[ under construction ]
LAST UPDATE: Monday, 31-Aug-1998 15:35:05 EDT
Student Body
The SOCS student body has
several characteristics which distinguish it from the
McGill population as a whole. Some of these are predicted by the rich body of
folklore built up around geeks. Computer science students are still mostly
male. They tend to spend a lot of time indoors, presumably sitting in front of
a computer screen, and less time involved in athletic or artistic pursuits.
Pale complexions, glasses, and shabby clothing are common.
Probably because they spend so much of their time in a vibrant world
alien to most people, computer scientists as a group stand at a wary distance
from popular culture and its attendant ceremonies, like parties, concerts, and
clubs. However, this awkwardness should not be interpreted as genuinely
antisocial. When at ease with friends, from within or without the department,
the cs student as any other likes to joke and gripe and go out for a drink, and
in this context his natural eccentricity turns to his advantage.
One of the most congenial features of McGill computer science is the
number and variety of international students studying here, possibly the
greatest percentage of any undergraduate program at McGill. Representatives
of cultures from all over the planet meet here, adding to the atmosphere of a
place where people who may seem odd at first turn out to have all sorts of
stories to tell.
