For the past week, the dome on Jesse Hall has been lit up green. That can only signal one thing — Engineers’ Week has arrived. The 10-day celebration stems from a legend dating back to 1903.
Engineering students in that time were taking six days of classes a week and had little time to relax, according to the E-Week website.
An anonymous proclamation was found on the bulletin board of the Engineering Building that read, ‘St. Patrick was an Engineer. Holiday today,’ according to the website.
The engineers then collected on the Quad until President Jesse told the students to either head back inside to class or to go uptown.
The men headed uptown.
Engineering students have many chances throughout the week to get involved. Events range from time-tested events like the Road Rally and the Knighting Ceremony to new events such as the kickball tournament on the Quad and the 5k/10k walk/run to benefit multiple sclerosis.
“For the most part, the events evolve slowly,” E-Week faculty adviser Steven Borgelt said. “The majority (of the events) are the same but some are new. Also, some go away for a while and come back again.”
Engineers’ Week is largely student-run. The head student board members are Michael Hartmann, president of the Engineers’ Club, Jessica Pedraza, president of the St. Pat’s board, and treasurer David Noellsch. These three students work with advisers Steve Borgelt, Roger Fales and Tami Beatty. There are 46 committee members in 16 committees who also work to run E-Week.
“The Knighting Ceremony has been going on probably since the existence (of E-Week),” Borglet said. “The Society of Black Engineers had a Karaoke Night this year, which was new and a lot of fun. The Pie the Professor event, which has happened in years past, did not return this year, but I’m not too upset about that.”
Borgelt sees his job as a senior adviser as guiding and giving advice to students in the large scheme of E-Week.
“Since it’s essentially a student-run group, it’s very rewarding to be a part and see the way things are done,” he said. “I would love to continue to work with it. The students are very self-sufficient. There are usually kids who have worked on it in the past, and most other just need a little guidance. It’s good to see students taking a leadership role.”
Jack Salva, a freshman engineering major, is part of this year’s sales committee.
“I’ve been to the dome lighting, hotdog banquet and cheap lunches,” Salva said. “This E-Week has been a learning experience for me. I heard a lot about it coming into Mizzou from family and others but wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I enjoyed being on the board with everyone. They were all really spirited, especially some of the older students who had been around and celebrated previous E-Weeks.”
Engineers’ Week comes to a close Sunday, but there is still a chance for students to participate. Remaining events include the Knighting Ceremony, Missouri Honor Awards Banquet and the St. Pat’s Ball.