University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

The most popular groups and organizations on campus seem to be those that are either racially/ethincally affiliated, or those that are political. I was involved with a Sexual Health Education Group run out of the Berkeley Student Health Center. It was a great experience. We provided students with the opportunity to get their sexual health questions answered by means of appointments or drop-ins. We also did outreaches to interested groups. Stedents in the dorms do tend to leave their doors open when they're in their rooms and not studying. There is great interest in just about all activites UC Berkeley offers, including atheletics, guest speakers, and theater. The dating scene seems to be good. I met my former boyfriend in the dorms and dated him for over two years. Many of my friends are happy in their relationships. If I was awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I would be hanging out with my roommates probably. Every year there is a big bonfire before the Big Game against Stanford. Also, during finals week there is a "naked run" through the undergraduate library in which people literally run naked through the building, and people come to watch. People party every weekend (Thursday through Saturday usually). I don't think fraternities and sororities are very important, but I guess to some people they are. They're kinda lame in my opinion. Last weekend I hung out at the campus pub with friends, had a friend come over to hang out, and studied because I had two midterms this week. Next weekend should be more fun, because I'm done with midterms for now. On a Saturday night, you can hang out with friends, go to the movies, go to the city...you can pretty much do anything and have a fun time without drinking.

Many students here live in the dorms their first year. I am so glad that I did because I met my group of friends I have to this day. I've known people who hated the dorms because they found it overwhelming, because they hated their roommate, and hated the small spaces. I, however, got extremely close with MANY people as a result of the dorms. Living in the dorms a second year is usually for nerds...because who would want to pay for an overpriced room when you could find a cool place to live in the city of Berkeley? In my third year, I moved into the University Student Coops, which are AMAZING! They are houses varying in size - close to Berkeley's campus - that emulate the cooperative funky ethos of Berkeley. I lived in the largest coop, which was an old hotel converted into a coop. The housing in cheap, the people are fun. It is a place of belonging and a place to collectively make decisions about the house. Also, everybody knows coops have the best parties...Coops have events like house bbqs, casinos night, room to room parties, bounce houses, intramurral sports teams.

Asian-Christian Clubs are the most dominant clubs on campus. I am not asian or christian, therefore i do not belong to a club. I left my door open, but that's because I was dealing drugs. Athletic events are too popular. What other events? Dating usual occurs between a man and a woman when they love each other. At least that was what my parents told me right after I got my girlfriend preggers. Too little, too late *sigh*. I met my closest friends in the dorms. Probably have sex at 2 am on Tuesdays (sex on tuesdays, duh). My birthday is traditionally every year. 12.16.1985. Thanks for asking. People party a lot. You just have to find them. Frats and Sors are not important. In fact, I'm disgusted that I even wasted the time to type about them. Last weekend: Studied, got hella wasted, smoked too much, drank too much coffee, made breakfast. I cannot do anything on Saturday that is not involved in drinking. What if I got dehydrated. What do you mean 'what do you do off campus'? How do I turn campus on and off?

Berkeley is situated in the middle of a cultural hub (Greek Theater!) and is very close to San Francisco and offers plenty of opportunities for theater performances and concerts. Last weekend, I attended "A Cappella Against AIDS Benefit Concert" and will be attending the University Symphony's spring concert this Friday. Other than performances, many clubs host social nights throughout the week. Football season is very important during the fall semester, and school spirit is apparent whenever Stanford is involved. Berkeley offers many opportunities for athletes. Guest speakers come to speak at Berkeley often, from academicians to politicians to movie stars to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Sometimes these events are advertised; more often they're not. Some effort is required to stay in the loop. The Berkeley bubble can be quite powerful. Greek life on campus is not very prominent, except for rush season. The most prominent of fraternities and sororities are the pre-professional ones, which speak to Berkeley students' concern about job security and the future. Many of these pre-professional organizations hold forums and fairs throughout the year for employer-potential employee networking opportunities.

