As this year’s student advocate, I have spent more time in the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office than I would like to admit. The office, formerly located in 204 Eshleman Hall and now in 114B Hearst Gym, has been my second home over the last four years, a place I hold dear to my heart. I am proud to say we have done some amazing work, from improving administrative bureaucracies on campus to helping more than 150 students with student conduct charges, financial aid and other academic disputes.

Despite all the challenges, I have nothing but love and respect for the Student Advocate’s Office; it’s taught me that the university is a complex machine with multiple stakeholders, and it’s challenged me to navigate difficult situations with grace.

Yet the office has been more than just a place of work. I will never forget the heart-to-hearts and naps on the office couch, heated debates about the benefits of technology and late-night study sessions that turned into hang-out sessions. I’ve laughed, cried and even danced in the office more times than I can count. 204 Eshleman was my safe space.

Almost two years ago, when Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia, I bolted out of the UC Berkeley Amnesty International meeting in Wheeler Hall. As a student activist, I had worked on this particular death penalty case since high school. I was overwhelmed with anger and felt helpless against institutions that perpetuated injustice. Instead of going home, I found myself walking to Eshleman, thinking the office would be empty. When I opened the door, I realized my mistake: The office was bustling with new caseworkers who were being trained.

I snuck into the adjacent private meeting room, only to find my predecessor Samar Shah in the room. He had heard about the decision and offered his condolences. At that point, I gave in to my emotions and broke down in tears. An idealist at heart, I had hoped that there would be another stay of execution. Because of the overwhelming media coverage, I thought some entity would pardon him. I was wrong.

I stayed at the office until 2 a.m. that night talking with a fellow caseworker about everything but the death penalty — dating, school, siblings and coffee. Somehow, the ordinary conversation reminded me that there was more to life than these devastating moments. Troy’s execution was a huge setback, but the battle to end the death penalty was far from over.

Just a few hours in 204 Eshleman left me at ease. The office was full of ordinary and profound moments — it was both an intimate, comforting place where you could cry your heart out but also a fun place where you could gossip and watch the latest viral YouTube videos.

While Cal has challenged me intellectually, I have grown the most by learning from colleagues and friends, all of whom have unique stories to tell. The relationships I have built at Cal will stay with me wherever I go. But what I’ll miss the most is the ability to share mundane, everyday moments on the Student Advocate’s couch.

Stacy Suh served as the student advocate in the 2012-13 academic year.

The post Parting thoughts: four years, one couch appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Spring filled the air. The very ground gave forth the tangy flavor of the newborn season. It was the kind of a day that seems too perfect to be earthy — even the squirrels and pamphlet-pushers paused in the awe of the surroundings.

The awesome rumble of the campus was joined now and then by a young woman, who whistled a gay little tune as she walked under Sather Gate, her worn boots kicking a stone in front of her. One glance at her face would tell you that she was under the spell of her surroundings — her eyes sparkled and her half-parted lips curved into a smile. The people she watched seemed so radiant that, at times, they threatened to overshadow the May sunlight itself.

The woman’s thoughts were tumbling over one another in their hurry to be expressed. Such days as this always led her to think deeply of so many things — important things, like love and home, blue gum eucalyptus, hot marbled lattes, little stubby-legged dogs, stout-hearted comrades.

Camaraderie — her mind stopped for a moment to ponder the word. Such a warm-sounding word it was. Everything solid and comforting in life came to mind at the mere mention of the word. The woman went on in her thoughts to another word, which was to her synonymous with camaraderie — Berkeley. She was glad for a moment that she was alone, for it would have been impossible for her to express these thoughts to another person. Her feelings for Berkeley and the friendships that it meant were so deeply entrenched in her heart that it was enough to hold them closely to herself. The things dearest to one are usually inexpressible, even if they hinge on old Berkeley communist roots.

She thought of the class she had just left, the usual ridiculous faces smiling from across the lecture hall, the sharing of pens, the sharing of giggles from a professor’s accidental innuendo. Not just a class, she thought, but a home of great intellect and friendship, brimful of the questions and solidarity that only overworked pseudo-academics can bring. And what a home it was. More than 35,000 students in classes, all so different in thought, yet so alike when it came to the frenzied whir of their minds.

