How to run a TGIF at UW CSE

2024-02-24

The Allen School has a long history of Friday afternoon socials, known as TGIFs. They have been slowly coming back after a long lull during the WFH phase of the pandemic. This documents my experience in organizing an ice carving TGIF in the Winter Quarter of 2024.

TGIFs in the past have ranged from simple and effective ice cream events, to the more novel (making your own donuts with hot oil) and the zany (fire and ice, ice carving with blowtorches). My general observation is that people are happy to hang out, eat snacks, and drink on a Friday afternoon; the activity is generally a secondary concern (unless the TGIF is built around the activity).

Sometimes, labs will be "charged" (i.e., asked nicely) to organize a TGIF. This was actually how TGIFs were historically organized; a TGIF coordinator would be in charge of organizing a schedule for each lab at the start of each quarter.

Planning

It depends on what type of TGIF you want to run, but I would recommend starting no less than a week ahead of the TGIF. If you have a crazier idea that involves a lot of logistics or running some ideas by facilities, you are only doing yourself a favour the earlier you start. Here are the basic steps you'll need to follow to run a TGIF:

1. Think of a theme (the hardest part, really).
2. Get supplies and ensure you have enough snacks and drinks.
3. Publicize the event (three times, once on Wed, and 2x on Friday).
4. Set up the atrium
5. Clean up!

Theme

The theme is generally the most difficult part of the TGIF, and it's good if you can start thinking about this earlier. You can look to inspiration from past TGIFs, which feature a large number of tried-and-true events (e.g., paper airplane contest, pasta towers, beer tastings). If you're a new grad student, ask the older folks in your lab; they've been around longer and have seen more TGIFs. An underrated source of wisdom are also faculty members and alumni of the program.

Food and Supplies

The total budget for a TGIF is $150 (as of Feb '24). This can be used toward the purchase of supplies (for your theme), food, and drinks. You should first check the TGIF closet (printer room on the 6th floor of Allen) to see what you need. There's a good chance that there'll be leftover alcohol from a previous TGIF, but you'll probably need to buy snacks. If you end up buying too many drinks, that's not exactly an issue. Leftover alcohol can go in the TGIF closet to be used toward the next TGIF. Make sure to save all your receipts and the attendance sheet!

Publicizing the Event

You'll want to send an email to the respective mailing lists (check your email for which ones, look at previous TGIF invites) on Wednesday afternoon for the week's TGIF. Here's the email I sent on Wednesday before ice carving:

        Back in Canada, I had to take an ice carving class to graduate from
        high school*. This Friday (2/23), carve out some time to celebrate
        Canadian culture and participate in some ice carving of your own!

        -james

        *This is a lie, but ice carving is really happening if I can get the
        blocks of ice frozen
        ____________________________________________________________________
    

You should also send a follow-up email at around noon on Friday, and when the TGIF actually starts at 4:30pm on Friday.

Setting up the Atrium

At around 4pm on Friday, start setting up the Allen Atrium. Politely ask any students using the area where the TGIF usually is to leave. Clear some tables and chairs, and set up the pylons (stanchions? whatever they're called) around the perimeter. You can get them from the grad mail, to which you should have access. Bring down the snacks and drinks from the TGIF closet, and remember to leave a sign-in sheet near the entrance. Have fun!

Clean up!

When the crowd starts to dwindle, or at around 5:45pm, you should start thinking about cleaning up. The pylons should go back into the mail room, and the leftover drinks and snacks should go back up to the TGIF closet.

Ice-carving TGIF Requirements

These are the things I used to run the ice-carving TGIF on February 23, 2024. Most of the items are in the TGIF closet:

        4x 5 gallon buckets
        4x rubber mallets
        4x chisels
        4x tables (we used the ones in the atrium)
        2x large blue tarps (ask someone for this)
        2x paper towels (or as many as you can spare)
    

Freezing the Ice

You should get in touch with the Allen School's events coordinator and ask if you can use the large freezer up in Zillow. You'll need to start freezing the ice at least 2 days in advance, otherwise the buckets might not freeze. For reference, I filled the buckets and stored them in the freezer on the Wednesday before the TGIF. Don't overfill the buckets; water expands as it freezes. I would recommend checking the buckets on Thursday afternoon to see if they're frozen. This will give you enough time to pivot to a plan B, if needed.

Getting the Ice Out

This is probably the most nerve-wracking part. Freezing the water is easy, but getting the ice out is the hard part. Remove the buckets from the freezer at least 2 hours before the event. For reference, I took the buckets out at 1:50pm on the day of. I put the buckets in the lab (atop a tarp, to minimize spillage) and waited for a bit until I tried to get the ice out. If you hear cracking or popping sounds, that's great. It means the ice is melting and air pockets are being released. If you tap on the sides of the bucket and it sounds hollow, also a good sign; you should (carefully) tip the bucket and try to see if the ice slides out. If there's a stubborn bucket, take it to one of the kitchens and run some hot/warm water on the sides. Don't do this immediately after you take the buckets out of the freezer, the large temperature difference might crack the ice entirely.

You can easily move the gallon buckets with the aid of some carts, which the Gates front desk should be able to help you with. Don't be like me and try to lift all the buckets yourself, you're going to be sore for a few days.

Setting Up the Atrium

Setting up the atrium consists of unfolding the two blue tarps to maximize the covered area, where you should be able to place 4 of the tables that are usually located in the atrium. Lay down some paper towels on each table to prevent the ice from sliding around. Be extremely careful lifting the ice out of each bucket and onto the table, be mindful of your feet because 5 gallons of ice is heavy. I recommend gloves.