There are enough people on this campus that just about anything is popular with somebody, and you could easily go through your college career without *really* noticing. I'm not really the right person to ask, unfortunately, as I've done most things here on my own terms; I was part of the Men's Chorale for a while, I've hung out with the mock trial team and the writers of the humor magazine, I know less about the Greek scene than my friends but have been to most of the co-ops on campus, I've managed to totally miss out on the extremely popular athletic scene here and been just fine for it, I've taught classes and taken classes from other undergraduates on everything from hip-hop dance to medieval Chinese epics, and each time I've come back to my own personal passions. The campus is big enough that you're able to do that. That's all I wanted -- the space to do my own thing, and the opportunities present to do it in all kinds of ways -- and I got it. And if you can't find it in Berkeley, there's always San Francisco, man. It's freaking fifteen to twenty minutes on the subway. Awesome. If you see a tall effusive white guy, a shorter slender white guy (or is he Asian?), a Korean guy in a sweet Admiral Ackbar hat, and a middle-aged Indian father of two (or so he appears) freestyle rapping on the BART, though, it's probably my friends and I. You should say hello. And join in. You'll be better than me at it, I assure you. We're on Youtube, though, you know.

In my experience, people don't leave their dorm room doors open. It depends where you live, though. If you live in a suite or mini-suite, you are more isolated so those buildings tend to be less social. If you are a freshman and want to live somewhere social, I would suggest the Clark Kerr campus. It's really easy to meet people there, but it's far from campus. Football games are really popular, and people get pretty into them. There are a lot of keg parties at frats beforehand, and things tend to get crazy. The town is pretty crazy on game days. Greek life is only big for the people involved. They have lots of parties and invites and exchanges. People tend to get ridiculously drunk and often do stupid things they regret the next day. It's pretty much just a social network for people that like to party and get drunk. The Asian fraternity/sorority scene is a bit different, though. Rush is REALLY intense for girls. I've heard of pledges having to line up and strip down to their underwear only to have the guys in the asian frats tell them what's wrong with their bodies. Everyone I know who's gone through it says that it's horrifying and traumatic. A lot of people stay up late on weeknights. They're either studying or procrastinating. If you don't want to drink on a Saturday night, you can go out to dinner or to a movie. A lot of people are tight with their floormates, so sometimes a floor activity will be planned. You can take the bus to Emeryville, which is like 20-30 mins. away to go to CPK or P.F. Changs, go shopping, or see a movie. You can also take the BART into San Francisco. There are often concerts and shows in the area, so that's a pretty popular thing to do.

not sure. movement seems pretty happening. some leave their doors open. i've only been to football games--crazy. only 1 concert-joshua bell @ zellerbach was amazing. i met my closest friends at church and through various classes/living arrangements. i've only been awake once at that time--it was due to prepping my board for a trip. i went to 1/2 moon bay last weekend. usually cooking and doing hw or playing guitar hero can be done w/o inebriation.

I personally think the coop system is one of UCB's greatest assets. The BSC, as it is called, is comprised of about 20 rooming houses, which in total house about 1000 people in turn. Each house largely makes its own decisions by vote and has its own feel, but food supply and general house maintenance is run by a central office. The houses range from Acid Trip to 1950s Women's College, from 11 to 160 inhabitants. In a typical semester, a house will throw two parties, one open to coopers, the other to everyone. Everyone comes and has a good time. A coop party is the perfect alternative to a boozy fratfest. Most everyone in a coop meets people in other coops and its a big network of people. It's not for everyone, but people who are there are happy. Basically, if you live in a coop, you know of a party to go to every weekend, and have people to go with. But its definitely a no-pressure situation - if you wanna stay home and study, you do. That's the other thing - a coop feels more home-y than a rented apartment you can't paint your favorite color. You can amble around in your pajamas if you want. You can make cookies at 3 AM and find someone to eat them with you. Also, its not hard to ignore the frats/sororities - they don't monopolize the social scene by any means.

The most popular student groups, for me, were the not the best. There are so many organizations, and so many opportunities to develop your own organization, that there is no reason to feel left out. I witnessed the genesis of Berkeley's now prolific student filmmaking club and an arts/culture journal specializing in semi-serious discussion of popular/semi-alternative culture. I can't say the same for the dating scene because I avoided that for the most part, but I will say that it's an option - maybe an alternative to the uber-extracurricular life.

I feel like there is a social scene for every type of person at Berkeley.