By Oliver Wilmont

While walking through Laurentian University campus on Sept. 10, it was easy to tell that the annual engineering initiations had taken place.

Aside from the stained-purple bathroom sinks and stalls that could be found everywhere from the Fraser building to UC residence, the acronym “ERTW” (engineers rule the world) could also be seen smeared on campus walls and sidewalks.

The annual initiations are organized by the Laurentian University Engineering Student Society (LUESS), and this tradition is one of Laurentian’s oldest.

Typically, students given a time to change before they are dunked into a tub of purple dye, after which the frosh are split into teams and begin competing in various games such as a balloon toss, tug of war and human pyramid building.

For years the LUESS members have been gathering and organizing this day of festivities.

According to many, the best part of the initiations is the spontaneity of it all, and many of the older students love the experience.

“What’s cool is when I see someone purple and we give them the look and we’re like, yeah engineers,” said Alexandre Prenouveau, a second year engineering student. “The point is to be included – not everyone gets died but they can do it in their second or third year. So it’s less like an initiation and more like a celebration.”