PS: This is why I moved to Northern California

Carmel-by-the-Sea is such a pretty place.

Mural Monday on a Tuesday

Narwhal!

Hello readers! I am back from Spring Break, feeling refreshed, relaxed, and some other adjective that starts with an r. Sorry for the belatedness of this week's mural post; as you can see I'm finding it a little bit difficult to get used to school life (and only after a week, sheesh!).

At some point during this week though, I must find a way to wake myself up. April's coming up (in two days!), and with it come a multitude of tasks that I must do before the end of the school year. Among the multitude: find a summer publishing internship, work on Cal Day (April 17th), dance in the [M]ovement showcase, write various final essays for virtually all of my classes, finish making a dark room out of a closet at Stebbins Hall Co-op, etc. etc. etc...

I shouldn't really be so stressed because I truly do look forward to all of these events. I've been applying for a few weeks now to publishing houses around the bay area, and even though the search is quite time-consuming, it showed me that there are still a great number of independent publishing houses still in existence. That gives me hope for my future (which, hopefully, is a career in publishing), and also for the publishing industry in general. I myself am neither a staunch advocate for digital book readers like Kindle nor an ignorant book snob who clings desperately to the papery past. I think there's a balance with technology and books that the publishing industry must address so that substance and e-substance supplement, not replace, each other. But I'm getting waaay ahead of myself here; I'm too much in a tangent! (Topic tabled until a later post.)

Cal Day (April 17th! Go!) will be swell. Since I'm a work study student with the Office of Admissions, I get to help out that day. I'll probably see some of you Senior Weekend students there too! But since Cal Day's going to be a major highlight of my semester, I'll save this for another post too. Just keep on the lookout.

[M]ovement Showcase is the tough one, because unfortunately (planning-wise) this is happening on the same week as Cal Day week! So I'm part of this dance club called The Movement, and we do dances in three genres: swing, hip hop, and jazz. I swing dance! (Bet you didn't know that, huh?) We've been preparing for showcase and will be having two free shows on Lower Sproul (April 4th and 5th at noon). We also have performances the week after that. As for my dance, I'm excited about it, but also nervous because we need to clean it up and add in aerials. Here's a video that we did one semester:

I love Movement. I really do. Again, more on that later.

So those are pretty much the main things on my plate right now--that and school, and everything else. Do you see how April could sometimes be the cruelest month?

But I kid. I secretly love this time of year.

Beginning Life at Cal!

That fateful day of March 25, I remember how afraid I was to choose where to go and what I was to do. It all seems too easy when the ball isn’t in your court and you’re waiting on who is willing to take you. March 25 is the day I had to decide which college to go to from the ones that have chosen me; knowing that my choice would shape the rest of my college life and in turn, the rest of your life.
To be honest I was quite frightful of what my Cal experience was going to be. I was the first of my family to actually move out to college. Debating whether I chose the right place for me, and the dread of being homesick definitely hit me the day I stepped on campus. I’m happy to say my worries of choosing the right college for me were short lived! Berkeley University was everything I expected it to be and more! It challenged me, ignited my love of learning once again, and on its beautiful, breezy, and sunny days it took my breath away.

I still vividly remember move-in day at Cal; unpacking all my things was a good day’s worth of work, and I was so excited for now moving into and having my own space in an entirely new place to me. While the adjustment period away from home was hard for me, as it is for most students, being in such a beautiful environment that kept me occupied with its challenges, lured me with its unique and various surrounding cafes, yogurt place, and restaurants, and surrounded me with a group of amazing people (that I soon became very close friends with) helped make my adjustment period rather short.
My favorite memories here thus far have consisted of simple ones: late night baking in the foothill kitchen, feeling guilty about having a late night baking session and in turn, having a late night workout session at the foothill workout room, trying out various cafes with friends, eating at every yogurt place within walking distance, etc… Berkeley couldn’t have surprised me in a more wonderful way. I hope your experiences here at Cal are as splendid and unique as my own, if you so choose to come to Cal too!
GO BEARS!

Best Advice for New Students

Happy rest of your life!

Ah, March 25th. For some of you, I bet you're saying this is the happiest day of your life. For others, well... maybe not. No matter what kind of response you got, however, you probably know which colleges selected you by now--and now it's finally time for you to make the decision.

Like everyone else, I didn't know what to expect from college. Really, I didn't. Sure, I read extensively about college life at Berkeley--what the dorms were like, how the social scene is, where to eat, WHAT to eat, etc. etc. etc. I stalked the College Confidential forums everyday. In fact if this blog existed when I got accepted into Cal I would've read these posts two or three times (you gotta love internet accessibility). From all of this I still didn't know what to expect--how different it would be living away from home. (Tip #1: Everyone misses their family the first year. It's okay. OH--and if you stay in the dorms during Spring Break, it gets a little lonely)

Anyway, that feeling never really changed... when I got to Berkeley I was still pretty lost. I remember going with my dorm mates to Calapalooza (a great big club fair on lower Sproul) and feeling like I was drowning in a sea of flyers and tables and people telling me to join this, join that, it'sfunandinterestingandagoodcauseandI'llgiveyouafreepen!! (Tip #2: Don't give your e-mail address so freely--you'll regret it in your senior year when you still get weekly updates from Rotaract, a club whose meetings you haven't attended since Welcome Week)

At first I thought the dorms were a bummer, because my roommates and I ended up on an all-girls' floor. Think of a hallway of closed doors, and that was 6th floor Ida Sproul. Terrified that my social life would consist of Friday night homework and lonely movies, I tried really hard to make friends. Let me tell you that it was a month of awkward determination (Tip #3: Talking to people in the bathroom is a great and amusing way to make friends) but I kept it up and I ended up being really close with some of my dorm mates. Oh, and--(Tip #4: Ordering Nude Sushi late at night during midterms is a great floor bonding experience. It is also very delicious)

My freshman year was amazing and difficult but never boring. I made some pretty great friends, got lost around campus quite a bit (Tip #5: It's okay to carry around a map the first few days of school. You might look a little silly but... it's better than being late to your first lecture) and in my travels, have found some pretty cool spots to sit and do some reading during my spare time.

