Pranks have long been associated with the tradition and culture of UBC Engineering. While the EUS does not organize, endorse, or assume responsibility for pranks carried out by any individual or group, we recognize the historical significance of pranks to Engineering culture, as well as the impact these activities can have on the UBC Engineering community and its reputation.
Illegal and Dangerous Activities
While recognizing that pranks are part of Engineering history at UBC, the EUS unequivocally condemns any prank or stunt involving illegal activity or the endangerment of those involved or others.
Illegal and dangerous stunts have the potential to cause real, substantial damage, seen most recently in Squamish in April of 2026, when a Volkswagen Beetle was suspended from the Papoose, endangering infrastructure along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. This act was disrespectful to the Squamish Nation and placed an immense burden on BC Parks to remove the hazard.
In 2009, a similar stunt involved the attempted hanging of a Volkswagen from the Iron Workers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge in North Vancouver. Several students were arrested in connection with this attempt, which resulted in the vehicle shell being dropped into the Burrard Inlet.
Such acts reflect poorly on the EUS and UBC Engineering as a whole, and damage our relationships with key members of the community. Endangering public safety is counter to the oath taken by UBC Engineering students during the Iron Pin ceremony, as well as the EGBC Code of Ethics.
Maintenance of Engineering Spirit
The EUS is devoted to maintaining the culture and spirit that have made our community what it is today. We recognize that pranks have been an intrinsic part of that culture.
Over the years, other pranks have called attention to issues close to the heart of the student body, including food insecurity and access to parking. In 2006, a Cairn-shaped stack of food donations appeared overnight in front of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. In 2008, a giant red jacket stuffed with clothing donations mysteriously appeared on an Inukshuk in English Bay.
The ingenuity, creativity, social awareness, and charitable nature of these pranks is the core of what the engineering community stands for. The image of the UBC Engineers should be one of charity, inventiveness, and originality, not of endangerment, damage, and disregard.