Above all, there existed among them a bond of sympathy so real and genuine that no trouble was borne alone. It wasn’t only the big things but also the small disappointments — setting the bottom of the curve, not getting a text back from that boy, the weekly Sunday morning aches. Yes, dozens of times it was a smile or a “hello!” that had changed a dark blue day into the warmest, cheeriest moments of all. It was the thought that someone cared and was standing by to offer comfort, whether that person was a housemate or the shy, rather awkward person next to you in class.

She remembered one time when someone had asked her what Berkeley meant to her. Her mind grasped all sorts of high-sounding names — scholastic ability, honor, loyalty — all of these were Berkeley, but there was there was one more above the others: friendship. It was a down-to-earth sort of word, but it conjured up the entire picture of her Berkeley life.

The woman turned and began walking home, her back to the descending sun. A small boy was running through campus as his father chased after, and her eyes followed the script on the boy’s shirt. Against a background of blue floated the familiar yellow — the symbol of camaraderie, the yellow “fiat lux” that never went down with the sun.

Brenna Fallon served as president of the Berkeley Student Cooperative during the 2012-13 academic year.

The post Parting thoughts: what Berkeley means to me appeared first on The Daily Californian.

But I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no idea the Daily Cal would take over my life.

Needless to say, these past four years have tested me in numerous ways. I’ve dealt with many disagreeable people, been discouraged by failure and uncertainty, lost countless nights of sleep and sacrificed my grades and relationships. But now that I am about to graduate and move away from the Bay Area for the first time in my life, I cannot imagine spending the last four years any other way.

Years from now, I’ll remember the late nights in the office, struggling to make deadline — and missing 8 a.m. class to distribute the paper by hand when we missed deadline — Tuesday nights in the Berkeley City Council chambers, the protests and occupations, the 10-page papers written in 10 hours, the friendships I’ve made on the job and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Because of my experiences at the Daily Cal, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life and feel more than prepared to enter the journalism industry despite the challenges all of us face as media outlets struggles to adapt to a new landscape.

Last Friday, I turned over my position as editor in chief and president to my successor, Sarah Burns, one of the most inspiring people I’ve met at the Daily Cal and someone whose strength in vision and unyielding dedication will carry this paper and the staff into a new era for student-run journalism.

I am incredibly proud and honored to have been a part of this outstanding organization for the past four years and thankful for the experiences it has given me and the doors it has opened and will continue to open. I owe it all to the Daily Cal.

**
I owe thanks to:

My family, for always supporting me, no matter how infrequently I visited home.

Emma, for her friendship and for standing by me through the good and the bad.

Kelly, for challenging us all and innovating like no one else.

Alex, for his sarcasm and dedication to style.

Tomer, for Tomering via email, text, Facebook and phone.

Aaida, for keeping me sane and reminding me to take care of myself.

Nick, for beer and the rides home.

John, for his morning music and sports talk.

Michael, for his dedication and unwavering support.

Lila, for agreeing with me on absolutely everything and forcing me to go to yoga and spin class.

Mihir, for always being a voice of reason.

Springfield, for being a great friend and 10 times the writer I will ever be.

Soumya, Jordan and Claire, for putting up with my nonsense in fall 2011 and helping me get through these last couple years.

Javier, for believing in me and always pushing me to be better.

Raj, Will and Ron, for their guidance and advice.

And every staff member, editor and manager at the Daily Cal for their hard work and dedication.

Stephanie Baer was the 2012-13 editor in chief and president of The Daily Californian.

The post Editor’s note: Thank you appeared first on The Daily Californian.

If you’re a senior and you still haven’t been to the Big C, you are a sad Bear. Now is the time to remediate that. They tell you many things about how great the Big C is: You can take a wonderful hike, you can have sex outdoors, you can have a nice picnic. All of that, sad Bear, is false.

The hike is not wonderful but exhausting and steep. The sex is impossible, especially with handfuls of other Cal students around. And even if you go at an odd hour, it’d just be gross in nature that has been pissed on by too many dogs and just as many humans. You can try to have a nice picnic, but the bugs and dear old nature are sure to get in the way.

But you know what? You haul yourself up there anyway, despite the hike and the bugs and possibility of catching too much PDA. You do it for the view. Instead of describing it for you, I’m going to tell you that it’s well worth it and leave you to find out for yourself.

I add an extra challenge: Scream at the top of your lungs when you get up there. Do it Garden State style. You’ll feel great afterwards. Ignore anyone up there who stares at you and judges you for it. You’re graduating, fellow Bear. You deserve some solid catharsis.

