WOW! This week is the last week of instructional class, which means… FINALS. Every professor is ending their class with the sentimental, “I’m so happy to have taught you all this semester, if you ever need anything, please feel free to reach out to me.” With the school year coming to an end, my clubs are ending as well. Some clubs I can still participate in next year, but others, like Hall Association, is a year-long position in the student government of my residence hall. In the class I take for Resident Assistant (RA) training, we talked a lot about how change is a good and healthy thing. Even though I am sad that my first semester here at Berkeley is over, I am excited for the changes that are occurring.
Month: April 2017
Tabling on Sproul Plaza: An Exercise in Free Speech
As any student at Cal will tell you, navigating Sproul Plaza takes a lot of skill (especially during the first couple weeks of every semester). For one thing, it is a major entrance to campus, where in the 10 minutes between classes thousands of students will pass through the narrow plaza. Simply walking through hordes of students can be a challenge. But what truly makes Sproul Plaza tricky is attempting to avoid being “flyered”, or given flyers by individuals advocating for an event, some political movement, or to join their club. Today, I was one of those flyering on Sproul, attempting to engage people in conversations about Cal Band.
Berkeley: The Quintessential College Town
Berkeley is often called the quintessential ‘college town’, and for good reason. Besides being at the cross-roads between Oakland and San Francisco, the Berkeley campus and its surrounding area offer a nearly endless number of activities for students. I remember seeing other ‘college towns’ back when I was doing college tours, but other universities’ college towns were essentially comprised of maybe one or two streets of restaurants and cafes. But here at Berkeley’s college town, the world truly feels like your oyster! Whether you’re looking to get outdoors, peruse some art, or explore quirky parts of campus, here’s a list of some of my personal favorite places around the Cal campus.
Have You Voted?
“Hey, are you interested in voting in the ASUC election?”
This is the line I have been repeating over and over again while campaigning on Sproul Plaza this past week. The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is Berkeley’s school-wide student government organization: one of the largest autonomous student bodies in the nation! Every year, elections are held where students have the opportunity to vote for five Executive positions as well as twenty Senate positions. Senators run on campaign platforms that they hope to fulfill throughout their year-long position. UC Berkeley even has political parties for candidates in the election. Each year, the ASUC election is super competitive, and that is why I was out campaigning on Sproul. This past week, many candidates and their campaign teams have been working tirelessly in the hopes of garnering votes in order to be elected to make the changes their constituents want to see!
Why I Chose UC Berkeley
It’s that time of the year again. The weather is nice, school is almost done for summer break, baseball has started again. Oh, and thousands of high school seniors are deciding where to attend college in the fall. How could I forget that? It’s amazing to me to think that almost exactly two years ago to the date (April 8th), I made the decision to attend UC Berkeley. Time really does fly by when you are busy and having fun. Hopefully, I can shed some light as to why I chose Cal and why I could never imagine making a better decision now that I am almost halfway done with college (side note – it’s a sad thought that I am halfway done, I don’t want to ever leave Berkeley).
Berkeley’s 19 Things I Learned by 19
Last month I turned the big one-nine! I spent my birthday with my friend who also has the same birthday as me as well as a few of our closest friends. As it is spring break and almost the end of my first year here at Berkeley, it got me thinking… I have always wanted to have a YouTube channel and I really enjoy the videos that reflect on (insert age number here) things I learned by (insert same age number here), so here goes: