duncan Albion, President of the Engineering Students’ Society and winner of Engg-Vivor, one of many events that were part of Engg Week 2005, which ran from January 10-14. This perennial occurrence on campus is meant to encourage school spirit while raising money for charity. The week includes several activities like Engg-Vivor, all of which are representative of the Faculty’s notoriously offbeat sense of humour and ingenuity.
“As the head organizer of this year’s Engg Week, my main goal from the outset of planning was to ensure that engineering students had as much fun as possible,” said the Head Judge, who asked to be called Spencer Bukkake, his honorary moniker. “With the help of six other organizers, to whom I attribute this year’s unprecedented success, we worked towards making each and every engineering student feel as though they were gods for a week. And while we were having a great time, we raised over $4,000 for the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter.”
This year’s final standings found Chem in first place, followed by Zoo (Electrical), Geomatics, Mechanical, and Civil. As always, the five departments competed furiously throughout the week, vying for points earned by winning events.
“It feels just great,” says Chris Wiseman, President of Chem. “I’ve been waiting to win for four or five years, and to take home first place in my final year is fantastic. Preparing for those five days takes a team of incredibly dedicated people working together several months in advance. Winning Engg Week without team work and co-operation would be absolutely impossible.”
Teamwork is indeed one of the over-arching sentiments of Engg Week, alongside other important features like inter-departmental unity. Indeed, although a spirit of friendly rivalry is always present, many students see the events as great opportunities to make new friends from other departments and cultivate universal pride in all aspects of the Engineering profession.
“Compared to previous years, Engg Week 2005 seemed to be marked by a drastic increase in camaraderie between departments,” said Jeremy Hansen, the President of Zoo. “The Engg Week judges organized an excellent week of fundraising and events, and I suspect that was one factor that inspired a huge improvement in Zoo’s Engg Week performance.”
From record-breaking snow sculptures to healthy turnouts at all events, with few mishaps, Engg Week 2005 met and exceeded standards set by previous years. Participants went home happy, albeit slightly exhausted and a little behind in their winter semester classes.
“To understand Engg Week you have to understand the nature of engineers, which is something people ask me about all the time,” said Bukkake. “My response is simple: There is an unspoken bond between engineers that brings with it a sense of being able to accomplish anything. We stand up for each other, look out for each other, and we respect each other. I wish that all faculties could experience the same camaraderie that exists in engineering, but at the same time, I’m glad they don’t. We are the one, we are the only, we are the engineers.”