History

The idea of having an "undistinguished lecture series" was discussed sometime around autumn of 2006 in the 8th floor lounge (the 7th floor lounge, as it was known then). The culprits behind this idea were the following three primary suspects: Emtiyaz Khan, Lucas Rizoli, and Uwe Schmidt.

These three were known to have fooled around with the idea of a student-run lecture series late at night after a few too many drinks at Koerners Pub. Their long, boozy bullshit sessions on Fridays were where they came up with ridiculous ideas which somehow, to them, sounded earth shattering (it is clear that they were suffering from alcohol intoxications).

The series was born on January 19, 2007. Lucas delivered the first lecture (Communication is Viral) to a very small audience of CS grads. These students were unwilling witnesses at first, but later seemed to be intrigued and disgusted in equal measure. Since then, UDLS has matured considerably (though it still requires supervision). Its even been trotted out to meet guests, such as prospective grad students.

In early 2008, UDLS was adopted by the UBC CSGSA. Despite being the series foster-parent, the CSGSA remains distant.

Update in 2023: The CSGSA now elects 1-2 UDLS Czars to keep up the tradition!