I wish I could tell you everything about my freshman year, but really you have to live through it yourself. There's no online forum, no piece of information or testimonial that can accurately depict what you will do for the next few years. But that's what living's for! So good luck, you. People say (quite clichedly, I may say) that this is the first day of the rest of your life. But it's true. Now go live it. Go bears!

You're In!

Congratulations and hello to the incoming class of 2014! I'm really excited for you to begin your Cal experience! Even though I haven't been here for too long myself, I've really learned a lot this past year about being independent, adjusting to life in the dorms, navigating public transportation, Mexican history*, and about how the whole academic life/social life/extracurricular life system works.

*keep reading, I promise this will make more sense.

Here are a few tips from me to you.

1) Pack a reasonable amount of things. Especially if you are going to be living in a triple like I am right now. Also don't forget this commonly forgotten item: an umbrella. On the first rainy day of the semester, I remember waiting in a long line at Walgreen's because everyone was purchasing an umbrella. Also, invest in a good, sturdy one that can withstand the bay area wind.

2) Schedule classes wisely. First semester I faced a scheduling DISASTER because the online schedule of classes doesn't really have detailed descriptions of the class. I ended up in two classes that weren't right for me. Switching is a hassle because I ended up on the waitlist for my new class (luckily I eventually got in), and I also switched into an upper division course. Although I was afraid this upper division course would be really really difficult, it turned out not only to be manageable, but also one of the most interesting classes I've taken so far. The class was "The Southern Border 159Ac" (satisfies the American Cultures requirement). *That is where the Mexican history comes in, but as a note, the class was also focused on a few other Latin American countries as well.

Although all turned out well for me in the end, I would recommend talking to someone and asking questions before signing up, especially if you know someone in your major. Signing up for more classes than you need and then dropping one when classes begin also works as a good back-up plan.

3) Occasionally check this website throughout the semester: http://caldining.berkeley.edu/points.html. You don't want to be left with no meal points a month before the semester ends.

4) Stay involved! If you got into Cal, you probably were really involved in something outside of your academic work, and should continue to be part of extracurricular activities when you get here too! Lots of opportunities await you.

Now that you've gotten in, enjoy the rest of senior year, have fun at CalSO, and get ready for your first semester!

Admissions Decisions

I wanted to take this week to quickly talk about what it was like waiting for my acceptance and what it was like to finally hear from Cal. Waiting was really difficult, and the unknown is certainly not fun. One thing that is definitely hard to hear before you hear about your decision is that successful, qualified people will really do well anywhere. With that being said, obviously for me, I felt that Cal was the best place for me to succeed. As an out-of-state applicant I felt that there was a very low likelihood that I would be admitted, and while I imagined that living in California, in the Bay Area, and studying at the premier public school in the nation, I also focused on the number of other schools that I applied to and was waiting to hear from.

As a transfer it is a bit of a different feeling, because I always knew that the worse case scenario was that I would just stay at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, which is a great liberal arts school that certainly helped me a great amount, especially in my writing as well as critical and analytical thinking. Despite this, I still had dreams of being at a bigger school with a more diverse student body – in both ethnicity and interests, as well as being a part of the history of Cal. Some of the other schools I applied to transfer to were Emory University in Atlanta, Brown University in Providence, and Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. These were all great schools and I knew even if I got into all of them it would be a difficult decision to make. Sometimes rejection even makes the decision a bit easier.

UC Berkeley was actually the first school I heard from on April 30, 2009. When I saw that I was accepted I was completely overwhelmed. The long “to do list” on Myberkeleyapp seemed like a lot to do and sort out in just a few months, and since I was going away for the summer to work at an overnight summer camp, I had even less time (not to mention that I had finals at Trinity in only a few days). What kept me sane was remembering to take it one thing at a time. The first thing I felt I needed to do was actually visit Berkeley (I had never been to California before). I came out with my father and I really fell in love with the school even more than I had through pictures. As a transfer, I needed to decide which major I would declare and whether it was really worth transferring.

The fact that so many professors were willing to meet with me even before I was a student at Cal made me feel that despite the stereotype of big class sizes and inaccessible professors, that I could really make a connection with my professors at Berkeley. After I had met with the History advisor Leah Flanagan, I really knew that this was the right place for me. After that, I really paid close attention to Myberkeleyapp and the number of things I had left to do in order to enroll.
It really seemed like a lot, but by August I had housing, a list of classes (I got into every class that I wanted), and a decent sense of what fraternities I wanted to check out. Since I didn’t know anyone that was already at Cal, I thought it was important to join an organization (for me it was a fraternity) that would help me acclimate quickly to the new environment, and I think it was really successful.

I want to wish everyone good luck wherever they decide to attend college and in whatever career path they may choose.

Mural Monday: Blue Musician

On the third floor of Stebbins. So chill. Take once a day with Muddy Waters and you'll be good to go.

Advice for Newly Cal Bears

First of all, Congratulations! You made it into Cal!

I remember when I was going through the college admission process, Cal was one of the last schools I had heard from (I didn't apply to any other UC's since I am out of state), but I remember being so stoked that I had gotten into my dream school!

I'm going to focus my post on what to do your first few days at school...

I would say that going the the welcome events is definitely a good idea. Calapalooza is a huge event held on campus a few days before school starts where you can find out about all the clubs and activities to do at Cal, and get tons of FREE STUFF!

When you are signing up for classes be sure to check out exactly what you are signing up for, whether it be a lit class, math class, etc. I had a guy friend who signed up for a lit class, that ended up being a feminine studies class (he ended up enjoying it, but it definitely was not what he expected).

I would suggest using a site called http://esc.frozeninflames.net/, it's run my a UC student in the EECS department that helps you to create schedules based on the classes that you want. If you are in L&S I would suggest using the L&S breadth search to find out what courses outside your major you can fit into your schedule.

There are so many courses offered at Cal that you can easily get overwhelmed, the best thing for you to do is to talk to an undergraduate adviser in your intended major to get a game plan on what classes to take and when (find out there contact information and email them over the summer) , talk to Cal students (feel free to comment on my posts, I'll try to answer any questions you guys have, and if you go to CalSo ask tons of questions of your counselor), and to take it easy on the courses.

The hardest thing about transitioning between high school and college is figuring out what you can handle. College is a whole new ballgame many of you will be living in dorms and will have to adjust to a new living conditions in addition to a different workload. Classes at Cal are very rigorous and you will be expected to put in hours out of class for homework and studying. I would suggest limiting yourself to between 13-16 units your first semester. Be sure to balence your schedule...more on this topic in my next post.

Sara

The View

The first time I walked into my triple in Unit 3 Ida Sproul Hall, I was astounded by the view. I had a corner room on the sixth floor with a perfect and bay-facing windows. My roommates and I used to stare into San Francisco and literally see what the weather was like--cloudy or foggy or rainy or balmy. At night the bay would light up like a Christmas tree and that would be the last thing I saw at the end of the day. In fact that view became so much a part of our lives that we started putting little quotes for inspiration:

Quotation: "Do you mark how the wisteria, sun-impacted on the wall here, distills and penetrates the room as though (light-unimpeded) by secret and attritive progress from mote to mote of obscurity's myriad components?" (Faulkner)

My roommate picked that quotation. It was up there for about a month and the whole time I just kept thinking, what does this passage even mean?!

I still don't know.

So the weather has officially shed off its rainy facade--oh, I just knew you were faking it, Berkeley, I just knew it--and is as sunny as the day I took that photograph a year ago.

Just finished my last class. Officially spring break! That means no more posts until next week, with a few (exciting!) exceptions. To the majority of whoever is reading this (prospective freshmen), I feel SO SORRY FOR YOU. You guys must be sweating right now, with the Berkeley decision date coming up. I was once in that position, and I know it's tough, but hang in there.

Relax, guys. See you on the other side.

Resurfacing

Ciao! Come stai? I am back after a not so brief hiatus. Things have been really hectic for me ever since the Blackout that took place on March 2, 2010. I did participate in the event and since that day, many people, myself included, have been working towards rebuilding the Black community at Berkeley and creating organizations and structures that will allow us to become a more unified body.

Also, school has been really crazy lately as well. I am in Italian 1 which is amazing amazing amazing but...a lot of work and I need to dedicate more time to that. Overall, life is good. I'm learning to prioritize and give school the right amount of attention as well as my extra-curriculars enough attention without neglecting either of my endeavors.

Hmm... So a really good friend of mine gave me a beautiful quote (Shout out to S. thanks for the quote) which said that the school doesn't define me, but that I define the school and that makes so much sense. Berkeley is a premier institution not just because of a "name" or a "reputation" but because the amazing and dynamic students that attend the institution give it that name. That was a big revelation for me and is inspiring me to make the most of my time spent here at Cal and encourage others to do the same.

Quote: (paraphrased) If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Be the best of whatever you are - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thanks for reading! Be back with some interesting Spring Break updates!

Diamond

Ps: here is a link to a two-part video about the UC Berkeley Blackout 2010

Cafes In Berkeley!!

Berkeley University is definitely a place of interesting people, places,and sites, yet one of its most common places to go to is one of my favorites, cafes. Cafes are plentiful here at Cal, and to me are all unique in their own ways. Four of my favorites are Yali’s Café located in Stanley Hall, Free Speech Café located at Moffitt Library, Caffé Strada located on Bancroft and College, and Sacks located on College and Derby.

Yali’s is a perfect place for getting hearty food and coffee on the northside of campus. Since Yali’s is close to most of my classes here at Cal, Ican definitely say my wallet has taken a hit from their delicious mochas and toasted plain white bagels. In fact, most of my friends and I lived off of their toasted plain white bagels with cream cheese, our first semester here at Cal. While I don’t recommend this diet, I never got sick of how good those toasted bagels are! I’m still a faithful customer, so much so that they know my “usual” and name, embarrassingly enough.

Another great café on campus is Free Speech Movement Café. It is a very popular place to go to since it’s located near the heart of campus. Infact FSM is usually so packed it’s near impossible to find any available seating inside. Fortunately enough, Free Speech Movement Cafe also has outside seating, which is where I prefer to sit, on sunny days. Not only is it a great place to study, meet up with friends, and relax, but FSM also provides a large variety of delicious foods to choose from. I personally love to get lunch there. From their quesadillas to their sandwiches, I’ve definitely tried and loved it all!

Unlike FSM and Yali’s, Caffé Strada is located not on campus, but across the street. It is one of the most popular places to grab a quick cup ofcoffee and pastry “on the go”. Caffé Strada is one of my favorite places to sit, study, and get my caffeine fix. It is definitely my “go-to” spot when I need to get work done. Though for most, it’s a good place to sit down and talk. Its atmosphere provides a warm and welcoming environment.

Finally there is Sacks. Although it is further away, it is well worth the trip for its amazing paninis and chai tea lattes. The fact that it is farther away from Campus makes it more of a local’s secret, as few people are willing to make the trek, or have even come across it. Thankfully enough, I was actually shown the café by one of my close friends from Unit 2 since Sacks is not more than 3 blocks away from it. The atmosphere is more settled than the aforementioned cafes, making it a great place for being productive or even relaxing. I’m personally addicted to their“university themed” paninis and definitely recommend making the trip when you have some time for the walk!

Midterm Checklist

x Go to the library. Now. Even though it's such a beautiful day outside and people are chilling in front of Doe as I speak... Oh how their happiness consists of sunshades and frisbees. Work. Work. Work.
x Line up books and notes.
x Quietly count to ten in order to avoid unnecessary panic attacks--that could be embarrassing in a library.
x Look around to see anybody you know. Oh goody, it was only the anonymous purple-shirted man who saw the momentary dry heaving. He's waving at me. Why is he waving?
x Wave calmly to those you know. Because in fact the purple-shirted man is in the class you are studying for.
x Look through your notes for the past nine weeks. (On another, completely unrelated note, maybe try a calligraphy class? Handwriting is bad, bad, bad. Did I write the word "burrito" in my notes? I must have been hungry that day.)
x Review readings. Or rather, maybe I should get to reading those last 200 pages of Cloud Atlas...
x Wake up from nap. Whoa. Was I asleep? For how long? Where am I? What am I... ohrighthomework...
x After finishing goals, take breaks. (Also, maybe allot only enough time on facebook to check friend requests. Oh, and new pictures of so-and-so in front of the largest ball of twine?! When was this?!? Why didn't she invite me?!?11@1)
x Say no to distraction. Although the general atmosphere of the library is that of sulky studiousness(not really. Only to me.), creativity in the most rigid of places is quite possible. Take a look at my awesome pocket watch, for instance. Isn't it beautiful? Aren't you jealous?

Sigh. Only a couple more days until Spring Break.

Mural Mondays (or, Another Why I love My Co-op)

One very awesome aspect that I mentioned about the co-ops is the panoply of murals that adorn most co-op hallways. Since in a co-op property is shared, you can decorate the house the way you want it to. Try walking around Cloyne or CZ sometime and you'll get a great picture of Berkeley culture--creativity seems to seep onto the walls. Oh, and it also makes trudging up three floors of stairs in my house (Stebbins Hall) much more entertaining.

That said, I'm going to try to post a picture of a different mural every week. Believe me, there are a lot! I'll get started with one of my favorites of Napoleon, on the front stairwell between the second and third floor:

Happy Monday!

Sproul: Where Madness is Mundane

Being bored and being at Berkeley are truly mutually exclusive. If you find yourself questioning this because you've somehow managed to find yourself with a free afternoon, just take a stroll through Sproul Plaza, a bustling center for student activity on campus, and it'll fill up quickly. The tables of various clubs and organizations border both sides of the path, and their representatives people the main walkway, handing out colorful fliers for meetings, fundraisers, performances, and other events to passersby. Pictured is what I picked up from walking around Sproul for about ten minutes.

So, from these, I compiled a little calendar of events you can attend by holding out your hand as you walk from Telegraph to Sather Gate:

March 11: "A Night in Bombay," Freshman Sophomore Entrepreneurial Society Meeting
March 12: The Movement Dance Workshop, Phi Beta Lambda Poker Tournament
March 13: Dreaming of Haiti Benefit Showcase for Victims
March 14: Barestage Productions: Spring One-Acts
March 15: Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker: A Film by Cathy Cook
March 16: International Food Festival
March 17: Stand With Haiti Banquet
March 18: CSA Game Night, Sigma Omega Pi Divinity 2010
March 19: Casino Royale Spring Formal

In total, I got 18 items, including two magazines; fliers for an international food festival; jazz, hip hop, and ballroom dance classes; a bone marrow drive; and two plays, not to mention free hugs!

Vibrant and dynamic, Sproul is the place to be! And if the high-energy atmosphere is a little too much for you, don't worry. There are plenty of alternate routes to get you to class without fistfuls of fliers, including a scenic path over Strawberry Creek. When you visit Cal, make sure to stop by. It will be an experience you won't forget!

Busy Week at Cal

The past two weeks have been really busy here at Cal, and midterms have definitely been occupying most of my time. This past weekend my fraternity went to Lake Tahoe on a ski and snowboard trip, but since I had a midterm in a history class, I decided it was best to wait for our next trip. But just because I didn’t have time to go skiing in Tahoe this weekend, doesn’t mean I didn’t have any fun. One of many great things about Berkeley is the great Bay Area and even the amazing places within a few hours – Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz – and those are only the ones I know about. As an out-of state student I probably appreciate these things a bit more than the average Californian, but they are truly great places to visit. This past weekend I took the hour and a half ride to Santa Cruz, where I stayed with a friend while we studied for a midterm. While I probably spend ten hours each on Saturday and Sunday studying for this test, I was still able to experience the beach, and some cool places in Santa Cruz. The weather was really great too. I’m sure I would’ve had a better time had I not had a midterm on Tuesday, but I had fun nonetheless.

On campus this week, the Associated Student of the University of California (ASUC), Berkeley announced who would be running for office for next year. At a school with 25,000 undergraduates, this is quite an undertaking. There are even “parties” that candidates associate with. I’ve had the most interaction with the Student Action party because they’ve provided a website called CourseRank, where you can rate classes at Berkeley and talk about what you thought of classes and your grades. It’s really a great resource for students. Campaigning is really a big commitment, and I’ve already gotten to know a lot about Noah Stern’s presidential campaign as well as Joey Freeman’s senatorial campaign. Both of them seem like really great candidates, and hopefully those of you who decide to come to Cal will benefit from a really active ASUC, and maybe even run for office.

A big part of being a student at Cal for me is helping out the community. I’ve been able to do this through the Sage Mentorship Program. I’ve always liked working with kids, and this program pairs Cal students with elementary school students in Berkeley and Oakland who could use a mentor. I go to Rosa Parks Elementary School in Berkeley once a week for two hours. I spend time with a fourth grader, working on reading, and talking about why it’s important to do well in school. It’s a really rewarding experience, and depending on how many hours a week a person volunteers for, he or she can get credit toward graduation. I personally get two units this semester because I go two hours a week. I take the bus there with my free AC transit bus pass, and it only takes about 15 minutes to get there. Not only is it a good experience, but I think that being so lucky to go to such a great institution as UC Berkeley, it’s really the right thing to do to give back to the local community.

