A History of E-Days

By Lauren D’Ambra

Hey Orediggers! This is your friendly neighborhood Editor-in-Chief speaking. We at The Oredigger have just realized something absolutely terrible. It’s so horrible to think about that I’m having trouble just writing about it. Are you ready to know what it is? Are you sure? (brace yourselves) Okay, here goes nothing: just under half of the Colorado School of Mines student population doesn’t know what E-Days is! And to make the matter worse, the only class to have seen and participated in a full blown E-Days extravaganza is getting ready to graduate! What?!?

Okay, whew, I feel better now that that horrible thought is off my chest. Still, how could we have let this happen?!? Well, I know how it happened, and that it really isn’t anybody’s fault (thank you Coronavirus), but still! E-Days is a Colorado School of Mines hallmark and we’ve got to do something to fix this awful problem!

Don’t fret Orediggers! As per usual, we at The Oredigger have you covered! We went above and beyond and dug through as much E-Day’s history as we could get our hands on. The result? A comprehensive guide to Colorado School of Mines’ one of a kind engineering celebration! We fully acknowledge that this article is appearing in The Oredigger’s annual satire issue, The Golddigger, but the only thing satirical about this situation is the fact that we could lose the history of a treasured Colorado School of Mines tradition if we don’t do something about it! So, from this line on, the rest of this article will contain all of the facts you need to know regarding this one-of-a-kind school sponsored event, no satire or joking involved (well, I’m going to be funny as I write this, but you hopefully get the idea). So read on to get all of your pressing E-Days questions answered!

What is E-Days?

E-Days, short for Engineering Days, is an annual, school wide Colorado School of Mines celebration! For one weekend in late April, Mines insists that everyone take a break and try and have some normal college student fun, because let’s face it, when you’re at Colorado School of Mines, normal college student behavior is probably the last thing on your mind. E-Days has been going strong since 1934 and it really is a celebration like no other! This year’s E-Days will take place on April 22-24.

What’s an “E-Days Theme?”

Our very own Mines Activity Council (MAC) works hard to come up with a clever theme for each year’s celebration. Last year’s theme was “Save the CitE-Days” and featured superhero themed events. My freshman year was supposed to be “MythologE-Days” but was cleverly changed to “Virtual RealitE-Days” after campus closed and we were all sent home (RIP the awesome Argo inspired cardboard boat my friends and I were going to build). The build up to the E-Day’s theme release is a lot of fun and is easily one of the most anticipated events of the spring semester (right after the actual E-Days and graduation of course). MAC also does a fake E-Days Theme release to help get the ball rolling. This year’s tease was PasterE- Days and if you haven’t already seen their hilarious, and delicious, video, you need to head to the MAC website or social media pages to check it out and have a laugh! MAC usually releases the E-Days theme a little closer to the actual event, so stay tuned!

What does a real-life, in person E-Days look like? 

Admittedly, this is a tricky question for me to answer because I have yet to see a normal E-Days. The current freshman class has never had an E-Days, the current sophomore class saw a scaled down celebration last year, and the current junior class celebrated their first E-Days entirely online (which, by the way, was awesome even though it was online). E-Days is normally filled with tons of in person events and competitions. Some of the events include a comedian show, concerts, a carnival, and a fireworks show put on by our very own pyrotechnics club. A few of the competitions (that anyone can participate in) include a trebuchet competition, a cardboard boat race (yes, you race your boat in Clear Creek and yes. it’s pretty much always freezing because it’s April in Colorado, but it’s so much fun!), and the annual ore cart pull to the capitol.

What events happen on E-Days? Honestly, what doesn’t happen on E-Days is a much simpler question to answer. E-Days takes place over a three day weekend and usually kicks off with a comedian and concert on Friday night. Saturday hosts the ore cart pull to the capital (I’ve never seen this done, but I hear the Colorado School of Mines marching band will be at the capital this year!), the cardboard boat race, the trebuchet competition, a carnival, a Saturday night concert, and an incredible fireworks display. You can participate in as many or as little events as you’d like and I can assure you that it’s always a good time!

Who can participate in E-Days? To participate in E-Days, you have to meet two criteria: 1) Are you a Colorado School of Mines student? And 2) Are you looking to have some serious fun and an all around good time? If you answered yes to both questions, guess what? You can participate in E-Days!!!

Where can I get tickets for E-Days and how do I sign up for events? 

If you want to enjoy the E-Day’s concerts and shows, you’ll need to purchase an E-Day’s packet. E-Day packet sales, which include tickets to all of the events, are going on right now! Head over to the MAC website (http://www.minesactivitiescouncil.com/edays) and follow the link to purchase your packet. An E-Day’s packet includes tickets to the comedian, the Friday Night Event Concert, the Saturday Night Event concert, an E-Days t-shirt, and merchandise related to the E-Days theme! Sign ups for the various E-Days competitions usually come out a little closer to E-Days, so make sure to keep an eye on the Daily Blast!

Whew. I think that about covers it. Hopefully you now have some answers regarding your most burning E-Days questions. Here’s hoping that this year’s celebration will be just as amazing as the years past (we at The Oredigger have total faith that it will be!) Make sure to follow the MAC social media pages to see the E-Days theme release!

TLDR: E-Days is an annual Colorado School of Mines celebration that’s tons of fun and you should definitely plan on going because it’s going to be a blast! Hope to see you in April!