Weekly “Thank God It’s Friday” concerts, which in the past included alcohol but were discontinued in recent years due to a lack of funds, are back on — sort of.
A.S. Commissioner of Programming Di Lam stated in an e-mail that although the concerts will be reinstated, they won’t be as frequent and the focal point will be the social environment rather than the beer garden. The plan mirrors Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson’s sentiments; last year he said that “the most important feature [of campus events] is bringing members of the campus community together for an enjoyable event, not the presence or absence of alcohol.”
TGs were discontinued about a decade ago due to insufficient funds. The weekly concerts have in recent years been supplemented by the quarterly “Thank Goodness It’s Over” concerts, which do not include alcohol. Despite the previous funding problems, the reinstated TGs will still be free. However, the concerts will be limited to one during fall quarter, two during winter and one during spring.
In the past, TGs took place on the Hump outside the Student Center, but Lam stated that the location for the new TGs has yet to be determined.
“There was an intention of doing it on Sun God lawn,” Lam stated. “But because Sun God lawn is so massive and there is no defined perimeter to contain the event, we have had to search for alternatives. We are currently looking at several locations on campus and trying to get one location approved with the respective departments.”
A major point of contention among students, the A.S. Council and Watson last year was the availability of alcohol at campus events. At the time, the Undergraduate Student Experience and Satisfaction report, which was compiled last year by a committee made up of students, staff and alumni and detailed campus life, stated, “The campus should either bring back TGs or create a new regular event fulfilling these needs.”
The report stated that UCSD lacked the strong campus community students had previously enjoyed.
“[The campus needs] a regular event that students could look forward to and reflect positively upon after they graduate,” the report stated.
Many A.S. councilmembers pushed to bring back beer gardens, including former Revelle College Senior Senator Rachel Corell. However, Watson rejected a proposal for a beer garden at Sun God, despite the inclusion of a safety plan by the A.S. Council.
“We were under the impression that if we applied ourselves toward safety concerns, we would be able to have a beer garden,” former A.S. President Jenn Pae said last year. “To have the idea be rejected was very sad.”
Watson said that Sun God and TGs are different regarding alcohol because of their difference in size. However, now that TGs are returning, beer gardens will come back as well. The A.S. Council is planning the first TG for Oct. 20.
“I think this is one event that will definitely contribute greatly [to] helping a greater UCSD community that is more social and welcoming,” Lam stated. “The fun portion of the event is what we are aiming for, not the beer.”
Both Watson and the A.S. Council say that safety is the main concern regarding TGs. Because of the beer garden, extra security precautions will be taken to ensure that drinking is restricted to students of age. These precautions include increased private security for the event and several meetings with the UCSD Police Department.
“Anyone caught passing alcohol to underage drinkers will be turned over to [the] police department,” Lam stated.
However, according to Lam, there will be no new rules regulating TGs.
“As far as I’m concerned, there are no new regulations governing the TGs,” she stated. “To my understanding, we were allowed to do them, but funding was just never allocated to make these TGs happen.”
The A.S. Council hopes to address the issues identified by the U.S.E.S. report by bringing back TGs in a lasting way.
“In order to ensure the long-term survival of this event, [safety and efficient management] will be our main concerns as the event progresses over time,” Lam stated.
