Three students stood hunched over a table in deep concentration, unconscious of the chatter of passersby. Their hands flew between a pile of green and black Legos and what was beginning to take the shape of a miniaturized train. Before each student was a brightly illustrated instruction booklet, from which they took hurried glances every other second.
Within minutes, the contestant farthest to the right, fourth-year Engineering student Pablo Gallegos, completed the construction of his model train. He was awarded a box of Legos -- and a year's worth of bragging rights. Meanwhile, his brother Francisco, a visiting prospective Engineering student, had finished first in the high-school round of the competition. He munched on Lego-shaped fruit snacks as he watched his opponents struggle with their remaining pieces.
The Lego building contest was part of the Engineering Student Council's E-Week -- or National Engineers Week, as it is nationally known. From Feb. 18 to 22, the Council sponsored a series of social and career development events.
"A lot of the time, society just pictures engineers as these little people going in and building little circuits and bridges, so [National Engineers Week] is a way to show people what engineers really do, and to show their more fun side," said Melanie Lambert, a fourth-year Engineering student and executive board president of the Engineering Student Council.
This year's schedule of events revived several popular activities of E-Weeks past, including the root beer keg kill, evening s'mores and pancake breakfast, Lambert said. Free food was offered every day, with such favorites as Bodo's bagels, barbecue with the deans and Arch's frozen yogurt.
"We want to establish some sort of tradition with some of the events, to make them become returning events," said Alison Aguero, fourth-year Engineering student and Engineering Student Council President.
The E-Week planning committee, headed by Kristine Cheesman, third-year Engineering student and executive board vice president of the Engineering Student Council, also added events inspired by other universities. At conferences held by the National Association of Engineering Student Councils, Aguero said, participating schools share their most successful activities. This year's computer-smashing event was an invention of the University of Pittsburgh, which has a much more elaborate E-Week, according to Aguero.
This year, the list of activities during E-Week was expanded to include seven speakers,
Read More
Summer lovin’ had me a … blast?
By Madigan Wirkus | 2 days agoJust like that, I have successfully rebooted my high school sweetheart into a seasonal sequel entitled “Summertime Fling.”
The great DoorList debate
By Charley Thomas | 3 days agoDespite its widespread use, DoorList has stirred mixed feelings among students.
‘I woke up sweating’: Sunday scaries at U.Va.
By Dana Douglas | 5 days ago"Sunday scaries" encapsulates the turmoil of waking up to a surplus of rapidly approaching due dates, weekly reset tasks and for some, debilitating “hangxiety” from a Saturday night spent on the Corner
