For the next week, Jesse Hall’s dome will sport a new color: green.
In the spirit of Engineering Week, which begins next week, the spotlights shining upon Jesse Hall’s dome will be filtered with a green tone. This is a long-standing tradition, Engineer’s Club President Elizabeth Horvath said.
“Today, the green lighting of Jesse Hall’s dome has become a beacon for MU Engineering – signaling the arrival of Engineers’ Week and the annual return of St. Patrick, and reflecting the engineers’ proud history of enlightening MU,” stated a St. Pat’s Board and Engineers Club document.
When Jesse Hall was restored in 1987 for MU’s 150th anniversary, lights were added to the dome. This was when the St. Pat’s Board and Engineer’s Club decided the dome should be lit green, to commemorate St. Patrick, who was an engineer.
“Lighting the dome green was done before the dome was lit gold for Homecoming,” Horvath said. “Other groups have asked the dome to change colors for them but have been denied.”
The dome has been glowing green annually since the spring of 1988, upon receiving permission from former chancellor Haskell Monroe. Friday evening, the engineers will celebrate their fourth Dome Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Francis Quadrangle. This year’s ceremonial switch thrower is Dave Lillard, who won the Distinguished Alumni Award.
“Green is grandfathered in because the Engineering Week organizers requested it several years ago,” MU spokesman Christian Basi said. “It’s become a tradition.”
Basi said Jesse Hall’s dome is typically lit different colors on two occasions: Engineering Week and Homecoming, when it is lit gold.
“We do light the dome gold for special celebrations or occasions that encompass the entire university,” Basi said. “They might be major events, or they might be campus celebrations. One of the major deciding factors is whether they encompass the entire university.”
An example of this was made a few weeks ago for the Big XII Conference on Black Student Government.
Requests to light the dome different colors aren’t rare, he said. But, due to expenses associated with different colors and staff time, MU is often unable to change the filter to anything other than gold.
“What we don’t do is typically light the dome different colors besides gold or green,” Basi said. “There is an additional expense associated with the colors and staffing time.”
Most of those requests go through the University Affairs office, Basi said, but one person in particular doesn’t make the final decision.
“There’s not one individual who makes the decision,” Basi said. “The last decision was made by three people. It really depends on the request.”