Al Gore, Dan Rather and David Lynch have all appeared at UC Berkeley in the past two years. When one of them borrows the podium at a lecture hall from a campus fixture that has just dismissed his or her own 5 p.m. lecture, even hardened UC Berkeley students must glow with pride of the institution they attend. Such a dramatic exchange and flow of information was once only accessible to people on-campus-now, all it requires is an Internet connection.
The campus partnership is an expression of the principles behind the ideal of the "public school." The University of California is at its heart intended to foster and promote the academic development of the state's residents. And what better way to do that than to expose those interested to the intellectual happenings of everyday UC Berkeley?
Instead of making our current access to the speakers and lectures seem less special, we should view the Web casts as inspiring excitement in a whole new set of future UC Berkeley students. This is especially welcome news for economically disadvantaged students unable to afford a trip to campus, who will now have a chance to view the incredible breadth of activity that is offered every day.
If nothing else, the decision to make these materials available comes at a time when some students bemoan the cost of college as buying them nothing more than numbers of units and signed pieces of paper; the administration's choice should remind us of our fortunate place at the university and all the advantages we have. If Google Video, which offers only a trickle of the social and intellectual torrent on campus, can be embraced by the public, perhaps we can finally force ourselves to make it to class and skip the webcast.