University of Toronto Engineering Society - Skule Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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If it would be possible to have, at this point, a fan-fare of the LGMB, a rousing round of “Lady Godiva”, a blast of the Skule Cannon and maybe even a few fireworks for effect there should be; but you can imagine them anyway. In the 1972-1973 Skule year a great change took place. Perhaps spurred on by the upcoming Centennial of Skule and undoubtedly due to an extremely energetic executive and a very dedicated, wide-eyed President, the course of skule spirit and society activities was to be reversed. During the 1972-1973 year new programs would be initiated, many of the old Skule activities would be revived, and interest in both the Society and spirit of Skule would come to life again. From the minute the new Council took office in March, planning and preparations for the next year began. Most of the Council and Executive was made up of new people interested in seeing changes take place and more important, willing to carry them out. The Executive Committee and most of the other committees of Council held regular meetings all summer. By the beginning of August the entire year of activities had been planned, dates had been set, and many of the necessary arrangements were being made for as far in advance as March, 1973. Ultimate commitment to these ambitious plans was made in the form of a Skule Calendar which in the eight months of the academic year showed the dates for all the new and old activities that the Society had planned. As it turned out all of these ambitions were realized, and as the year progressed new ideas came to mind and were also carried out. Social activities, professional development programs, educational events; conferences, congresses, exchanges; Skule Nite, job seminars, a French course; a new Cannon; an “Old Red Skulehouse’’, a glorious Centennial Ball; a new constitution, “Centennial Awards”, a preliminary report for an Engineering Centre; new Stores and Offices, a weekly Tiny Toike, Synergetics; Pub Crawl, the Car Rally, a Chariot Race; Cannonball; Election Dance; Founding Day; Grad Ball, Irong Rings, PHT’s, Oktoberfest, our own Float Parade; Orientation; Faculty Council, the Alumni Executive, SAC; the APEO Conference, Ecole Polytechnique, a trip to Vancouver; a Beard Growing Contest, Founding Day, “Ralph”; the Toike Oike, no BFC, our LGMG; a much loved and respected retiring Dean. The Engineering Society of 1972-1973 has had a great year. It is the sincere hope of the outgoing Executive and Council that the spark of Skule Spirit that has brought smoke to our kindling will bring fire to yours. Best of luck to next year’s Society.

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ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SKULE One hundred years of engineering at Toronto and what have we got to show for it? A few buildings on the south end of campus, sixteen thousand alumni, two hundred professors, five hundred courses, two thousand students, and reams of paper, documents, old Toikes, and faculty calendars, some dating as far back as 1871. But more important than all of this, we have a romantic history spiced with a delicate mixture of fun, seriousness, success, and spirit that compliments and even overshadows anything that can be said about the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. On March 29, 1873 Royal Assent was given to an Act of the Provincial Legislature which established the School of Practical Science. The origins of Skule, however, can be traced back even farther, to 1871, and a brick building on the corner of Church and Adelaide Streets. This building was the home of the College of Technology which was set up on Valentines Day of 1871 for the purpose of giving evening lectures in engineering. These evening classes continued to be held downtown after 1873 until the famous Old Red Skule House was build on the St. George campus in 1877. When the school was moved up to the university in 1878, full-time lectures began, and a diploma program was set up. In the first year there were si) students and four staff members. This of course was only the very beginning; the years to follow brought a continual increase in the number of staff, students, and engineering courses offered. By 1900, when the name, School of Practical Science, was changed to Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, there were some five hundred students enrolled in Skule. Without a doubt, the Old Red Skule House is the one thing that is most emblematic of Skule and its one hundred year history. Even though it was torn down several years before anyone now in Skule had come to the faculty, for most it is understood to have been the centre of the Skule spirit. Apart from the fact that it was once The Engineering Building, it had many other characteristics for which it will always be remembered. Its third floor for instance contained a large drafting room which, with all the tables pushed to one side, became the site of the very first chariot races. Most significant, however, was the fact that it was located directly across from the medical buildings, which for many years cultivated a great rivalry between the two faculties. A story told by W.J. Smither (’04) is an excellent example of this rivalry. It seems that in 1901 the Duke of York with his wife, the present Queen, was to visit the university. For the occassion a special flag pole to fly the Royal Standard was erected in front of the medical buildings. This was not the most suitable location for such a flag pole, however, as any engineer could see. And so, the morning after it had been installed, all that remained of the pole on the meds ground was a stump showing some clever axe work. The main part of the pole was standing in front of the Old Red School House, this being the proper place for it. Naturally the meds students disagreed and it became obvious that the only way to settle the difference was to have a scrap (scraps were very common in those days and often proved to be the best way to settle just about everything — and besides, they were fun). In the end Skule won the scrap, but meds got the pole.