It’s been a really busy week, and the semester is only going to get busier. As a coordinator for the Overnight Stay Program, we are eagerly looking forward to decisions going out, and people signing up for this program to stay with freshmen at Cal to get a taste of what it’s all about to be a student here. Until next time…

Activism on campus

So the past two weeks have been crazy.

Thursday, February 25, 2010:
I learned that I got a spot on the bus going to Sacramento on March 4th to participate in the strike for public education. I was really excited, because last year I couldn’t get a seat on the buses to UCLA for the Regents’ meeting. The same night, I went out with a bunch of friends. We just so happened to be on the intersection of Bancroft and Telegraph at two in the morning when we saw a riot taking place. At first, everything was good, there was music playing and people were dancing on the street and having fun. But then, things started escalating. Some people started burning trash cans and fighting. We saw the SWAT team come in and we left because it was getting scary. The next day, there was a message from the Chancellor in everyone’s CalMail account:

“Dear Campus Community:

We are writing to condemn in the strongest terms the overnight criminal vandalism in Durant Hall that spilled over onto Bancroft and Telegraph avenues. Initial investigation indicates that about 100 people came onto campus with clear intent to break into at Durant Hall which is currently a construction site. At this time we believe that the majority of those involved in the vandalism were not Berkeley students. We call on any of our students or other campus members who may have observed last night's criminal vandalism and violence to come forward and help police identify those responsible for these reprehensible actions.

Sadly, such action does incredible damage to our advocacy efforts with Sacramento and with the California public to preserve public higher education. We call on our campus community to work together to express our support for State reinvestment in public higher education in ways that uphold Berkeley's values of peaceful protest and freedom of expression.”

I think the riot went against everything the budget cuts strikes stand for. Vandalizing Durant Hall – great, we’re going to have to pay for that in our Campus Fees. I support the strikes, but vandalism is not the way to go about it.

Friday, February 26, 2010:

A 12-hour day. From 10am to 12pm, I helped my friend table at the PlayGREEN Festival. It was soooo cool!! Pauley Ballroom was packed, and everybody was really nice. I learned about some pretty amazing environmental innovations, like making paper out of cotton shirts. And there was so much free stuff! I got a new keychain, apples, chocolate, lollipops, water bottle, bags, ice cream (Ben & Jerry’s), Naked juice, and a lot more. :) I got to talk to people about the Lower Sproul Redevelopment Project, which I was helping my friend table for. (It’s a project to make Lower Sproul more energy efficient and Berkeley-friendly). At 12pm, I had an interview and after that, I ran to the bus stop because I had to catch the Hill Line to get to work. I was there until 5pm, and when I left, I was on my way to the Multicultural Center to help volunteer for Night of Cultural Resistance. I was kind of in a hurry, because it was already 5:30pm and I was supposed to be there at 5pm, and I had my iPod on really loud, when I saw two people making their way toward me. I was wearing my Berkeley sweater and they asked me where they can buy one of those. I told them I was heading over that way and that I would take them. It turned out that they were from Belgium and were paying Berkeley a visit because they were in San Fran for the weekend. They were so cool! I was really excited because I had never met anyone from Belgium before, and their French accents were so beautiful! I took them to Ned’s and they thanked me. I finally made it to the Multicultural Center at around 5:45pm, signed in, got a shirt, and started helping move some paintings to the patio outside. At first I felt kind of awkward because it seemed like everyone knew each other, but I figured whatever, the point of this is to meet new people. At one point, I was sitting on the couch, and I started talking to an older lady sitting next to me. She told me she was from New York (at which point I got really excited because I’ve been wanting to go there), and asked where I was from. When I told her I’m originally from Bulgaria, she told me there was a period of her life when she was obsessed with Bulgarian folk music. We talked for a long time, almost until the event started. The people that organized the event assigned me a job, but in the end they ended up not needing me, so I just watched the entire show. It was amazing! There were different kinds of performances: poems, raps, songs, break-dancing, and towards the end one group played reggae and everybody was dancing. Most of the acts were really political and opened up my mind to a lot of things. During the entire event, there was live art and free haircuts outside on the patio.

Monday, March 1, 2010:
I was on my way to GBC (Golden Bear Cafe) to get some fries because my stomach had been rumbling through the past two hours of lecture when I saw something happening at Sather Gate. The center entrance was blocked off and people were only passing on the sides. I got closer so that I can ask people what’s going on and was handed a flyer that read:

“Listen to the Silence: Blackout 2010

We are brothers and sisters in a nonviolent, silent demonstration, standing in SOLIDARITY with the UCSD students who have been affected by blatant acts of ignorance and hatred.

The UC Berkeley Black community stands here silent. Silent because we fear for the future. Silent because the past is prologue. Silent because there is nothing left to say. Our silence, then, is your opportunity to act.”

It was beautiful to watch. Not beautiful like pretty, but beautiful in a tragic way. The silence really spoke, and spoke louder than words. It was a simple protest, simple flyer, simple words, that had an immense impact on me. (If you don’t know about what happened in UCSD – “Compton Cookout” – please check http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-compton-cookout,0,2673438.story).

Thursday, March 4, 2010:
Exciting day!!! I actually heard my alarm at 7am, which is an immense achievement for a college student. I met up with one of my co-workers and we made our way to the buses for Sacramento, which were all the way on the other side of campus from where we lived. We were waiting in line for a long time. I found it kind of frustrating that some groups got priority seating because we all made reservations at the same time. Me and my co-worker were getting paranoid that we might not get seats because there were a lot of people and buses were filling up super-fast, but we finally made it. We also got pre-made signs that said “Educate the State” on one side and had a fist holding a pencil on the other. It was a two hour drive over to Sacramento, during which I took a major nap.

