Student Serenades Stat 110

A newly released single by Stephen L. Kent '14 is gripping campus, or at least the Statistics Department.

The song, a parody of Jason Derulo's iconic party tune "Ridin' Solo," glorifies Statistics 110: "Introduction to Probability," taught by Assistant Professor Joseph K. Blitzstein.

Kent, who plans on concentrating in statistics, said that he made the song on a whim after Blitzstein made a joke in class about Stat 110's need for a theme song.

"The professor made a passing remark that he wished there was a Stat 110 theme song for the class. It was obvious that he knew no one would take him up on it, but there I was, sitting among 200 or so other students in the class," Kent said. "I thought, you know what, I have a pretty free weekend, so I'm going to write that song."

Kent's fame within the Statistics Department has even spread off-campus. Department Chair Xiao-Li Meng, Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics, who is currently on sabbatical, wrote in an e-mail to Blitzstein that the spoof "has got to be the best statistics song ever!"