Don’t get me wrong — I think polar bears are adorable. But seeing them trapped on a tiny piece of Arctic ice doesn’t really faze me. What am I supposed to do about it? Stop driving my car? Join Greenpeace? These cuddly polar bears and the Arctic ice sheets have Read More…
“We spend all of our time together, and you don’t know anything about me.” “That’s not true! I know all about you! We do everything together; you’re like a part of me.” “Oh, really? If something went wrong, you wouldn’t know how to take care of me.” “I never hit Read More…
“My cousin came to me crying,” related Sudha Patel, owner and manager of the Downtown Berkeley Inn, as she attended to some reservations during my first encounter with her. “I think her son wanted to study film instead of medicine or engineering, and she was upset. But I told her, Read More…
$568.70. During my first semester in community college, this was the number that hung over me. Almost a whopping $600. This was not for tuition; a grant paid the entire cost of my classes. This heart-stopping bill was for my textbooks. Having just returned to school after a number of Read More…
As a health worker for Unit 3 this past year, I was used to residents coming to my door late at night, timidly asking if I had any banana-flavored condoms left or wondering how to make an appointment at the Tang Center. In fact, I looked forward to those interactions. Read More…
At the end of one of my classes last semester, I happened to glance over at the guy sitting next to me. My thoughts were elsewhere, but when my eyes caught sight of his backpack, I couldn’t avert my gaze. He was pretty well organized, and with a slot set Read More…
Growing up, I was always the second twin. I was the one who sat for the second half of an hour-long piano lesson, the one who introduced myself after my sister, the one who said I wanted to be doctor or a veterinarian or work at a zoo when I Read More…
I’m sitting in a restaurant in Lisbon waiting for lunch. I’m weary from wandering the city with a friend, and a Fado band is playing on the television by the door. In the corner of the screen, I notice a woman translating every lyric into sign language. Her hands move Read More…
This summer in Berkeley — like any summer in Berkeley — a slew of campus buildings will undergo renovation, retrofitting and construction. With fewer students on campus, these three months are an opportune time for Capital Projects, UC Berkeley’s construction management team, to complete many tasks that would otherwise impede Read More…
While walking on Sproul last week, I was met with one of Cal’s famously spirited protests. The men circled in front of the student store chanting their overwhelming distaste for the brutal “War on Women,” and though I didn’t have time to stop and speak with them about their ideologies, Read More…
