The Thank God It’s Friday parties of the 1980s consisted of kegs on The Hump next to the Student Center and Main Gym. And as of October, 2006, the TGIFs are back. But like a lot of things at UCSD, it’s under a new name: Bear Gardens. Now, the free beer is supplemented by food and nonalcoholic drinks, as well as games and raffles, and the party recently graced the presence of the Sun God itself.

While UCSD’s alcohol policy bans the advertisement of beer at an event, students have caught on quickly. “Word of mouth is really helping,” says A.S. President Marco Murillo, Marshall ’08. The event has grown from 450 students at the first Bear Garden, to 1,000 attendees only a year later. “It was the best event at UCSD, second only to Sun God,” says Tim Willis, Marshall ’07.

Last year’s experiment for the A.S. Council proved successful enough to sustain two Bear Gardens a quarter, and with its increasing popularity, A.S. associate vice president of programming Kevin Highland, Muir ’09, hopes to add another event each quarter and establish a permanent location for the parties.

Cliff Notes written by Neda Oreizy, ’08