There are many summer students in the place of my current employment, and, correspondingly, many events organized for said students.
One such event began with the not-unusual question of where the students were from. People yelled out many school names, from both coasts, middle states, and the local state. Then the speaker asked, "Anybody from a foreign country?" Someone yells out the name of my school, the audience laughs, and the speaker makes the usual "Yes, [grad school state] is like a whole another country," statement.
And this kind of thing keeps happening. There are so many stereotypes about my grad school state (many of which are there for a reason), that just mentioning going to school there raises eye brows and makes people wonder what is ok to say around such a person. It is both funny and sad.
The perverse incentives of academia
6 years ago
4 comments:
oO, another country in the weird way? Or another country in the nerd-utopia way?
In a weird way, I am afraid...
Yeah, I'm sorry to say I was just telling my sister last night that that school would be my last choice for places to move next. The culture is just not appealing.
I hope that stereotype doesn't affect you too much, or in a negative way.
EGF - the undergrad culture is certainly not appealing, but the graduate student and professor population is the same as at any other major state school. For me personally, I have so many clashing stereotypes about my background to defy already, so what's another one ;)
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