a visit to UC Berkeley

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One of my classmates in high school, Hanna, is taking a summer course at UC Berkeley. So one weekend, I went to Berkeley by BART to catch up with her. It was my first opportunity to visit this school by foot because the last time I was there, Biboy and I just ate lunch at a tiny Thai restaurant just outside the campus.

The campus is pretty. There were banners all over campus that had some historical snippets, probably as part of the school's 150th anniversary. For instance, Levi Strauss donated money in 1897 that became UC Berkeley's first scholarships. And then there's some flaunting of some of the university's major achievements; like having affiliations with 104 Nobel laureates.


These Nobel Laureates have their own designated parking spaces on campus. So to ensure that one gets assured parking inside UC Berkeley, one sure way to get space is by becoming a Nobel Laureate. Mere mortals probably have to travel by public transportation or to compete for parking. 

I had the impression that UC Berkeley is much smaller than UQ's St Lucia campus. But that's probably because we were just in the main campus. We didn't visit the research facilities that occupied the bigger part of the university. The buildings in the main campus were very close to each other. The Sather Tower carillon tolls, announcing the hour. However, it's not just a mere tower of bells. According to Hanna, the carillon also serves as the repository of fossils excavated from the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles.


We stopped by the Free Speech Movement Café, named after the student protest that started in the university in the mid-1960s. This was at a time when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining significant impact and sentiments against the Vietnam War was growing. I hadn't realised that I was standing where the action was fifty years ago! 

We also walked along Telegraph Avenue, outside the school campus. The next few blocks reminded me of UPLB's Grove, a section of Lopez Avenue where shops and restaurants are located just beyond the university gate. Lopez Avenue has a small-town feel to it but Telegraph Avenue is definitely urban.

It's an interesting afternoon in Berkeley, definitely. I'm glad that Hanna had some free time for us to meet and walk around campus. 

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