When we arrived, the protest had already started. The steps and entrance of the Capitol were blocked off by people. I was surprised by the amount of high school students. The protest was peaceful, people were having fun while sending out a powerful message. We got there just in time to chant/sing “We gotta fight... for our right... to go to coooollege!” :) The energy was incredible. Legislators, senators, professors at Berkeley and community colleges, and students spoke out. At one point, one legislator came out to the balcony and looked down at us, and the crowd (us!) started chanting “Come on down!!” So he did. He said he supported what we were doing and he wouldn’t vote for any more cuts to public education. One of the speakers read off a list of legislators that had received a public education. A lot of them had gone to CalStates and UCB itself. Whenever anyone mentioned “Berkeley,” we would scream the loudest. I never felt so proud of going to Berkeley before. The people that spoke up at Sacramento kept bringing up Mario Savio and the movements of the 60s. In a way, I felt that everyone looked up to Berkeley. Whenever there’s an injustice or an infringement of rights, Berkeley takes a stand. Every time. I feel that Berkeley is the social justice capital of the U.S. Towards the end, some of the performers came on the stage and sang “This Little Light of Mine, I’m gonna let it shine” except by reading off the words on the protest signs. By that time, I had made my way all the way to the front so that I could take good pictures. One of the ladies that had organized the event (at least I’m guessing, because she was wearing the cool March 4th shirts that only a group of people had) pulled me onto the stage with other organizer people. They all had March 4th shirts, and I was next to them with my Cal sweater and my picket sign in hand. I felt like I was representing Berkeley right then and there. It was beautiful.

The last person that spoke up got me really emotional. He said, “The day I got into college was the best day of my life” and he had tears in his eyes. I was about to cry, but I fought it. I felt so proud of everyone that was there and the issues that were brought up. Whether it was “What’s the fix? AB 656” or the 2/3 majority rule overturn, or immigrant parents not being able to get degrees they’ve worked for their whole lives. Something clicked inside me, those are all issues relevant to me. And then, when we were heading back toward the buses, a group of elementary school children (yes, there were kids that young at the protest) were trying to get our attention. We turned and they yelled, “We love you guys!!” And we yelled back that we loved THEM. It was intense to see children that young and that aware of what’s going on, and I felt so proud of them and of everyone that tried to make a difference that day. Once back in Berkeley, I walked home with my little picket sign (it’s in my closet!). I was anxious to find out what had happened on campus and in the march to Oakland. I didn’t have to wait long. The Daily Cal’s headlines the next day were all about March 4th and what different campuses had done across the state. I’m glad I went to Sacramento; March 4th was one of those rare experiences that change your philosophy on life. We made history that day, and Berkeley was, once again, part of it.

And So It Begins..

Hi. I'm Prabh. I am a first year Intended Business Administration and either Math or Economics double major and I love Berkeley. But fear not, I will try my best to remain objective and keep my immense bias towards Berkeley (or Cal, as we call it with endearment) under control. I am from the Southern California, or SoCal as you'll find yourself calling it (no matter how hard you try to fight the urge ñitís one of those effects from being in a completely new environment). I've only been here for about seven months, and I'm already completely immersed in everything that is Berkeley. From taking the 51 (bus line) to shopping at Trader Joe's and Safeway, to going to Crossroads when you're not hungry at all but just to hang out with friends, to eating at the various restaurants on Durant, Telegraph, or Bancroft, you never find yourself bored because there is always something to do. But I will be frank with you, having so much to do can act as a distraction itself. The key to mastering Berkeley, or what I have learned so far in my mere seven months of occupancy, is learning to balance everything you have to do with everything you want to do and everything you don't want to do.

I came in from high school as one of those kids that was involved in everything (yeah, I was that kid). So naturally, coming into Berkeley, I assumed that things would be just as easy and that Iíd be able to glide through these four years with about as much effort as I put into waking up in the morning. Alas, it eventually does hit you, quite quickly actually, that Berkeley is much more than you can imagine. Academics, by far, are going to catch you by surprise because they sure shocked me. Being at a university level is something that is hard to completely prepare for, BUT (key word here), it is nothing you can't overcome. It's really easy to get overwhelmed, as I did, with a workload that you once thought you could handle and then realize that maybe you should have taken the other class that sounded interesting. Fear not, everyone finds himself or herself in that specific situation. For me, it was a matter of realizing what I needed to accomplish and when it needed to be done. And trust, that is all there is to it. It took me a while to realize that one sentence that you're probably thinking is common sense. It is. But how many of us actually listen to the advice that we're given? How many of us know that we should be listening to the advice given to us because weíre going to end up following it anyway? Despite knowing that, we still donít listen (or at least I don't; I hope that your fate is different from mine) but that's just human nature - trial and error.

Okay. University of California, Berkeley. Number one public university in the nation, and arguably, the world. A diversity you will find nowhere else, guaranteed. An experience that you would never want to exchange for anything else. Itís like MasterCard says: priceless (yes, I did resort to using a cliché). Amidst all the accolades and Nobel laureates and degree programs and revolutionizing research and student groups that Berkeley houses, it is very easy to resign and not get involved. I mean, there is so much to do, where do you even start? Thankfully, Berkeley helps you with that. If technology is what tickles your fancy and you love wasting (I mean, productively pursuing alternative goals) time on the Internet, the Berkeley website is a great resource. For those of you, who, like me, enjoy having things handed to them with the LEAST amount of effort possible, then Sproul Plaza will be your number one favorite place. Student groups range from community service to cultural pride and awareness to interest groups to political propaganda to the unexpected (trust me, you will walk eventually walk into Sproul Plaza and not know what is going on whatsoever). I remember wanting to grab every flier, talk with every person, sign up for the email lists of every club advertising themselves and recruiting members. That is normal, believe it or not. Some of us are those that want to be involved in as much as possible and get the most of your college experience. Others are willing to wait and see what comes up eventually and then decide if it is what they want. Others just donít care. Regardless of which group you assign yourself to, you're going to find yourself in Sproul engrossed by the events that go on there. You never know what to expect, but thatís the glory of it all. Surprise keeps us on our toes, and it's what keeps Berkeley alive and so unique. The student population embraces, to some degree, the various activities that take place.

