Rich writes:
>Usually 1/2 to 3/4 of the RPI Engineers each year are Management majors. I
>guess that's why they will be on top this year!
 
I was curious to see what the numbers were, so here are the RPI majors from
1991-92 and 1989-90 (the two yearbooks I could most easily find in this
mess at home):
 
MAJOR   91-92   89-90
Mgmt      15      15
Comm       0       1
Engr       4       9
CS         1       1
Math       0       1
Bio        2       0
Sci        0       1
Undec      1       0
TOT       23*     28
 
*-3 players had no major listed next to their names, an apparent mistake
in the yearbook (they were sophomores).
 
So the % of Mgmt majors was 65.2% (15/23) in 91-92 and 53.6% (15/28) in
89-90.  The Engineering/Sciences majors made up 30.4% (7/23) in 91-92 and
42.9% (12/28) in 89-90.
 
This fits in with Rich's contention that the players tend to be 50-75%
Mgmt majors, however, remember that the 1985-86 team (when I was there) had
by my recollection only one Engr/Sci major and he was a freshman who only
played 1-2 yrs.  So I would say that in that regard, the team has definitely
increased its percentage of Engr/Sci majors while remaining among the top
teams in the ECAC.
 
Also, while I know first-hand that the hockey-playing management majors at
RPI don't get much respect from many of their fellow students who think
they are in more difficult disciplines, it should be noted that the management
major at RPI is a very respected and difficult one to undertake, and those
players who work hard to maintain their academic standing in that major
while playing hockey deserve a lot of credit.  Many was the night that I
saw my roommates, all of whom were Mgmt majors, working late hours on papers
or cases.  Maybe at some schools the management major is a cakewalk (I don't
personally know of any and I have several friends with that degree), but I
can say that it is definitely not like that at RPI.  It isn't the same as
CS/EE/etc., but in many ways it requires just as much work.  I suppose I am
hoping that the RPI players are receiving more respect for their academic
pursuits now than they did when I was there, because they deserve it.  OK,
time to get off my soapbox. :-)
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   mikem@{beanpot,bubba}.ma30.bull.com
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)