I am going to vomit if I hear the Engineering Anthem in public one more time. Even though I am in Engineering and I enjoy it very much, I cringe every time I hear that chant. Many people wonder why there is a rivalry between most faculties and Engineering, Management in particular. I can understand why. Observing my lectures and campus events and talking to fellow students, I notice that not all potential engineers are the same.
The group or groups that walk around chanting this crapola in public seem to be comprised of two types of people.
One type is the typical high-school nerd or geek, who was a minority in his high school career. These people tended to be slightly unpopular and they kept to themselves playing online games and farting around with computers. Now suddenly they are in university, are of legal drinking age, and are a majority in their faculty. Feeling that they now are going to be professionals and they are finally popular, their egos grow exponentially. Hence they must prance through the campus touting their newfound niche.
The second group is the typical high school jock with some brains. This group is familiar with partying, drinking and managing an ego. Yet in this newfound environment already filled with arrogance and egos, they flourish like horny rabbits at an orgy. This group too parades around chanting this hideous tune.
Now don’t take this the wrong way, not everyone in Engineering has acquired this attitude. But these egotistical maniacs are labelling the whole faculty with the well known "geer" stereotype. Analyzing the lyrics, you get the idea that geers are no more than a bunch of raving alcoholics who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves. That is not my attitude.
Many people I have met react negatively when I told them I was in Engineering, as if I suddenly dropped a few hundred levels in decency. Responses like "oh, I know some people in Engineering," "oh, not another one" or "that sucks" are common. I am tired of being judged as the typical engineer. I feel I have to watch my back while I’m writing this in Scurfield Hall, afraid of a lynch mob forming upon my discovery.
I am all up for friendly rivalry and faculty pride, but drop the egos. It would be nice if students in other faculties would respond with "that’s a pretty hard program" or "what are you doing tonight?" Trying to demean other faculties or fabricating an image of supremacy does not gain respect.