# Email from a Student **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2002, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678 "2002-10-10T14:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/41 "2002-10-11T06:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magic8ball \* > \*\*I’m like, almost 10 tears younger then him and MY writing, though not that good, isn’t as bad as his. > > And who says “peace” anymore? \*\* In my neck of the woods (Los Angeles), people often say “Peace out”. As for the e-mail…I couldn’t get past “hey wassup” as a form of address to a professor. At my first college, a meeting was held to discuss a tuition hike. Students, professors and administrators were in attendance. One female student, when given her turn to speak, stood up and asked, “Where’s the money, boys?” No, I don’t know what happened to her. ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/42 "2002-10-11T06:27:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **magic8ball** > > And who says “peace” anymore? I do, but not in the way you may think. I don’t mean it in the general, hackneyed “peace out, holmes” sense. Rather, I use it in the, I think, better way. To me, it’s sort of like “Shalom” or “Salaam.” It’s a “peace be with you” kind of thing. I end most of my emails in this way, even when I write semi-formally. (Sincerely seems a bit too sterile.) On the OP, I completely agree. Dude’s only punctuation is hyphens, and he uses them to seperate phrases. Has this guy ever heard of the “enter” key? Though I, like **Jester** , feel a strong need to keep proper grammar rules even in IM, I am usually pretty lenient on others’ style, just as long as it is legible. This OP, in my opinion, is not legible. I need to read it more than twice to get the meaning. He may think he’s saving time on his end, but he sure eats it up on the other end, and it more than outweighs the small about of time necessary to press the “shift” key. I think he missed the “syntax, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting are here for a reason; they make you better understood” lesson. We all need to be taught that one. Besides, a well-ordered email just _looks_ better. It’s more aesthetic than a mishmash of letters with no form whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/43 "2002-10-11T07:50:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Soup\_du\_jour \* > **I do, but not in the way you may think. I don’t mean it in the general, hackneyed “peace out, holmes” sense.** [nitpick]It’s “homes”. Homeboy\>homey\>homes.[/nitpick] \*\* > [@](#): > > On the OP, I completely agree. Dude’s only punctuation is hyphens, and he uses them to seperate phrases.\*\* And he only capitalizes one word: “Thursday”! Unless **Legomancer** capitalized it from force of habit when he was transcribing it. **Lego** , I’m anxious to hear where this goes: how your wife responds and how “homes” takes it. Do let us know! ---
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/44 "2002-10-11T11:25:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > What sort of dumbshit college are you recruiting from that has 80% of the engineering students “unable to write worth a damn” and whining at integrating “anything tougher than x dx”? The University of Assboink? > > I find engineers in general to be somewhat smarter and more well-rounded candidates than most graduates, even though they have to concentrate so much on their specific field. Why? Simple - because engineering is difficult for most, and in general only smart people do well at it. > > \*\* Una, I respect you and occassionally adore the ground you walk on, but…when was the last time you visited an engineering undergrad class? I have people in my _third_ and _fourth_ year ChemEng classes that openly admit to hating math and chemistry and near failing all of their engineering classes. (But they _have_ to be an engineer, just ask them.) I have done almost all of the write-ups for any group I’ve ever been in, because I can actually write. One of my favorite parnters will beat the hell out of technical stuff and work like a dog, but his writings skills are just sub par. I helped him through his whole writing class. (Engineers here are required to take one. Being who he is he’d write his paper two weeks early, go over it with me for a week, turn it in to his TA a week early and re-write it for the actual due date. Like I said, he’s a great guy to work with, but he has poor writing skills.) And that’s my favorite person to work with in my class. Somehow, somewhere the idea that you have to be somewhat capable has fallen out of the stigma of engineering. Its a frightening thing at times. That or its one of those days where I wish I had the power to flunk people out of my school. But you have a point on ME’s. I don’t see them as egoists. That’s us ChemEs. You know, because we actually do the hard work. (is this where I d&r?) ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/45 "2002-10-11T11:55:25Z")
Hold on. Late Night e-mail from a college student and no one has suggested teh student ming have been drunk when he posted it? ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/46 "2002-10-11T12:01:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > \*\*Hold on. Late Night e-mail from a college student and no one has suggested teh student ming have been drunk when he posted it? \*\* I suspect you **ming** be drunk, too. Or maybe you ming not be. I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/47 "2002-10-11T12:01:16Z")
:smack: **Twisty** , you just may be right. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/48 "2002-10-11T12:02:21Z")
I love this board… ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/49 "2002-10-11T12:12:22Z")
the. might. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/50 "2002-10-11T12:44:01Z")
