In December, the MEMS Executive Council received a unique proposal. Majid Shabbeer, a Political Science major and president of the newly formed Medieval Engineering Club, reached out to request funding to build a functional, close-to-full size (20 feet tall and 24 feet wide) medieval trebuchet. After reviewing the club's full project proposal and budget, the Executive Council voted to give the club $1,000 in funding. Although the club hoped to find a permanent location on campus for the trebuchet, the logistics of a campus placement led the trebuchet to find a home in Troy, Michigan. Building took place from Friday, April 10th to Sunday, April 12th, and was a great success for all involved, even though the trebuchet was only semi-operational in the end. 

Here's what club members had to say about the experience.

"This project really made me appreciate the ingenuity and the grit of the people of the past. This project was absolutely grueling with us spending hours in the sun working. I remember feeling absolutely exhausted, and that was with the aid of power tools and pre-processed wood so it makes me develop a greater appreciation for the techniques and effort that were put into the medieval architecture of the past." Fouzaan Amjad, '26

"The project showed me how to work effectively in a team and how to handle dangerous power tools such as saws and drills. It also helped me learn how to think critically and answer real world problems that will shape the future of construction and the global economy and I plan on taking this experience and applying it in my future endeavors." Aathrey Ramesh, '27

"Working with very dedicated and talented individuals on this trebuchet was not only a great bonding experience, but put into perspective the ingenuity and precision of medieval architecture and weaponry. There were many times where we had to change our plan and course of action, which also helped me comprehend the capability of great builders in the past to bring similar projects to fruition at a much larger scale." Ahmed Shafeek, '27

"Building the trebuchet was such a great experience, and I got to know a lot of people through all the hard work and toil. One thing I wish we had was some more water, as working in the hot sun I just felt like I wanted to dive into an ocean and swim with the fish. It really puts into perspective how difficult things were in the past, which makes me appreciate the remnants of medieval construction we still have today that much more." Nazim Ali, '26

"I really liked building this trebuchet. Throwing things in general is really fun, and working with the wood was really interesting. Carpentry is not something I've done in the past, but I think I want to explore working with wood and handling it more in the future. It's a unique hobby that I don't think there are many avenues to explore for." Omer Junedi, '26

"Some of the tools we got to work with were awesome, especially the heavy drills. At one point we even thought of using my truck as a way to lift up some heavy logs, which would have been really interesting. Overall a really great time." Malla Bhatti, '27

"I am a really big fan of history, especially sieges. I have a lot of smaller trebuchet and catapult models in my room, and love painting them. I even have a scale model of 1453 Constantinople which I've been building over the last few years, it has minifigures and everything. This project with the Medieval Engineering Club was really so awesome as a creative outlet." Fahad Munawar, '27