r/berkeley

Curious if anyone has stopped and chatted with this young man who invites people on the street to chat? I’ve seen him all around town but never had a chance to stop. The cynic in me is wondering what he’s aiming at, if not just a masturbatory back and forth about the evils of racism?

The current discourse around the reinstatement of the SAT/ACT is being framed as “lol math racist”, “DEI= DIE”, “thumb on the scale”, and so on.

The issue is that… the number of black students at Berkeley is 2-4 percent on a good day, and the UC system as a whole it’s about 5 percent.

It seems to me a large portion of the students failing will be Asian and White. So why are black students (and DEI) being scapegoated for a failure of the majority of the UC system population?

“UCs punish Lowell students for working hard because of their race, while setting up Mission kids up for failure & depression,” said Le, who claimed “race-based admissions fails all kids.”

Student Demographics

70.7%

Hispanic

10.3%

Black

6.9%

Asian

6.5%

White

4.8%

Two or More Races

0.3%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.3%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/san-francisco-unified-school-district/mission-high-school-3260

UC Berkeley math professor Zvezdelina Stankova admitted to using an AI tool in an op-ed urging the UC system to re-adopt SAT and ACT requirements in admissions.

The article, published in the SF Standard, was flagged as 33% AI-generated or AI-assisted by detector Pangram.

A similar result was found in a June open letter from STEM faculty advocating for standardized testing. Thousands of academics, including five Nobel laureates, signed the letter, and Stankova partially wrote it.

There’s a bunch of cults trying to recruit students, try not to join them. I love them because I studied the bible and can convince them they’re going to hell just like me, and they get so spooked.

There’s legit church groups but generally don’t like evangelists…

Just wanted to ask for any advice upperclassmen may have for Bio1A. I'm taking it this semester and have a strong chem understanding (from chem1a and chem3a), though remember no biology from when I last took it in like 9th grade.

I have my direct deposit for fafsa set up to my bank account joint with my parents but for some reason my account was closed today and I am unable to reopen it. I really need my fafsa refund to pay my rent soon, but am scared of how long I will have to wait now for a paper check. I opened a case with cal student central because their offices are closed today but I’m just so worried. has anyone been thru something similar??

**PSA for Cal students: there may be cultists among us.**

They will not call themselves cultists. They will call themselves “an informal study group,” hand you a hot dog bun with no hot dog, and mention—only casually—that the University was founded in 1969 by a golden apple.

At first, it’s harmless: a zine, a strange flyer, a conversation about whether pigeons are government agents. Then they invite you to a “non-mandatory” meeting at 5:55 beneath a suspiciously triangular tree. You go once because you are lonely and they have snacks.

Three weeks later, they explain that the snacks were spiritually free but the *awakening* has a suggested donation of $23.17. You pay it, because they say it goes toward “printing,” although you have never seen a printer.

Soon there are additional fees:

* The Non-Dog Bun Tithe
* Golden Apple Maintenance
* A $5 charge for access to the group’s sacred Discord server
* “Emergency chaos dues,” somehow always due during finals

At that point, you may discover that they are Discordians.

Not all weird campus groups are cults. Some are merely weird and have a Venmo. Still, be cautious if anyone:

* Says there is no hierarchy, then asks why you have not paid the Supreme Non-Leader
* Claims money is an illusion, but Venmo is extremely real
* Tells you your family cannot understand your vibration, but can absolutely co-sign a loan
* Pressures you to attend increasingly elaborate rituals with a “suggested contribution”
* Explains every objection as proof that the Illuminati have contaminated your pineal gland with capitalism

If approached, ask whether the $23.17 is tax-deductible. While they debate whether taxes are an Archonic fiction, leave.

Hail Eris. Keep your receipts.

Hi so my math 51 discussion just got booted and now I need to find a new discussion however that would mean I would also need to find a new lecture or else everything is on waitlist. Therefore to avoid issues I decided on two plans (ur job is to help me choose)

Plan A: (this works out perfectly)
Cs61a
Cs61b
Math 51
Engin125

Plan B: (cooked)
Cs61a
Math51 (waitlisted)
Physics 7a
Engin125

And smth random bc if I don’t get off the waitlist I’m below units

I wouldn’t mind doing plan A I’m just worried abt the workload bc 61a and 61b seems like a lot but I’ve done calc before and ethics is supposed to be easier sooo????

Guess they gotta make the money back somehow. At least most of the visitors don't even need to use the elevators

Yay! Also wow I’m old. I was just a freshman when it closed for renovations and now I’m a senior 🤣