CalSO Issue 2015

While our academic merit and unique achievements helped us get into UC Berkeley, now that we’re here, who are we to shy away from a little help? The same excellence that makes UC Berkeley a top school can also make it intimidating and overwhelming. Below we’ve compiled a list of what we believe to be some of the campus’s most useful and potentially underutilized resources.

On the day you are being introduced to innumerable campus resources, here’s one more for you. What you hold in your hands — or what’s staring back at you on your computer screen — is your go-to source for Berkeley’s news.

Berkeley — city of hippies, protesters and counter-culturalists — is also a site of pilgrimage for foodies as the cradle of the American slow-food movement. Here, even the eats are quintessentially Berkeley: That cup of coffee, too, was designed to resist oppressive hegemons and change the world.

Two years ago, I arrived at CalSO orientation — 65 glaring minutes too soon. My mother’s dented minivan took the Claremont Avenue exit as I breathed in to quell my nerves. I nervously opened one eyelid, then the other. It was my first glimpse of Berkeley, and I saw sidewalks — gray, narrow, uneven sidewalks that lined Claremont Avenue.

Do you want to chop a log with an axe? Then forestry is the major for you. The forestry major doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be a park ranger. Over the years, the focus has shifted from managing forests to sustainability. Choosing between two concentrations — professional forestry and natural sciences — forestry students study the art and science of managing forested landscapes. More than two-thirds of the students are female, a bit of an anomaly in the field. One of the oldest programs at UC Berkeley, forestry has a 100-year-old legacy to uphold.

Mental health issues among UC Berkeley students have come to the forefront of campus discussion in recent years.

Through Twitter and Facebook, these faculty members keep students updated on a plethora of topics, ranging from academic matters to current events and movie festivals.