— Lynn Yu

Go to Indian Rock

Perched on a quiet hillside in residential North Berkeley, Indian Rock Park offers a sweeping, unobstructed view of the San Francisco Bay and is a perfect location to structure a workout around. Depending on where you live, the park is most likely on a few miles’ round-trip bike ride or run. And if you’re coming from Southside, the trip can take you on a scenic journey through campus, Northside and the Gourmet Ghetto. The park is also a perfect place for a picnic, so you can easily grab some Cheese Board and bring it up to Indian Rock for an outing or a quick romantic getaway to watch the sunset.

The rock itself is great for climbing — according to the city of Berkeley’s website, Richard Leonard, “father of modern rock climbing,” and David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, “learned rock climbing and developed their mountaineering techniques at Indian Rock.” Brower then made World War II training manuals using the skills he learned there. But no matter your purpose for going, the park — located at 950 Indian Rock Ave. — is a must-visit for anyone who wants to see one of the best views of the Bay in its entirety.

— J.D. Morris

Get naked in public
When having an uneventful evening during which one is looking to have fun, there’s always an easily accessible activity that is immature, trashy and reminiscent of high school. Get naked — preferably in a public place, in front of other people you’re not intending to have sex with.

Everyone should experience being naked in a public space — not necessarily to make political statements about body image or sexuality or to feel liberated and sexually free, whatever that means. Everyone should try getting naked with other people in a usually populated location for no other reason than that it’s funny. It’s the small fact that you’re not supposed to be doing it that makes it a fun, cheap thrill. Stomach the fear that someone might see and be uncomfortable — those are the parts that make it a great, hilarious story later.

I’m not telling everyone to frolic stark naked on Memorial Glade during prime time on a sunny afternoon. Do it in a safe space with people you trust who won’t exploit your nudity by posting your goods online — yes, I’m ruling out the naked run, but there are still some clothing-optional cooperatives that uphold safe space rules, including my favorite vegetarian, nudist elves. Going to campus at night with an alcohol jacket to streak or have a dip in a fountain is always memorable.

Berkeley is an awesome place to be naked because most people around here won’t think anything of random nudity. We’re used to seeing weird, quirky things. Bored, ratchet naked college students are hardly the strangest sight we’ll see during our time here. So strip down, chase cheap thrills and walk away with beautiful memories — just be careful not to walk into the Hearst Mining Circle reflecting pool barefoot.

— Nadia Cho

Watch the races at Golden Gate Fields

Any UC Berkeley student who enjoys the perfect combination of fresh air, cheap beer and moderate gambling must go see a horse race at Golden Gate Fields on the edge of the San Francisco Bay.

The best day to go is Sunday, when the racetrack offers its special Dollar Day. As the name suggests, virtually everything is a dollar — admission, parking, hot dogs and, of course, beer. Although AC Transit lines 18 or 52 will get you pretty close, the easiest mode of transportation is driving. Go with a group of friends or a date, grab yourselves a beer and hot dog and watch a few races to get yourself acquainted with the way it works before you place your first bet (hint: Russel Baze wins EVERY time). There are nine races every day, and you can only place bets for a limited amount of time before each one. Betting can be a little confusing for a first-timer, so don’t be afraid to ask for some clarification.

Once the last race has been run or you’ve had your fill of Miller Light, there’s a nice beach nearby where you can sit and watch the sunset or go for a walk on the Albany Bulb to explore its strange art and curious structures — there’s a “public library” consisting of a shack with a small collection of books anyone is free to borrow or contribute to.

For families and college students alike, Golden Gate Fields is a fun, cheap place for everyone to go and enjoy a sunny afternoon by the Bay.

— Adelyn Baxter

Go sliding at Codornices Park

You may have heard of the park in North Berkeley where a long concrete slide offers the fleeting feeling of being a kid again as you shoot down on a piece of old cardboard.

That place is called Codornices Park and is, in fact, one of the quaintest and prettiest spots to spend a few sunny hours in the Berkeley Hills. Head straight up Euclid Avenue from Northside either on the AC Transit 65 line or by foot — although I suggest renting an electric scooter from Green Choice Moto on Bancroft Way and making an afternoon of it. You’ll eventually pass the Berkeley Rose Garden overlooking the Bay on your left side. Just across the street, you’ll find the park, where a playground and basketball court surround the famed slide. By day, you’ll typically find the slide covered in adorable kids enjoying their idyllic Berkeley childhoods. While you can always wait your turn with them, visiting the park by night usually gives you exclusive access, made all the more fun by darkness and the optional addition of alcohol.

