what is hbs skydeck?

skydeck is a weekly tradition at HBS.  technically, skydeck is the outer row of seats in the HBS classroom, which typically looks like:

front view:

on fridays after the last case of the week, groups of students from skydeck (keen on observing every move that other students in the class make, say or do during the week) gather at the front of class and present a media-laden spectacle (filled with powerpoint, youtube, and live acting, among other things) - mocking section-mates, professors, other events at HBS (and the wider world), etc. 

in terms of content, it can really go anywhere, but in my first year it never got really offensive to the point where anybody cried or walked out of the classroom.  the two most common things to be aware of are:

1) saying abnormally outlandish stuff in your class comments
2) section relationships and hookups

the above two categories are totally fair game for skydeck, so beware and tready carefully.

in general, though, the skydeck tradition has continued for decades at hbs and will continue for a long time going forward (unless the administration has something to do with it).  it serves as a good way to let off some steam from a hard week of cases, and skydeck also provides a great forum for you to get to know your classmates on a more personal level.