Friday Wind-Down
On Friday evenings, the grad students celebrate the arrival of the weekend by eating, drinking or doing some activity near Berkeley at the Friday Wind-Down. Friday night wind downs are weekly-occurring events hosted by the SGSA for graduate students to socialize and “wind down” from the week. Events range from going out to restaurants, outside activities (e.g., kayaking), bars, and events in Evans.
Students are generally summoned to the wind-down (or “wine-down” if said quickly) by the cry of a comical email, occasionally including photo-shopped pictures of former Berkeley professors, such as Jerzy Neyman.
Social Events#
Weekly events#
Friday Wind-Down#
On Friday evenings, the grad students celebrate the arrival of the weekend by eating, drinking or doing some activity near Berkeley at the Friday Wind-Down. Friday night wind downs are weekly-occurring events hosted by the SGSA for graduate students to socialize and “wind down” from the week. Events range from going out to restaurants, outside activities (e.g., kayaking), bars, and events in Evans.
Students are generally summoned to the wind-down (or “wine-down” if said quickly) by the cry of a comical email, occasionally including photo-shopped pictures of former Berkeley professors, such as Jerzy Neyman.
Tuesday Cookie Hour#
Each Tuesday afternoon, members of the department gather for an hour of cookies and pleasant conversation. Some call this gathering “Cookie Hour”. Sometimes, students choose to eat fruit. They are accepted nonetheless.
Semesterly events#
Berkeley–Stanford Colloquium#
Since before 1960, the statistics departments of Berkeley and Stanford have been organizing a joint colloquium. Erich Lehmann in his book “Reminiscences of a Statistician: The Company I Kept” describes this traditional program:
Foosball Tournament#
Once a semester, we host a foosball tournament, where the winner is awarded eternal glory and some chocolate or flowers. See foosball page for more details.
Annual events#
There are two major department-wide socializing events with food, drinks and chance to catch up: the Spring Picnic and the Fall Party.
The Fall Party#
The Fall Party is typically held some time in November. Students and professors gather at a local park on a sunny weekend to enjoy food and company.
The Spring Picnic#
The Spring Picnic usually takes place in April. We usually eat, and play frisbee or soccer. Sometimes we go on a hike after the picnic.
Berkeley–Davis Colloquium#
We organize an annual joint colloquium with our colleagues at the statistics department of UC Davis, alternating the host each year.