Social Committee Tasks - End of Quarter PartiesThe recipe for a successful EoQ party is:
Combine all parts equally. Add cheesy door-prizes or frolicking sports on the quad to taste. Typically serves 100-150 students + 10-20 faculty and staff. Not surprisingly, End of Quarter parties are held at the end of the quarter, typically on the Friday of the last day of classes. This is a stressful time for many people, so a good party is always well received. It is an unfortunate fact that this time may also be very hectic for the organizers, so the key ingredient is TEAMWORK. You should find that the GSC members and other graduate students are highly receptive to pitching in. The historic venue of choice has been the EBU I East basement courtyard. The Graduate student lounge opens to this courtyard, providing a convenient base of operations. There are currently 2 refrigerators in the lounge, plus tables to bring outside and plenty of storage space for non-perishable provisions. BudgetingThe single biggest task here is figuring out how much money can be spent on food, and how much can be spent on alcohol. Certain funding sources cannot be used to purchase alcohol, and all funding sources require receipts for reimbursement and verification purposes. Note that Trader Joes does not have itemized receipts, so any alcohol purchased there can be purchased under the food budget. At all other stores, food and alcohol must be rung up on separate receipts and typically reimbursed from separate budgets. Contact the treasurer; currently Jared Welz (jwelz@ece.ucsd.edu), to find out how much money is available for these two categories. $300-$400 for food and $100-$150 for alcohol is typical. AdvertisingThis needs to begin the week before the party. Post fliers around EBU I and CMRR, and send an e-mail invitation to ece-people@ucsd.edu. Last minute e-mails the day of the party are also strongly advised. There are just a couple rules regarding these announcements. First of all, if any of the funds for the party came from the GSA (the Graduate Student Association, a campus-wide organization), then their contribution must be recognized in any of the propaganda (e.g. "sponsored by the GSA", etc.). MOST IMPORTANTLY, any public announcements cannot advertise that alcoholic beverages will be served. Doing so would jeopardize our ability to obtain alcohol permits in the future. It is my personal understanding, however, that e-mail addressed to our intended guests (graduate students, faculty, and staff are virtually guaranteed to be 21+) is fair game. Reserving EquipmentFor this task, your savior is Adolfo Juarez. He is THE MAN. He has the connections to reserve audio equipment (with a mic), barbeque grills, you name it. Make sure you give him plenty of time to work his mojo, however. Two weeks advance notice is probably best. He will always pull through, but do the man a favor and plan early. MusicThe setup and take-down of the audio system is handled by the campus audio-visual services. All that you have to do is make sure that bumpin' grooves enthrall the masses. A good mix of music is best: classic rock, techno, disco, dance pop, 80's and hip-hop are all good bets. Make sure that either a good variety is on hand, or that someone plays DJ in advance and burns a sweet mix at home. Or if anyone happens to know a good DJ! Obtaining an alcohol permitCurrently, Naomi Ramos (naramos@ucsd.edu) has the folder with the blank alcohol permits. In this same folder is a slew of old permits from previous quarters. The best way to fill out a new one is by example. All of the stipulations, rules, regulations and legalese are embedded therein. After signing it yourself, you must obtain the signatures of Graduate Affairs (Karol Previte), the MSO (Jan Cox), the ECE department chair (Professor Tu) and THE UC POLICE DEPARTMENT. It used to be Sgt. Hutchinson or Sgt. Jenkins that signed these, but they may have both retired by now. Go the Police Station (right between the Price Center and the SERF building) to get this taken care of. The most important thing here is to START EARLY. The three people that need to sign the form are continually busy. And like many professors, Professor Tu travels sporadically. Worse yet, UCPD typically requires at least a full day. Here again, Adolpho Juarez is an invaluable resource. If you give him the form a week in advance, he'll collect the signatures in the department and contact you. You still have to take care of getting the approval from UCPD. KegThe first ingredient listed in the recipe for a successful party is alcohol. And there is no more essential component of this than THE KEG. Wherever there is a tapped keg, mirth follows. Wherever there is mirth, laughter and glee will multiply and spread, infusing the masses with happiness and joy. All the ancient philosophers new this, now YOU know this. Scientific research has proven that although single kegs are happy, kegs in pairs are much happier. We have recently discovered that pairing a half keg with a pony keg (a 1/6th keg) yields optimum results. Experience has also shown us that the quality of the brew is paramount. Graduate students tend to be a refined lot, and many would not be caught dead around a keg of Coors Light. By the same token, many graduate students are casual beer drinkers, and would rather be forced to prove Fermat's Last Theorem than drink a really stout beer, such as Guiness. The middle of the road is rife with a bounty of fine choices. The most popular keg of all time was Red Nectar by the Humbolt Brewing Co. Sierra Nevada, Killian's Red and Firestone Double Barrel Ale have also been well received. My favorite place to buy kegs is Beer King (858-292-9210) on 5037 Shawline Rd. Selling kegs is their ONLY business, and they do it well. They always have good specials. To get a keg for a party on a Friday, call them on Tuesday, or Wednesday morning at the very latest. They are located within a few miles of the UCSD campus, Right behind the Arby's East of the 805 on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. When you exit Eastbound, turn left at Shawline, the first major intersection after crossing over the 805. They are immediately on your right next door to Guitar Trader. When you reserve the keg, make sure you ask for the 'Party Pack'. That includes ice, cups, and a plastic tub to hold the iced keg. When you pick up the keg, leave at least 2 hours before the party starts. Traffic on southbound 805 during Friday afternoon is absolutely atrocious. I recommend leaving no later than 1:00 PM. There is a fair amount of paperwork required, and that takes a while too. You have to leave a credit card number on a slip as a deposit for their equipment (shell, tap, ice tub). They don't actually charge a deposit, but they do make sure your credit limit can handle it. When you return the equipment, they destroy the deposit slip. A final word to the wise; make sure that the keg is secure while in transit. Kegs really like to roll around and jack everything up. Not only might it screw up your car, but worse yet, it could make the beer foamy. There is usually some way to drive out to the quad to unload the keg, if not, use the loading dock down in the basement. Kegs weigh in the neighborhood of 150lb, so have able-bodied helping hands ready. Whatever you do, NEVER DROP OR ROLL A KEG. You will have hundreds of pissed off partiers with cups full of foam cursing your name. FoodThere are many options for the food that vary significantly in the price and required effort. Several popular options that we have tried are:
A BBQ is an event in it's own right, and will be discussed in the next section. Round Table and Subway are super easy but not so cheap, but are good if the budget is big and the available preparation time is small. Tia Molly's is good but isn't exactly cheap, while still requiring a fair amount of work. Molly only makes the food; she doesn't deliver it. You have to transport all the food there and then return the leftovers plus the other borrowed equipment yourself. Since this is a make your own taco/burrito bar, it is kind of messy to deal with moving from the Price Center to EBU I and back. Round Table, Subway, and Tia Molly's are all located in the Price Center so they are easy to make arrangements with. Make sure that you do so at least a full week in advance. BBQBarbeques are very popular and cost effective. The price boils down to about $2 per person for the food, which is unbeatable. The downside is that it requires the greatest amount of teamwork, organization and planning.
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