First-year engineering and nursing students ran around in cardboard suits as they took part in orientation week’s annual Thundermugz race.
On Sept. 7, students gathered at Agnes Benedickson field at 10 a.m. in purple orientation shirts to begin building custom thrones out of cardboard and toilet seats.
Hosted by the Engineering Society (EngSoc), the chaotic team event was first recorded as part of engineering orientation in 1956.
READ MORE: First year engineering students get messy during Thundermugz
Once groups finished building their thrones at Agnes Benedickson field, they traveled to City Park to participate in activities, including carrying a nursing student through the race while having “thundersludge” — a mixture of oatmeal and water — thrown at them.
Students on the outside of the group wear “cardboard armour” to protect their teammates carrying the throne.
According to Evan Day, Sci ’30, the goal is to finish the race with the cleanest nursing student, meaning the least amount of “thundersludge” on them.
Throughout the event, FRECs — engineering orientation leaders — guided their groups through the process, helping keep the race organized. Dyed in purple, wearing quilts, and sporting coloured hair, the FRECs directed students as they built their thrones and prepared for the race.
Day said the connection between engineering and nursing gives students the opportunity to form relationships with people outside their faculty.
“It’s awesome because you kind of have a way to connect with someone right away,” Day said in an interview with The Journal.
Scott Smith, Sci ’30, and Luelle Miller, Sci’ 30, both said the event was well-organized and that students were not forced to participate if they were uncomfortable.
“Everything’s a bit chaotic, but all things considered, I think it’s ran very well,” Smith said.
The early stage of Thundermugz filled Agnes Benedickson field with FRECs screaming orientation chants and students running around with cardboard boxes wrapped around their torsos.
Ian Zamuner, Sci ’30, said the FRECs approach makes sense because they were in the same position as first-year students.
Zamuner said that, during the event, the FRECs made sure everyone was okay and that everyone was staying hydrated.
Miller described the event as “a bunch of silly stuff,” adding that FRECs make an effort to include everybody, including students who choose to sit out.
Mostly, students sitting to the side were those with their green GoodToGo containers refueling their energy.
Other than that, students were running around and perfecting their thrones.
Though orientation only began one day prior on Sunday, Sept. 6, Day and Zamuner noted that the community is special and encouraged future engineering students to participate in Thundermugz and engineering orientation.
“The community we get out of it […] is probably a big reason to do eng,” Day said.
Zamuner said the event as a whole is a “bonding experience” within their orientation groups, as students have to deal with the same chaos together.
Tags
EngSoc, orientation, Thundermugz
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