Besides the slide, there are some nice picnic areas further back in the park and a hidden waterfall tucked away beyond the creek and up a certain staircase. Try to find it if you can!

— Adelyn Baxter

Go to the top of the Campanile

We have all heard the chime of the bells and the music of the Campanile’s carillon in between classes, but if you haven’t actually been to the top of the tower to hear that music at its origin and look out across the entire San Francisco Bay, then you haven’t really lived.

Visible from miles away — on the ground and from the sky — the Campanile, also known as Sather Tower, is probably UC Berkeley’s most recognized symbol. At 307 feet tall, it is the third-tallest bell tower in the entire world, rising about 30 feet above its counterpart at that school across the bay.

Going to the top of the tower is not a strenuous activity in the least — you just hop into an elevator and walk up a few stairs. And the view is, without a doubt, worth the 20 or so seconds of claustrophobia on the ride up.

You can go alone or go with friends or a date, the lady in the elevator will keep you company on the way up and tell you the history of the nearly 100-year-old tower. Tours of the Campanile are free for UC Berkeley students and the tower is open every day at 10 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. or 4:45 p.m., so there’s no excuse not to go. You can’t leave Berkeley without experiencing its most impressive landmark, so seniors, run over to the esplanade and get in that elevator.

— Stephanie Baer

The post The Berkeley Graduate’s Bucket List appeared first on The Daily Californian.

There is a passage in the Quran that reads, “Struggle is ordained,” and the holy book of Muslims reads elsewhere that “with difficulty comes ease.” The life of a UC Berkeley student is difficult. Not only do we have to find a way to be academically competitive with some of California’s best minds, but we are also thrown into a highly politicized campus that high school often does not prepare us for.

Not many high schools teach you how to protest or how to have discussions about controversial topics, such as affirmative action, divestment — from the prison industrial complex or companies that support the illegal occupation of Palestine — or controversial speakers like Louis Farrakhan. Without doubt, UC Berkeley tests you; it digs deep into the fiber of your beliefs and forces you to look again and to struggle between your upbringing and the ever-changing reality of our world. Struggle and difficulty are constant in the process.

Over the past four years, I’ve been in those tough moments when my values and beliefs were challenged. I, like you, have been in those discussions that require us all to reconsider our perspective on the world. I, like you, have been in those moments that we probably wish never occurred. But I don’t carry many regrets.

Life is not so much about each mistake we make or each individual success we may have; rather, life is about the wholeness of our journey — the ever-evolving process of growth and development. And there is a transactional relationship between growth and development with struggle and difficulty. Put differently, struggle, difficulty and pain allow us to grow — they are the definitive means to that end. The one piece of advice that I would offer to everyone is to truly embrace life.

One of the most rewarding experiences we can engage in is confronting the difficulties of political discourse. I believe that our society is not the way it is by happenstance. Our society is in the condition it is because human beings made it this way. Prisons aren’t overcrowded without policymakers creating realities that would make them overcrowded.

Working within the tough political discourse on campus allows us to actually take part in the shaping of tomorrow’s world. And partaking in this process, regardless of how you do it, rewards the conscience with a sense of accomplishment — that you did something that will impact our world. Engaging in this discourse at Berkeley has exponentially made me a stronger, more courageous and developed individual.

To the graduating seniors, a big and beautiful yet oppressive and difficult world awaits us, and it is in dire need of change. So I ask you to embrace the difficulty that the world presents, engage in shaping tomorrow and hold true to your values. If you do these things, be sure to know that “with difficulty comes ease.” Let us proceed forth in the light of the sun, marching forward until victory is won. Let the love of self, kind and others be our inspiration as we seek to make our world a better place.er place.

Salih Muhammad served as the president of the Black Student Union during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years as well as CalSERVE party chair in the 2012-13 academic year.

The post Parting thoughts: How to survive UC Berkeley appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Convocation season is upon us, and it is once again a time of transitions — both joyous and bittersweet. Like you, I am also transitioning as I step down as your chancellor at the end of this month and return to being a Berkeley faculty member. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for making my service as chancellor such a fulfilling one.