I would always find myself just wandering around the campus to waste time because I had an awkward 30-minute break between classes and it wasn't worth walking back to the dorms. After enjoying the trees (there are a lot of different kinds of trees on campus, by the way, more than you can imagine), I would realize that 30 minutes had passed and it was time for next class. Now, I love learning new things just as much as the next person, but I felt more intrigued to explore the campus and see what it had hidden away from someone to find. To this day, every time I walk on campus I notice something new that has been there for years but it just now popped out to me. That is Berkeley appeal. Plain and simple, the campus, different from most institutions of higher education, has a history that is can be seen in every building and all you have to do is walk five feet and look up. Now I'm as lazy as the next person, but that's one activity that I've never been able to turn away from -I'm just saying.

There is no limit to my adoration of Berkeley. Like any good relationship, Berk and I have our ups and downs, and sometimes I do get caught up in the downs because it's so much easier to do. What I always keep in mind though is that, like the economy, we will eventually have our recovery period (Econ 1!) and things will get better. Sometimes we have to adjust to our situations and adapt to any changes -things may look better in lens number two compared to lens number one, but we won't know unless we look now will we? Berkeley, more than anything else, reaffirms this. Try not to expect anything in particular; actually, I dare you to because I guarantee you'll be surprised anyway.

Berkeley is a Playground of Fun!

After a week of on-and-off rain, wind, and occasional patches of sunlight, the sun has finally decided to stay out for more than a couple of hours, making for a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. A day like this calls for...

...a carnival! or actually, a CAL-NI-VAL!

This was another event put on by Residence Hall Association, and with cotton candy, popcorn, water balloon tosses, a petting zoo, and inflatable obstacle courses, the event was pretty successful. Attendees were mostly Berkeley students, but there were also a few little kids from the neighborhood who came with their parents. They were adorable! It's nice to see family bonding after being surrounded by my peers all the time. Although racing my floormates through the obstacle courses and down the inflatable slide made us all feel like little kids again- they're almost like my brothers and sisters away from home!

I wish the colorful, inflatable playground could stay there forever. It works as a great stress reliever. Physics midterm, what? Maybe how to reduce my friction to get down the slide faster?

We left the event slightly dizzy but with our youthful spirits rejuvenated. Berkeley can be really stressful at times, but it also has a way of making up for it.

March 4- Day for Public Education

Thursday was a big day here in northern California. There were demonstrations in Sacramento, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. They were all in support and defense of public education in our state.

As you probably already know, Berkeley has been quite active against the statewide budget cuts that face our universities. This week, however, we decided to shift the focus from college to all kinds of public education--not only UCs, but to community colleges, state universities, adult schools, high schools, and so forth. This was a day to gather peacefully in solidarity for every student.

Buses were offered to transport any student who wanted to go to Sacramento and stand in front of the capitol building. There we heard speakers from Sacramento State and even our own Berkeley professors, like Wendy Brown and George Lakoff. So many professors were in support of this cause and traveled with us. Ananya Roy was even a safety marshal on our bus!







I encourage everyone to get informed and take action!

I mean, it's pretty much the Berkeley way.

Intoduction....

Hey!

So...My name is Sara, I'm a first year from the Lone Star State.

I'm declared majoring in Physics.

I'll post my first semester schedule...

Math 54 Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
Modern Physics H7C Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Introduction to Asian American Studies 11
Compass Physics, Independent Study

Till next Time

Sara

Hopping on BART to go to the SF Pillowfight with the Canadians!

The Two V-Days of Cal

In the last month, there were two V-Days at Cal.

The first was the one you’re probably already thinking of: Valentine’s Day. But rather than spend a ton of money on some swanky dinner, many Berkeley students sought to celebrate their love of humanity in a much more productive fashion: a massive pillow fight in SF.

The Great San Francisco Pillow Fight began at 6 p.m. in Justin Herman Plaza and continued as long as students and locals were able to swing a pillow and bludgeon (in a generally fun-loving and non-aggressive manner) their neighbors. Few non-pillow-wielding civilians were accosted (as were the rules).

This whole “pillow fight” thing may seem childish. Well, it is. It’s also awesome.

During the fight, most participants found it difficult to keep a straight face. There were shouts of “This is how global conflicts should be solved!” and “Attack the one in the Pokemon costume!” There were even a few Canadians visiting Cal from Vancouver (they rented out their frat house for the Olympics and were staying with their chapter in Berkeley).

The other V-Day had a different purpose: to end violence against women. Every year, Cal students put on performances of The Vagina Monologues and donate the proceeds to various charities supporting this cause. This year, they raised about $24,600 to be distributed among their many beneficiaries (which Include V-Day’s International Campaign Spotlight on the Congo).

One of my sorority sisters was performing in the show, so a ton of us went to support her as well as the cause.

I was absolutely blown away. The performers were not only phenomenal actresses, but extremely comfortable with the audience, each other, the subject matter, and themselves. And no, there weren’t just women in the audience. Even the men in the room were rolling with laughter at the relatable jokes and stories the women told. However, not all the stories were funny. Some detailed the horrors sexual violence and forced marriage. It was both convincing and informative without being overbearing. Every subject matter was addressed with grace and forthrightness.

I had been looking for a way to continue acting in college (I took drama classes all four years of high school and was a member of Comedy Sports, an improvisational comedy troupe, for two years). Needless to say, I plan on auditioning next fall.

In case you’re wondering, there are quite a few ways to get involved in Theater (and just about everything else) at Cal, from Barestage Productions to Theater for Charity. Fall is the time to sign up, so make sure to check out the tables on Sproul during your first month on campus! Also, I highly recommend not being afraid to apply talents you learned in high school to different activities. For example, I used to work on my high school newspaper. Now I’m trying out blogging. That’s what college is all about, right?

