<\/p>\n
On a beautiful fall day, led by the Eagle Drum Corps and flanked by cheering faculty, staff and Greek Life members, hundreds of incoming students in September \u201cpassed through\u201d EWU\u2019s iconic Herculean Pillars to begin their university careers.<\/span><\/p>\n The annual event, now one of Eastern\u2019s most cherished traditions, recreates the path generations of students once took from Cheney\u2019s downtown train depot to their new collegiate homes. These days, their belongings safely stowed in residence halls, the newly arrived Eagles are encumbered only by red and white pom-poms and complimentary bar-b-que.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so excited for what\u2019s to come!\u201d said one happy undergraduate, Alana Zamora, a soon-to-be biology major from the Tri-Cities, right before the walk.<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s event was especially exciting given that it was \u201crestriction free\u201d \u2014 meaning that, unlike last year\u2019s gathering, students could enjoy the day without pandemic-related health and safety requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Constructed from granite salvaged from the ruins of EWU\u2019s original Cheney Normal School building, the posts powerfully represent the perseverance and resilience of the university and its students.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Passing through the pillars is one of a slew of Welcome Week activities designed to help new students seamlessly adapt to university life. Unlike some of the other entertaining activities, however, the pillars event signifies more than just a symbolic start, said Kelsey Hatch-Brecek, Eastern\u2019s director of alumni relations. Constructed from granite salvaged from the ruins of EWU\u2019s original Cheney Normal School building, the posts powerfully represent the perseverance and resilience of the university and its students.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor 107 years, these gates of knowledge, these Herculean Pillars, have symbolized that the spirit of Eastern cannot be defeated,\u201d Hatch-Brecek told attendees. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For the newly arrived members of the Class of 2026, however, the day\u2019s focus was, understandably, mostly on the excitement of the here and now. \u201cIt feels good to be here,\u201d said Grace Grubaugh, an outdoor recreation major from Medical Lake. \u201cI\u2019ve been on campus the last couple days and doing all the Welcome Week activities. It\u2019s been awesome!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A link to Eastern\u2019s past returns without restrictions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":1679,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1678","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_categories-history","stories_categories-students","stories_tags-fall-winter-2022-23"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1760,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1678\/revisions\/1760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n