SDM Social Committee:
SDM has a student led committee that organizes social events for the program. The committee changes every year and you can volunteer to be on this committee as part of the Student Executive Board. You can find the social committee events calendar at: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=activesdm%40gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York. It's the Social Committee's job to keep this up to date with all events that it is planning as well as sometimes adding fun MIT and local events worth mentioning.
Free food:
Another benefit to being on campus is free lunch! There is such a thing at Sloan most weekdays after the first week of classes. It tails off just before finals. Watch the lecture announcements for companies presenting, usually in E51-3x5, during the 1200-1300 hour. There will almost always be some pizza to be had at the end, sometimes sushi. Scamming free food is practically an art form at Sloan.
Clubs:
MIT has TONS of clubs and almost all of the club events include food/drink/activities. Sign up for your favorite clubs & attend as often as you can. MIT Clubs Link: http://www.mit.edu.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/activities/.
Sloan Mail Lists:
The mail lists are created by the students for the students and people can post whatever they like. Most often info on school/club events are sent out as well as housing and course books sales. It's a must-do to sign-up and create a connection with Sloan activities. Here are some example groups, but can find lists from almost every year:
- Sloan 2014: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/mitsloan2014
- Sloan 2015: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/mitsloan2015
- Sloan 2016: should be created soon & guessing it will have the same format as above.
- If you browse Google Groups for Sloan, they have lots of others you may be interested in (Sloan Big Data, Soccer, Sloan Volleyball, etc.).
C-Functions
There is also something called a “C-function” (C = consumption, although with recent alcohol-related problems that term is somewhat out of vogue) that happens at Sloan on Thursday nights. Basically they are some form of dinner (often pizza, sometimes Asian smorgasboard or lobster, and no I’m not joking) and alcohol, with music. C-functions vary in atmosphere from a social gathering to an all-out party depending upon the week, are run by a mysterious organization called the Graduate Management Society (GMS), with no known office. They have a list of who has paid, sporadically checked at entry more often checked at the bar. Most weeks they meet in Tang (E51) lobby, sometimes in Walker Memorial or off-campus; assume Tang, there will be email if it is elsewhere. Cost is $150 per year (fall-spring), they have not given SDMers a problem paying $75 if you are only here for one term. Easiest way is to just scam since they often don’t check especially after the first few weeks of the term, proper way is to pay the list-checkers the proper amount and they will add you to the list.
Free dinners (finger food, “sushi”, etc.) can be had during recruiting season. Watch the papers for times; many are in the Cambridge Marriott, others on campus in various rooms. Arriving about an hour after the scheduled starting time is a workable strategy if you are there for the food rather than the spiel.
Rebecca’s Café, in Kendall Square across the street and toward Sloan from the Coop/T, is a good place for good food especially for vegetarians. They do have a limited selection of vegan items. Show your MIT student ID card when ordering and get a discount. Cookies are supposedly half price on weekdays after 17:30.
Monthly lunches or other socials:
SDM started having a free monthly in-office lunch in April 1998. Announcements are sent via email to the on-campus mailing lists, typically it is the last Friday of the month. Students (usually one or two) suggest a restaurant to buy from, and the SDM people have the food delivered. The intent is to get people hanging out together a bit, since the RA people tend to hide out in other places mostly. As of 2001 lunches aren’t happening but we have tried to pick a late afternoon class on Thursdays and make a habit of having a weekly beer & pizza together in the Muddy CharlesAll Sloan students are admitted free of charge with an MIT ID...basically anyone can go, but if you want to drink alcohol you need to register and get a wrist band.
Fun Stuff:
The MIT Activies Committee (MITAC) organizes various events, including movies, and provides discount or free tickets to museums, theatres, and more. Movies: $2.50 student admission, on campus, usually two per week, digital sound. See [http://mv.ezproxy.com.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/this_term/this_term.shtml] for the whole term schedule. When the “credits” roll and everyone starts reading (yelling) them “And now…in stereo!” just join in; it is a cultural thing.