A New Installment: .gif of the Month

If you read my last post, you may remember that I enjoy photography. On that note, I will introduce my monthly feature: .gif of the Month! Here’s my first:

And if you can’t quite tell what I’m up to, here’s the final product:

I’m very fond of .gifs because they’re an interesting mix between videos and slideshows. They’re not as fluid as videos, but I like that because it adds a little suspense. The Gestalt effect allows us to fill in the blanks and fabricate continuity out of still photos (that arises for reasons other than our eyes being slow) and experiencing or witnessing this effect always makes me marvel at our minds. And since I haven’t done much editing outside of photographs, .gifs are my way of manipulating motion. I can summarize the content of a video or create illusions that wouldn’t occur naturally, like I did in this month’s image.

There are a lot of great opportunities for photography here at Cal, as you will see in monthly .gifs to come and in photographs from all of the student bloggers. With the elegant architecture, botanical gardens, and breathtaking views of the Bay Area, you should definitely bring your camera when you visit. Cal also offers wonderful photography classes, including The Art and Science of Drawing with Light and Digital vs. Manual: An Intro to Photoshop & Lomography. Also, the ASUC Art Studio holds a variety of classes and workshops about photography. The opportunities are endless!

Why I Love My Co-Op: Part 1

I feel like I could post a million entries about my living situation this year. The people that I have met, the food that I have eaten, the hobbies that I have picked up these past two semesters--they are all part of the great and nebulous web that is co-op life.

For those who don't know how cooperative living works, I would be happy to tell you about it. It's probably the most unique, legitimate alternative housing situation that a UC student can participate in. I'm not sure whether or not co-ops exist on any other campuses, but I do know that the Berkeley Student Cooperative is one of the largest housing cooperatives with approximately 1300 students living in 20 houses. There are houses on North and Southside which range in size from 13 members to 130, making every house unique.

Founded during the Great Depression for university students, cooperative housing is based on the principle of low-cost living and the fact that everyone involved is an owner. In each house, food supply is bought in bulk and shared by everyone (for that reason we have REALLY huge refrigerators, and pantries with TONS of food) and of course people can request things that they want to eat. And dinner, everyday!


Another way to keep costs low (which is a big part of co-op life) is the workshift. There's no way I can butter this up--it's work. Unlike dorms or Greek houses, we don't have professional cleaning services to come in. We ourselves are responsible for how smoothly the house runs. That means we cook, clean, and make things for each other. Therefore, each co-oper usually puts in 5 hours in shifts a week toward the house. Some are pretty sweet deals, like cooking once a week (yes, the cooks who serve food to the hungry house are college students. The food is delicious and usually healthy), tending the garden, or cleaning the study room. And then there are not-so-pretty-sweet deals, like... washing pots before dinner. Or weekly bathroom clean.

Yeah, we've all had to do our share of unpleasant shifts, but if you have a good workshift manager (also a fellow college student) then you won't get such a bad deal. And plus, workshifts all go toward the house that you care about. That's why I don't mind so much getting up at 9am on Saturdays to do my Breakfast Crew Cleaning shift (that and the fact that people usually let me have some of their delicious breakfasts to eat).


There are communal living spaces, bathrooms, and the like, but of course everyone is guaranteed a room. And what makes it different from living in the dorms is that you can decorate/do anything to your room. That means you can make a loft bed, paint the walls a wacky color, or paint the door--since you own it you can do anything to it. If you want to do something awesome like paint a mural on wall, then HAVE AT IT, buddy! But make sure to run it by everyone at the weekly house meetings.

Because we (as co-opers) live, eat, and share most things together, we are pretty much a family. Personally I've grown to love the people in my house. All 64 of them, in fact...

But more on my individual house, Stebbins, later. To try to say every aspect of co-op life would be impossible because there's so much to it. For now though I hope you've gotten a little taste of how co-ops work, and how from one little principle a whole culture can form.

Wellies, or Rainboots, or What Have You

As I was walking back from the SLC after a three-hour essay binge last week, I met my roommate and another house mate getting some yogurt. (By the way, it was about 59 degrees outside. Wet and rainy. And they were still on their way to get some frozen yogurt. That's hardcore Berkeley culture for you.)

"Hey, buddy!" said the house mate. "Nice wellies you got on there!"
My roommate and I looked at him perplexedly.
"Wellies?"
"You know, wellies. Wellingtons." Then, after a pause: "Those things you have on your feet."

(I forgot to mention that this particular house mate is from the UK. And sometimes... sometimes, there's a cultural difference...)

So anyway, the weather has been incredibly weird lately. It might be that I'm from soCal, where you can't wear anything more than spaghetti straps if you don't want an extensive sweat pattern on your back. Or it could be that weather just... confuses me so.

Today I woke up and it was indeed sunny. The air had that crispy yellowness to it, as if it was promising a brisk spring day. Yes. So I got dressed up and walked to school. But I didn't get too far before this happened:

Wet shoes, if you couldn't tell. That's what happened. On some awesome canvas sneakers that I just bought. So after my first class I ran home and put on my rain gear. Again, hailing from a place where there is literally a palm tree on every street, I only have two kinds of shoes: canvas sneakers and rain boots that I bought for the first time last year (you know you've moved on up when you can buy some really cool purple rain boots). So I put them on and walked outside, feeling warm and fuzzy this time!

But then this happened:

Yup. SUN. I then had to trudge around in rain boots for the next five hours of my school day, avoiding people's smirks (and their CANVAS SHOES) and trying desperately to make use of these rain boots by walking arrogantly through light puddles. And then when I got home it started to rain again.

Weather just confuses me to no end. Sometimes (especially during the months of December-February) the weather can be stormy and windy. Sometimes when I walk outside for two minutes I come to class soaked and highly uncomfortable, and sometimes even when I'm prepared I walk to class and my umbrella plus myself is soaked and still highly uncomfortable, so that day is a bust.

And yet sometimes the day is just so beautiful and sunny out that on my way to the library I pass by Memorial Glade and see people taking naps in the grass. And then I decide to save my homework for later that night, and take a nap in the sun too.

Memories of sunny afternoons pretty much keep me going on days like these.