JFTR, I wouldn’t have done that typo correction to anyone except Twisty. It was just him at his cutest. :smiles: ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/51 "2002-10-11T12:45:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Medea’s Child \* > **Una, I respect you and occassionally adore the ground you walk on, but…when was the last time you visited an engineering undergrad class?** [sub]I teach part of an undergraduate engineering class. And off and on for the last few years I’ve been taking night classes to finish my graduate degree. I may not have visited several Universities, but I have encountered a new class of students at least twice a semester…[/sub] > [@](#): > > I have done almost all of the write-ups for any group I’ve ever been in, because I can actually write…One of my favorite parnters will beat the hell out of technical stuff and work like a dog, but his writings skills are just sub par…And that’s my favorite person to work with in my class. Somehow, somewhere the idea that you have to be somewhat capable has fallen out of the stigma of engineering. Its a frightening thing at times. That or its one of those days where I wish I had the power to flunk people out of my school. Well, my experience is limited to those I teach, the few that I meet in the classes I was taking (mind you, all doctoral-level courses, so it’s obviously a different calibre of person), and those I interview - that are sent to me, or when I go on-campus. I understand that my exposure is not the same as yours, but I just haven’t seen what you’ve seen, which is why I felt that the poster I responded to was incorrect, or was not actually involved in the engineering field. > [@](#): > > But you have a point on ME’s. I don’t see them as egoists. That’s us ChemEs. You know, because we actually do the hard work. (is this where I d&r?) \*\* I was a ChemE for a short time, but had to quit due to harassment. Ah, the good old days of being a full-time student and having no power whatsoever against the professors… And I could tell you some juicy horror stories about my senior projects that it sounds like you could commiserate well with, but now is not the time, nor is this the place. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/52 "2002-10-11T12:49:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > **I find engineers in general to be somewhat smarter and more well-rounded candidates than most graduates, even though they have to concentrate so much on their specific field. Why? Simple - because engineering is difficult for most, and in general only smart people do well at it.** When I was a TA for a math class I found that most of the Engineering students (these were undergrads, not engineers, so no telling if they ever completed the program) wrote no better than the guy in the OP. I had several of them that could not write a coherent English sentence to save their lives. If they were smart, they sure didn’t spend a lot of time showing it. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/53 "2002-10-11T12:56:06Z")
Incidentally, the message in the OP is verbatim. I just copied and pasted from the forward. The only thing I did was remove the guy’s name and the class from it, replacing them with hyphens. My wife was going to give him a little advice on understanding “audience” (apparently he needs this for his paper as well) but he actually didn’t show up for the conference. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/54 "2002-10-11T13:03:51Z")
I suppose you’d be surprised to know, **Legomancer** , that I’m an engineer and was at one point an engineering student (imagine that). I very nearly minored in English Writing, but couldn’t stomach another semester of college because five years seemed to be enough. That being said, I knew stupid people who started engineering classes and smart people who started engineering classes. The stupid ones generally found it a lot harder to finish than the smart ones, and some of the truly dumb never did finish. Some of them could write beautiful prose and poetry, and some of them could barely handle a sentence as simple as “I went to the store.” Some loved higher math and couldn’t get enough calculus, and some didn’t find it to be their greatest passion to solve a matrix and had to drag themselves forcibly to their 0800 Calc IV class (not that I’ll mention any _cough_catsix_cough_ names about that). The point is, engineering students run the gamut from the capable to the incapable. One of the functions of engineering school is to separate the ones who can from the ones who can’t so that only the ones who can actually earn a degree. As for who has the biggest ego of the bunch, we CompE’s are definitely in the competition. We play like gods all day long bending electrons to our will and making them do things that a two-state system seems too simple to handle, and then just for fun, we do that all night long too. CompE’s tend to believe we are vastly superior beings, and look oddly at anyone who has first hand experience with sleep. 😉 [shameless plug]And if anyone out there has any ideas for a job for a hard working CompE geek, they’ll be well received. [/shameless plug] ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/55 "2002-10-11T13:08:06Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > I find it simply fascinating that you accuse ME’s of being the “egotists of the (sic) engineereing world”. Want to explain that one a little for the audience?_\* What a thin skin. The thing about MEs having big egos is an old joke related to the initials for the profession. It’s all about me… > [@](#): > > \*\* > What sort of dumbshit college are you recruiting from that has 80% of the engineering students “unable to write worth a damn” and whining at integrating “anything tougher than x dx”? The University of Assboink? > \*\* It’s a branch campus of a top 10 engineering school, located in Indiana. You can do the math. What I left unsaid was that the older students, such as those that did time in the military, or those in school because they’re changing professions, have their shit together. My dig was aimed squarely at those who are in college straight from high school without going around the block. