February 2006ISSUE

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Mark Skovmose

STUDENT COLUMNS

Revellers With A Cause

BY MARK SKOVMOSE
University of Calgary
Student Contributor (Engineering)

Students returning to class in January were greeted by marauding engineering students dressed in theme to kick off Engineering Week. What followed was a week full of fun, good ol’ revelry, and sleepless nights.

Though I’ve experienced the celebration a few times before, each year provides something new. Last year I focused on snow sculptures to create an 18-foot Superman. This year I tried my skills at Key Clue — or rather it tried me.

Key Clue runs the entire week, parallel to all other events. A small key is hidden within the city limits and departments are given encoded clues to its location. These clues may require scouring the city for historical references, certain physical evidence, or an important location where more clues lie.

IT’S CALLED SNOW Usually engineering students have all the snow they need for their sculptures, right at their feet. Not so this year — the output from arenas was needed for the project.

I used to question why the point system was scaled so heavily on Key Clue, and now I fully understand. The amount of brainwork is staggering. It’s basically an entire course on decryption techniques, intuitive deduction and lateral thinking.

At times people questioned their sanity as they concentrated for endless hours at a single line of scrambled letters. The thrill came in the discovery. Decoding that line into a relevant hint is truly exhilarating, especially at four in the morning.

This year the history of Calgary and its pioneers were of heavy influence, along with the fictional treasure. It became evident I had little knowledge on the subject — which was an enlightening experience and even enjoyable.

This was the intricate work of the Key Masters, dedicated to the creation of the Key Clue over the course of 11 months, entailing over 300 hours of work.

Despite bare ground and warm temperatures, snow sculptures carried on. “Snow” collected from ice arenas hauled by truck was amassed to produce mascots of each department theme, seemingly out of place. Great work, everyone.

Beneath all the fun lies a good cause. Fundraising for Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter brought in $4,000 over the week, thanks to generous donations.