Sure, Western has Tim’s and Subway, but these are places where you just grab a bite and go. But there are a few places on campus that draw customers not because of their food but because of their atmosphere, the people…and booze. The Spoke and The Grad Club are examples of these places. However, due to The Grad Club’s location at Middlesex College, the dynamics and diversity of the crowd is biased towards mathematical sciences. The small yet noticeable homogeneity makes it easy to group them into five distinct categories.
Hippie Mathematicians:
They are the bourgeoisie of the Club. These guys never make eye contact but not because they are consciously avoiding to do so. They are either so deep in thought or are absorbed in a brain-power-consuming conversation with their colleagues that they forget their surroundings. In terms of age, they are either graduates or older. And even if they are old, they look like they’ve aged very well.
Some of their characteristics include: Black framed glasses, nice attire which is usually black, tall in height—all that rising up on their toes to write on the empty space at the top of the board because everywhere else on the board is full of derivations has had similar effects to that of being on varsity basketball. These people are anomalies to the theory that brains and looks are inversely related.
Computer science brainiacs:
They come, grab a coffee and puff—they are gone! Although they come to the Grad Club a lot, they don’t stay very long. They are not there to socialize or have fun. They have worked so hard all day that they just want to grab a coffee and go back to do more work.
Their hardworking nature is reflected in their knowledge but unfortunately has made some of them not want to engage in any other extracurricular activities.
Social profs:
These are the likeable professors that are usually too smart for the class. Their course is your toughest course but they make the lectures so damn enjoyable.
They are a people’s person and know how to interact with almost all students. So, it’s not surprising that when seen at the Club, they are always there with another student. Their voice can usually be heard across the room because of how loud they are!
Romantic graduates:
From Jordan Peterson conversations to Plato’s cave—these people get very heated sometimes and the conversations get too philosophical or divert from the main subject. Yet, even during the most heated moments they argue with proper logic and tone.
They come to Grad Club usually in groups of three or more and sit around the table with a platter of nachos or fries as the centerpiece. Some of their characteristics are charisma, short hair and cute smiles.
Clueless undergrads:
That’s us! And by us I mean every undergrad that knows that the Grad Club exists and is cool enough to go there. “Cool” as in relative to other undergraduates but never as cool as the Grad Club folks. We’re trying though. We usually go to the Club between classes.
If we come in a group, you can easily tell we are undergrads since not all of us buy food. Some go straight to the microwave. Another thing that gives us away is that we barely drink there—but when we do, we do it while studying as if the beer comes with an open textbook. It is also super convenient to label us as undergrads when we order food for the first time and try to pay with our student cards! Overall, we have no idea what we are doing. But we are learning and one day we will not be entirely clueless!
Grad Club is definitely a must-go place if you are a student at Western. Similar to the Spoke, it is relaxing in that it’s different than the classroom/study theme of the rest of the campus. But it’s different than the Spoke because it has a strange maturity associated with it. Maybe this is because of the aforementioned experienced souls (excluding the last category of course) that hang out there. It is not as loud, modern and young. Instead, it is calm, wooden and mature. Whether you are searching for a new place to explore, study or hang out with friends, you can never go wrong by choosing the Grad Club!
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