I, like many college students, have become all too familiar with this routine. A couple days before a midterm, I become intolerant of my tiny apartment and have this deep need to change study locations, so I begin the mundane task of packing things for an unexciting day trip into Read More…
For both Berkeley and Istanbul, 1969 was a year filled with bloodshed. On Feb. 16, 30,000 people marched to Taksim Square to protest against the government; two were killed and many were injured by the police. Almost three months after Turkey’s “Bloody Sunday,” 6,000 Berkeley dissenters, protesting against the university’s Read More…
In the wake of the horrific Boston bombing in April, millions of people waited for any breaking news that would put them at ease. Families of victims, national security advisors and millions worldwide sat in silence as the 24-hour news cycle ripped apart every detail and fact that it could Read More…
While our college selves would still agree that picking up trash along a creek constitutes giving back to the community just as much as it did back in middle school, we now strive to be part of our environment in more integral and grandiose ways. As much as I respect Read More…
ISTANBUL, TURKEY — In the frame of the recent protests concerning Gezi Park and civil rights in Turkey, penguins are being used as symbols to criticize the Turkish TV news channel CNN Turk. The image of the penguin became relevant when police attempted to disperse the protesters gathered at the Read More…
People face trade-offs, says the most fundamental principle in economics. Facing the recent NSA controversy, the trade-off is between security and privacy. According to President Obama, we “can’t have 100 percent security and then also have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience.” Besides the fact that 100 percent security is Read More…
Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series examining the political and social unrest in Turkey. Each post is written by UC Berkeley students spending the summer in Turkey. ANKARA, TURKEY — It was on May 31 when I first smelled the bitter scent of tear gas on the streets. Read More…
On May 31, after videos and word of riot police using tear gas and pressured water to disperse a group of activists protesting the destruction of the green Gezi Park in central Istanbul, Turkey, spread via Twitter and other social media sites, thousands of people flooded into the park in Read More…
Rarely does a day pass before I hear or see another incredulous pro-gun argument in one medium or another. I see the memes on Facebook that say, “This woman fought back a burglar with a GUN! TAKE THAT, GUN CONTROL!” and the like. So I thought I would take a Read More…
Tick tock. This ticking of an analog clock is more commonly known as the soundtrack to many of our lives. From the moment Cal became a reality, it seems as if many of us have been thrust into a race that has no foreseeable end. As students, we are trained Read More…