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I find engineers in general to be somewhat smarter and more well-rounded candidates than most graduates, even though they have to concentrate so much on their specific field. Why? Simple - because engineering is difficult for most, and in general only smart people do well at it. > > And liberal? Jesus Christ - about 95% of the engineers I interview, and hire, I would describe as being “to the Right of Ronald Reagan” in their political views. > \*\* And from where I stand, Rush Limbaugh is a flaming pinko. Your point is?.. To cut to the chase, I’m ranting against youthful naivety and immaturity. Before you ream me on that, I’ve been there and done that. The reason I’m getting a 2nd engineering BS while in my 40s is that I want to be a professor, and because of the same immaturity I’m ranting on, I didn’t take BS#1 seriously and barely squeaked by. Now that I’m older, I’m taking it a **LOT** more seriously and the grades are up where they need to be. The ball is in your court. ---
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/56 "2002-10-11T14:10:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > I was a ChemE for a short time, but had to quit due to harassment. Ah, the good old days of being a full-time student and having no power whatsoever against the professors… > > And I could tell you some juicy horror stories about my senior projects that it sounds like you could commiserate well with, but now is not the time, nor is this the place. \*\* Don’t start me. Its midterms. And my Kinetics prof…you’re right not time or place. Wait, I’m in the Pit…it not worth a whole thread, but the man is just downright horrible. He won’t answer questions. How do you teach and refuse to answer student’s questions? Yea, and his exam (which he refuses to tell us anything about and because of his teaching style and homework assignments so far we have no clue what its going to be like) is on Monday. I’m still debating pre-emptive suicide. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/57 "2002-10-11T14:58:44Z")
## quote: hey wassup this is ---- from your ------- class. sorry to email you so late hopefully you get a chance to read this before its too late but i was wonderin if we could have a conference tomorrow Thursday in the afternoon maybe sometime hopefully i can get the new paper ready by then but let me no when your available i have class till 2 so we can do it between 2-4 if you’re free at that time so i guess ill see ya tom if you get this before then gotta bounce though and tear up paper c ya peace * * * Read this again. Notice in the third line from the bottom that the kid nailed “you’re”. I would have expected “your” or, if anything, “u r”. At least there’s a glimmer of hope. Haj, MSME P.E., Egoist ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/58 "2002-10-11T15:12:30Z")
I’ve received e-mails such as the one in the OP from students in my children’s lit and adolescent lit classes. They are routinely ignored and deleted. Well, except for those that I print out and use as a tool for practicing editing. I have my students call me either Mr. Six or Dr. Six. I see nothing wrong with having students call their teachers by the teachers’ first names if so desired by the teacher, but I prefer to keep the relationship a bit more formal. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/59 "2002-10-11T15:17:25Z")
Wow. I’m all for the defending of changes in language and all, but I’m as appalled as the rest of y’all at this. When I worked as a writing tutor, my boss encouraged us to understand that language was socially-constructed, that some grammar rules were in flux, that “right” and “wrong” in grammar was similar to “right” and “wrong” in table manners. But he also recognized that sometimes students just seemed to be hurling their feces at you. And it’s okay then to hand them back their paper and say, “Please don’t hurl your feces at me. Take this back home and work on it some more – I’m not touching it again until it’s clear that you’ve put some effort into it.” This kid just flung a handful of poo at your wife. My suggested response: **[Student’s Name], I cannot understand the email you’ve sent to me. Please rephrase your email using professional standards – correct punctuation, grammar, spelling, and etiquette – and resend it. Professor Ms. Legomancer** Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678/60 "2002-10-11T16:34:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vunderbob \* > **What a thin skin. The thing about MEs having big egos is an old joke related to the initials for the profession. It’s all about me.** Never heard it. Although I hear a lot of P.E. jokes (“physical education”, ha ha…) > [@](#): > > **…I’m ranting against youthful naivety and immaturity. Before you ream me on that, I’ve been there and done that. The reason I’m getting a 2nd engineering BS while in my 40s is that I want to be a professor, and because of the same immaturity I’m ranting on, I didn’t take BS#1 seriously and barely squeaked by. Now that I’m older, I’m taking it a LOT more seriously and the grades are up where they need to be.** Why would you get a second BS in engineering, rather than just go into the Doctoral program? Are you changing fields? I mean, I knew an EE once who wanted to be an ME prof, and even he only had to take an extra year of courses, not the whole program over again…? > [@](#): > > \*\*The ball is in your court. \*\* Other than what I asked above, I have no idea what you mean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-from-a-student/131678.md?page=4)