Choosing to purple yourself from head to toe is a long standing Engineering tradition, especially during frosh week. Frosh purple themselves and others to show pride for their faculty, their profession, and their school.
Ask one of your engineering leaders how you can get purpled. They should be able to point you in the right direction. We usually purple early Thursday morning
The best way to purple yourself is using Gentian Violet. Gentian Violet is totally non-toxic; it is used as a bacterial disinfectant. Be careful, once you are purple everything you touch tends to turn to purple. A bottle of gentian violet can purple upwards of 6 or 7 people.
In 1912, the Titanic Sank. Legend has it that while everyone was trying to escape the titanic, the engineers stayed in the boiler room burning whatever they could to make as much smoke as possible in hopes that other ships would be able to find the ship by the smoke. The engineers endued up being lost to the sea, however in the process they became purple. To commemorate their heroism, engineers dye themselves purple.
Every year, the Engineering Society runs a charity event to raise money for a charity. Engineering students get pledges to become purple. The more money they raise, the more purpled they become. Over the past two years, over $4500 dollars has been raised.
Purpling is also part of the traditions surrounding initiating a new president. Every time a new Engineering Society President is elected, they show up chained to a cement block purpled the day of their swearing in. Nobody knows how it happens.