Get Involved!

We, the n'th year grads, would like to urge you, the 1st year grads, to get involved in the department. Why? Because that's what makes it fun for all of us. The bottom line is, you will be spending a number of years in this department. So be an active part of your graduate experience!

There are a number of ways to do this. Hanging out in the the lounge during the day seems to be a popular one, but others include playing intramural sports, playing ``pick-up'' sports, joining clubs, geeting involved with CSE GSA, and helping out with activities within the department.

Sports and the CSE Grad

Contrary to the popular myth, the CSE graduate student is not necessarily a four-eyed physical wreck, attached to a Sun workstation playing XPilot or chesstool until the earliest hours of the morning. There are those who engage in a number of sporting activities, ranging from racquetball and badminton to fencing to swimming and surfing. Asking around can find you partners or like-minded enthusiasts.

However, if you're looking to participate in sports leagues organized by the UCSD Intramural Department, you may be in for an uphill battle: while CSE grads do play a wide variety of sports, it's the rare sport that draws a lot of CSE grads. But there is hope. In the past few years, the department has fielded teams in Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, and our perennial powerhouse Hawaiian Football team.

Besides intramurals, many students lately have started taking Recreation classes that are run out of RIMAC. Some that we've overheard people mention include: tennis (lessons), gymnastics, Scottish country dancing, trampoline workout, and a plethora of aerobics and martial arts classes.

Alternatives include posting directly to cse.grads or ucsd.jocks and asking around, or trying to find ``pick-up'' games (see section ).

A point about these sports: the intramural department usually runs coed leagues for these sports at various times of the year. Although volleyball leagues are single-sex during the Autumn Quarter, coed leagues are run during Spring and Summer Quarters. Bowling is always coed, as is floor hockey, although the former is Winter-Quarter only and the latter is Autumn-Quarter only. Basketball plays 3-on-3 half-court and 5-on-5 full-court during Autumn and Winter Quarters, both single-sex leagues, but coed 6-on-6 full-court during Spring Quarter. The important facet of all the coed leagues is that there must be at least as many women on the court at any time as men. We have found that there are usually far fewer women than men who are interested in playing these sports. We try to compensate by making a large push for women through our contacts in various classes and whatnot, but it makes our life much easier if each man tries to bring at least one woman into the organization, although it's not mandatory.

Anyway, the important thing to remember is that we do play sports, and that there are mail addresses for some of them. Also bear in mind that faculty and staff play various sports as well. For example, Glen Gilbert is the ``local league administrator for adult non-check hockey here in San Diego.'' So don't study all the time.

``Pick-up'' Games

  If you find intramurals too structured for your casual lifestyle, don't forget that there are plenty of other opportunities to stay in shape. There are three recreation centers: Canyonview (534-4037) (east of the Engineering building), the Rec Gym (just south of AP&M), and the newly constructed RIMAC (north of AP&M.) These centers have facilities for racquetball, tennis, swimming, volleyball, basketball, and many others. And don't say you don't have a partner ...ask around. It's a good way to meet others in the department. If you need a wider audience, email csgrads. There is also a wide variety of sporting activities sponsored by the campus recreation center. These include rock climbing excursions to Joshua Tree, kayaking trips (day and overnight), and backpacking trips, among other things. Check it out.

Clubs

At UCSD, there is a club for almost every interest (and if there isn't one, you could always start one!). A good way to get a sampling of the many clubs is to check out the Fall Festival on the Green (FFOG). This outdoor event takes place usually sometime early in the fall quarter, one year it was held on the Sun God lawn. Most campus clubs will have an information table, with volunteers answering your questions.

Women in CSE

The women in the department get together as a group about once a quarter. This is a great way for new women to get to know some of the other female grad students (and faculty, visitors and postdocs), and realize that there ARE other women around! For more information, email cswomen@cs - that reaches all of us/them.

Department Activities

One of the best ways to meet people in the department is to help out with department activities. These activities include the annual (or semi-annual, depending on funds) CSE beach party, and the restocking of Chez Bob from the Price Club. We always need a few pick-up trucks, supplies (like ice chests, etc.), and extra hands for the beach party. Other ways to participate in the department are through ``official'' positions, such as being an elected CSEGSA officer, or a Chez-Bob Advisory Committee member. For slightly less responsibility than these positions, you can help out with ``special projects'' that come up occasionally.