In the course of nearly nine years as chancellor, I have had the great pleasure of interacting with what are undoubtedly the most “engaged and engaging” students anywhere. Having taught at several other institutions around the globe — including Yale, MIT, Toronto and Oxford — I have come to appreciate that Berkeley students are very special. It has been a great joy to meet and connect with so many exceptionally talented students who not only have a passion to learn and a drive to excel but also the ambition to give back and change the world for the better. I have found Berkeley student energy empowering as well as inspiring.

You have made your mark on this campus, on our community, our state and indeed, the world. On campus, you have partnered with the administration to create a vibrant multicultural student center. You forged a unique partnership with the university to transform Lower Sproul Plaza, completely revitalizing student activity space. You educated me on greenness and sustainability, and your ingenuity has shown what marvelous things one can do to make our campus greener. Your passion for responsible stewardship of our planet is reflected in the many green energy projects in which the campus is engaged.

You have supported our local community in numerous ways through the Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund, beautifying neighborhoods through artwork, providing community health services to the needy and volunteering for thousands of hours as tutors in neighborhood schools. You have made Cal Teach a thriving program on our campus.

The passion of your convictions has had a remarkable effect. We worked together assiduously to pass the California DREAM Act and make possible scholarships and financial aid for undocumented students. You registered voters and advocated convincingly to help pass Proposition 30, thereby mitigating further state cuts to higher education in the current budget.

On a global level, many of you have traveled to far regions of the world, bringing your knowledge and creativity to help alleviate poverty. Your inventiveness has already resulted in projects that will improve life in impoverished areas of the world.

I undertook the chancellorship with a commitment to sustaining Berkeley’s unique public character and ensuring that our academic excellence would be affordable to students of exceptional talent from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Together, we have sustained and enhanced robust financial aid programs not only for students from low-income families but also for the middle class. Berkeley became the first public university in the United States to create a Middle Class Access Plan. Despite increasing tuition, we have been able to ensure that Berkeley undergraduates are graduating with the lowest student debt among all public teaching and research universities across the country.

I have enjoyed working closely with the ASUC and Graduate Assembly leadership throughout my entire tenure as chancellor. Our student leaders are deeply committed to working in the best interests of our student body and the university. Whether on issues such as student mental health, campus climate or, most recently, the Student Health Insurance Plan, their constructive collaboration made possible a myriad of accomplishments.

We have also had many good times together. Mary Catherine and I have loved greeting our new students in the fall at the outdoor receptions at University House and cheering with you at football games in the student section of Memorial Stadium. Watching student performances, whether athletic or artistic, has lifted our spirits. Celebrating your successes at scholarship receptions, at award events and at graduation has made us tremendously proud of your achievements.

You have touched us profoundly, and we have been inspired by you. We wish you all the very best for the future and will watch with great interest and pride as you go out and make an impact on the world in the powerful way that only Berkeley graduates can.

GO BEARS!

Robert Birgeneau is the chancellor of UC Berkeley

The post A letter from the chancellor appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Professors and instructors who responded:

Robert Reich, Goldman School of Public Policy
Terry Johnson, Department of Bioengineering
Alan Ross, Haas School of Business
Daniel Mulhern, Haas School of Business & UC Berkeley School of Law
Ron Hassner, Department of Political Science

–

What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you were graduating?

Reich: That the real test wasn’t whether I’d succeed or fail — I failed again and again — but my resilience in bouncing back from failure.

Johnson: Choosing what to do next seems momentous, but it will not define you, your career, or your life.

Ross: I wish I knew that life isn’t a straight line. Up until graduation, Cal students, for the most part, have only known success. Knowing that life isn’t always going to be like this and being able to handle setbacks is crucial. When I graduated I sent out one resume and got the job of my dreams at the top political consulting firm in San Francisco. My dream soon turned into a nightmare, as it turned out to be the job from hell. I wasn’t ready for this and it took me years to overcome this setback. Be prepared for life to take you places, both good and bad, that you never dreamed you would visit. And most importantly, enjoy the ride.

Mulhern: Don’t take yourself so seriously. Oddities, failures, and the grace of God were more important than my logical and/or anguished decisions. How else do I explain the best thing that ever happened to me: that girl in the Harvard Law t-shirt on April 1, 1985 at Counter M in Newark who’s now been my wife for 27 great years! It took her 25 years, but she got me to Cal. How lucky was that?

Hassner: The truth about time travel and bayonets. Those who’ve taken PS124 (“War!”) know this. If you ever get your hands on a time machine, and you use it to travel back in time, and you step out of the machine, and you’re in the middle of a war, and people are fighting with bayonets… you get right back into that time machine. You hear me? Just do it! Don’t argue with me. I teach PS124, I know that I’m talking about.

