March 2008 Issue
STUDENT COLUMN
Going Way, Way Up
BY MELISSA TIERNEY
University of Calgary
Student Columnist
(Engineering)
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Balloons and bands kicked off the grand reopening of the Schulich School of Engineering Student Lounge on Feb. 8. The lounge, which had remained relatively unchanged since the 1960s, went under renovations beginning last May.
Though it was set to reopen in September for the start of the fall semester, construction took longer than expected and engineering students were left to socialize with the other faculties in the common lounges. The unveiling hosted a Battle of the Bands, and a spectrum of engineering students from all years took centre stage to show off their musical talent.
The celebration also served as this year’s first POETS session in its original home. While the weekly gathering has continued this past semester in other venues, most students agree that it’s just not the same anywhere else.
POETS — extra points for figuring out the acronym, because The PEGG won’t spell it out — occurs every Friday afternoon. It’s a great time for students to wind down after a hard week and prepare for the weekend. Activities include minnow races, a student-professor version of Jeopardy and various charitable fundraisers.
When it is not in use as a POETS venue, the lounge is a popular spot for meeting, studying and getting a bite to eat. It is, after all, home to the Allegro Café, which serves what many say is the best food on campus.
The end of renovations marks the end of the campus-wide Take Your Place project. Begun as part of the university’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 2006, the project revitalized many student spaces and makes the property much more study friendly.
Over the past two years, student space on campus amounting to more than 8,000 square metres has been upgraded. Renovations of all the spaces were designed by students in the Faculty of Environmental Design, in conjunction with Stantec Consulting.
Concrete Cash
This year’s Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race team returned home from
Quebec with the only cash-value prize. While it did not win overall, Schulich’s
Rocky Balboggan took a special place in the winner’s circle for the most
effective use of fly ash. The $2,000 cash prize will be used to offset the cost
of next year’s entry.
The fourth-year student who developed and oversaw the concrete mixing “wanted to develop a mix that not only could be used by industry, but also one that utilized recycled materials, making it, in effect, green.”
A byproduct of coal combustion, fly ash was used as a binding agent instead of cement, significantly cutting the costs of the project and making it more eco-friendly.
Now, for the bad news. The team’s results in the other categories were
not quite so impressive, as Rock Balboggan ended up in a snow bank instead of
across the finish line in its second trial.
The team from the University of Waterloo was the overall winner, but Calgary
has shown its dominance in the past, winning overall with Ghostboggan in 2000
and again with Chuckboggan in 2004.
The first GNCTR was held in Red Deer in 1975 with teams from the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta, SAIT and NAIT. Since then it has grown to include and be hosted by engineering faculties from all over Canada.
The project involves designing and constructing a toboggan with a metal frame and a running surface made completely of concrete. There are weight restrictions, and each toboggan must have working brake and roll-bar systems to protect its five passengers.
Teams are judged for top speed, best run, most improved, braking and esthetics. Costumes, theme songs and merchandise traditionally follow the team’s theme, and the best of these earn prizes for spirit and best costume.
Snow ENGG
ENGG Week was a huge success again this year at the U of C, and one of the highlights
was the snow sculpture competition. Teams from the various specialties designed
sculptures relating to themes.
While they were all creative, perhaps the most memorable sculpture was chemical engineering’s Chemically Natural, featuring a lampshade martini glass and food colouring.
Another noteworthy event was the film festival, which had each department submit a 20-to-25-minute movie. Points were awarded for best picture and best actor, as well as ENGG Week signature categories like best whipped cream scene and best wedding crashed.