LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Anti-engineering comments hurt

It is people like A. Chamot (“Engineers deserve a ‘good swift boot’,” T.N.M., Jan. 28/91) who really make me mad. It seems Chamot has a profound dislike of the engineering profession verging on the bounds of outright hatred. Chamot’s complaints that “engineers run the sleaziest closed shop in this country” and engineering schools are populated by “boorish beer-swilling louts who emerge stupid and destructive wearing suits and ties, eventually becoming pompous, self-important stuffed shirts,” are just plainly ridiculous. I am currently in the 4th year of a 5-year program in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo. I chose a career in engineering because unlike some other programs I was considering, engineering seemed to allow me to make a larger contribution to society. The program is intense, stressful and often humbling, but like many things a person must work hard for, it is all the more satisfying to succeed at it. This education has produced men and women who can better society in all facets.

Chamot’s comments hurt, and come at a time when I find myself wondering about the public’s perception of the engineering profession and its contribution to society. Every day it seems I hear more and more; it’s funny because many reports cite the lack of engineers in Canada and the need for more if the country is to enjoy the standard of living to which it has become accustomed.

My perception of engineering as an upstanding institution is still the same and will remain so, but it is a shame Chamot and others feel the way they do. Not only are Chamot’s words unfounded, but they discourage young people from entering a fine profession, when every effort should be made to do just the opposite. Grant Matthews Bolton, Ont.