–

What advice do you have for those who still don’t know what they’ll be doing after graduation?

Reich: Do not worry. Chances are your next job won’t “launch” your career. You’ll have two to five jobs before you have a good idea of what you want to do.

Johnson: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Many graduates suffer from analysis paralysis, looking…and looking…and looking…for a position that is exactly what they want, even though they’re not sure what they want. Take a risk and learn from the experience.

Ross: You aren’t supposed to know what you want to be when you graduate from college. This is another one of those myths that is perpetuated every year and makes normal students who don’t have a clue what they want to be feel bad about their situation. All you’ve ever been is a student so how are you supposed to know that you want to be a lawyer, a consultant or a physicist? You may have liked studying a certain subject but that doesn’t mean you are going to enjoy a career in that field. Use your 20′s to explore ANYTHING that you think might interest you through internships and informational interviews. Talk to as many people as you can and make contacts whenever you can. If by the time you’re 30 you’ve found something that interests you and you are ready to pursue it, that’s fantastic. Life is long, we don’t die at 52 anymore. Don’t think that you have to have an answer immediately. Those that jump right into law school or other grad schools or careers often regret rushing into something that they didn’t take the time to really look into. Then they are stuck in a career they don’t enjoy or are back to square one saddled with huge student loans.

Mulhern: If you’re lucky enough not to have big debt, then get lost. In the world. In a big city. In a forest. And in service to others. Lose yourself to find yourself.

Hassner: Remember that kid from 2nd grade who kept saying that he wanted to be a dentist and today he’s… a dentist? Those people scare me. You probably haven’t made up your mind yet because you have the courage required for delaying the decision until you’ve explored all of your options. Good for you. Take your time. Try out different jobs, locations, lifestyles. Of course you have to work to pay for food and rent. Work hard. But you don’t have to commit yourself to a career quite yet.

–

For those who can’t find a job?

Reich: Be patient. You’ll find one. You’re on the winning side of the great divide. You’ve graduated from one of the best universities in the world. You’ll do just fine. Calm down.

Johnson: Interviews can be hard to come by, so make each one count. Get together with other job-seekers and practice!

Ross: Don’t give up. It may take a while but things will work out if you keep at it.

Mulhern: Create value for somebody, somewhere. Make them want to pay you.

Hassner: You’re reading the Daily Cal for professors’ advice on what to do when you can’t find a job? That’s your problem, right there.

–

How do you remember feeling when you were about to graduate?

Reich: Apprehensive. The Vietnam War was raging and I didn’t know if I’d be drafted. America’s cities were burning in the aftermath of Dr. King’s assassination. Bobby Kennedy had been killed. Everything looked like it was going to hell.

Johnson: Sprawling existential terror. I’d spent most of my life self-identifying as a student, and a lot of my self-esteem was tied up in being a good one. I had no idea what it was I was going to do, or if I was going to feel good doing it. I found that the less anxiety you have about what you’re going to do next, the easier it is to find satisfaction in what you’re doing now.

Ross: I remember sitting at graduation thinking what’s wrong with everyone. People were excited and celebrating and I was thinking that they’re all crazy, as this is the end of the best years of our lives. And I was right.

Mulhern: Glad it was over. Seriously.

Hassner: I remember thinking: that was easy. Those are some nice letters after my name. What do I have to do to get an “M” or a “P” or an “H”? By now, I’ve collected nine more letters of the alphabet and am considering a degree in zoology (with a minor in Yiddish).

–

Do you have any other words of advice for this year’s graduates?

Reich: Most importantly, don’t be cynical about America or your capacity to change it — or to change the world.

Johnson: “Learn from everyone, follow no one, watch for patterns, work like hell.” — Scott McCloud

Ross: I know everyone has heard this one a thousand times, but this time I think the age old adage is correct, follow your passion. And if you don’t have a passion find one. You are going to spend an enormous part of your life working and if you love what you do it makes for a much happier life. Don’t settle for something because it’s safe or because it pleases your parents or impresses your friends. Find something that you truly love to do and go for it. If you’re lucky you will be able to combine your career with your passion. But if you can’t, you can still make time to paint, act, garden, travel, or mountain climb. Your job isn’t your entire life and don’t let it become who you are. Stay in touch with your friends and make lots of new ones. Remember to give something back when you can and have fun at whatever you do.

