HOUGHTON, Mich. (WZMQ) – 2023 Winter Carnival, the celebrated time when student create masterpieces out of snow and ice, is starting to wind down. After an entire month, these men and women say they are not slowing down, as they completed the final steps showcasing their constructed statues and landscapes.
Max Blake, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon said, “It’s pretty exciting because we are getting down to like the final hours of our build and its all just kind of coming together so it’s really satisfying to see all our work pay off.”
The building took place all throughout the night, and warmer temperatures were welcomed by some, but harmful to others.
Holland Vanzon from Phi Kappa Tau said, “So like where that ice pipe thing is all that underneath had fallen, like usually we put the ice up at the very end of all nighter just for that exact reason. When we first came out here that whole foundation was fallen. Willy Wonka was falling over. A lot of Umpa Lumpas were melted. A couple of smokestacks melted as well.”
Although builders had their work cut out for them, the heat wave didn’t stand a chance for these students true their roots.
Former judge, Jeff Littmann, who now serves chair on Michigan Techs Board said, “One of the things we pride ourselves on is we react to whatever the situation is. So, the students went into their bag of creativity, and they managed, and I think if you look around at the sculptures today, you will see that they found ways to overcome the elements that came at them yesterday, which is what tech students do.”
Proven to be fully capable, the entire construction would not pe possible without the support of one another. And although Vanzon’s Fraternity faced unforeseen structure demise, they once again rose to the top.
Late morning after the build was called to a halt, Vanzon proudly said, “It takes all of us just to contribute to the statue. So, it is truly humbling to see everybody come together and especially as the statue chair, just to bring everybody together, and to create something that is so magnificent brings joy to everybody around here and the community.”
The results have been revealed by this year’s judges giving the first-place winner month long build to Phi Kappa Tau and the overnight winners are the women of Alpha Sigma Tau.
The following results were provided by MTU and may be found here:
Month-Long Statues
Division Winner
1st – Phi Kappa Tau
2nd – Tau Kappa Epsilon
3rd – Alpha Gamma Delta and Sigma Tau Gamma
Men’s Division
1st – Phi Kappa Tau
2nd – Tau Kappa Epsilon
Women’s Division
1st – Alpha Sigma Tau
Co-Ed Division
1st – Alpha -Gamma Delta and Sigma Tau Gamma
2nd – Tau Kappa Epsilon
3rd – Alpha Gamma Delta and Sigma Tau Gamma
All-Nighter Statues
Division Winners
1st – St. the Great University Parish
2nd – Swing Club
3rd – The Navigators
Men’s Division
1st – The Bastille
2nd – Sigma Rho
3rd – Domino’s
Women’s Division
1st – Society of Women Engineers
2nd – Mafia Hall
Co-Ed Division
1st – St. the Great University Parish
2nd – Swing Club
3rd – The Navigators
