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Comment by jarek | Hacker News Reader

I know some people have a rather low opinion about SFU academics, but maybe calling it a college is a little harsh ;)

U of T did you one better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robarts_Library.JPG

I swear only Canada makes this distinction between "university" and "college". In the US they call what we call college "community college".

And.. holy crap, that library is freaking awesome. Although, I think the Geisel Library at UCSD takes the cake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geisel-Library.jpg

And the UK, and much of the rest of the world. In the UK, college usually refers to either sixth form or Further Education college, between secondary school and university.

Even in America, there was a distinction, or at least there used to be. If it was a "college" then that meant there was limited to no opportunity for graduate studies. On the other hand, a "university" offered full undergraduate as well as graduate programs for most subjects. In highschool, I remember noting that some colleges where quite prestigious, such as Dartmouth and Harvey Mudd College.

Oh god, the fire-escape-as-a-useless-tower-over-an-inaccessible-bridge trope... again. It's a stupid enormous waste of concrete and steel, and would actually be kind of OK if there were a way to get in there and survey the area without setting off alarms.

I consider myself a fan of Brutalist architecture in all its bulky, muscular glory, but Robarts just about borders on frightening to me.

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