With the pounding of Eagle drums and a smattering of red and white pom-poms, EWU welcomed hundreds of new students who passed through the legendary Herculean pillars.
The annual Pass Through the Pillars event has become a university favorite. Each year, at the beginning of the fall quarter, faculty, staff, alumni and current students line the “Hello Walk” to Showalter Hall to cheer and celebrate new students’ arrival to the university. It’s a modern-day march that mirrors the path students once took from Cheney’s downtown train depot to campus.
During the Sept. 24 event, music played, Swoop greeted the crowds and all were invited to a catered barbeque meal at the walk’s conclusion.
One of the returning students attending the event, sophomore Michaela Hale, fondly recounts her own experience passing through the pillars last year. “This event is a tradition that really is a full circle moment because as a senior you get to leave the pillars,” Hale said. “Every student gets to reminisce on their experience that began as freshmen.”
The pillars themselves are symbolic of EWU’s past. In 1912, the precursor to what became the Showalter Hall administration building — the only building on campus at the time — burnt to the ground. Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, the Herculean pillars were formed from the salvageable granite remains.
“For the past 112 years, these Gates of Knowledge, or Herculean Pillars, have stood as a symbol that the spirit of Eastern cannot be defeated,” said Kelsey Hatch-Brecek, director of alumni relations, during her remarks at the event.
And these many years later students from across the globe come to experience the annual walk through the pillars. Genta Nakano, an international student from Kanagawa, Japan, was excited to take part in his first Eagle tradition as a student.
“I want to participate in all the activities,” Nakano says. “I came here to major in international affairs and to study English.”
Students from nearby, many of whom have their own EWU legacy, are also eager to experience the tradition. Sydney Lincoln, from Cheney, said her aunt also attended Eastern: “She’s excited for me to be here, and I’m ready to participate in the events as an actual freshman.”
EWU Alumni Association selfie station photos are available online.