Mulhern: I feel as close as ever to my buds from ’80…Dang, that’s 33 years. So, drink a toast, shed a tear, give Bear hugs, yet know it ain’t over!

Hassner: Another lesson from PS124. There are two kinds of questions: questions with easy answers and interesting questions. If you run out of the second kind, please come back home to Berkeley. We have more classes for you to take and more unanswerable questions for you to ponder.

The post Last lecture notes 2013 appeared first on The Daily Californian.

“Are you excited to graduate?” Yes and no, I reply, with the bittersweet nostalgia of any student who must say goodbye to Berkeley.

“What will you do afterward?” I’ll be interning at a newspaper in Southern California, for which my family is very thankful.

“Is it a paid internship?” Yes, for which I am very, very thankful.

“Wow, you’re lucky.” I know.

As droves of students across the country prepare to enter the real world, the scene looks akin to a marathon — except those with internships start the race 10 feet ahead, and at the finish line lies gainful employment. But as we all know, internship experience can come at a cost.

Unpaid internships have become a norm across the employment spectrum. At one point, they were only found in industries like film, which college graduates could only dream of breaking into.

Now, it’s come to a point where I’m told I’m lucky for finding any sort of paid internship — especially one in journalism. The thing is, I don’t think I would have gotten that internship without an unpaid internship I took last fall semester, and there are consequences I’ve yet to pay for that one.

Last fall, while at the San Francisco Chronicle, I was known as the “academic intern from Berkeley.” No one in the newsroom was surprised that I was from Berkeley given the fact that a good chunk of the staff are alumni, but what stood out to me was the fact that “academic” was always tied to my title as an intern.

Federal labor standards mandate that unpaid interns receive training similar to what would be given in an educational environment and benefit as a result. In addition, employers cannot seek to gain advantage from their unpaid interns or use them in lieu of paid employees. That academic descriptor starts to make a lot of sense given those regulations.

My two days a week at the Chronicle were busy. I was there from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. writing, reporting and editing most days, and I spent 45 minutes on BART each way into and out of the city. This fast-paced, stressful experience was probably the most valuable training I’ve gotten. I learned firsthand what these reporters I’ve read and respect do on a daily basis, and the guidance I received from my editor both before and after I turned in my stories all helped me become a better reporter. I’m also fairly certain I wouldn’t have gotten other internships — paid ones — had I not spent this time developing my skills and getting articles published.

However, even though this was only two days a week, my class schedule kept me busy enough for the other five. I didn’t have time to continue my campus job, so in order to make sure I could keep paying rent and afford the $15 a week I was spending on BART travel, I expanded my federal subsidized loan amount by a few thousand dollars. I don’t have to worry about paying interest now, but not too long from now, it’ll be no laughing matter.

No one, not even the U.S. government, keeps track of how many unpaid internships are available to college students these days, but suffice it to say the number is staggering. Still, with the race to find jobs — and hopefully, careers — so competitive, there will be no shortage of applicants for these potentially dangerous internships.

Like most students, I’ve got debt — more so than had I not taken that unpaid internship — but with employers becoming increasingly less willing to hire graduates who have no practical experience, what choice did I have? What choice is there?

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Why go to graduate school? Jessica (the author) wrote, because “Knowledge is pretty freaking cool.” “Yeah,” I said back to the computer with the petulant bleat of a 4-year-old being asked if she preferred Fruit Loops (with marshmallows!) over that chicken feed that Kashi is marketing as cereal. Duh. Of course I like knowledge. Of course I like Fruit Loops. Of course I like knowing that Bart Simpson said his first girlfriend’s (another Jessica) hair smelled like Fruit Loops. Knowledge is the best. But grad school is, sadly, not just about knowledge or sugarcoated cereal.

Here’s my story. I went to UC Berkeley as an undergraduate. I loved it. Save for the all-nighters, printer jams (real and imagined for excuse purposes) and chronic whiplash from looking for the correct classroom in Dwinelle, my time as a double major in English and history was exhausting but fulfilling. It was challenging but creative. I wanted more, and I had no employable skills, so I thought the doctorate program in history would at once satisfy my intellectual curiosities and provide a stable means of living for a prolonged period of time. Despite what the bachelor’s degree I have hanging next to my Hanson poster might suggest, I was very naive.

Graduate school is not your undergraduate education. It is not necessarily about the expansion of knowledge. It is not wholly concerned with your own imaginative ideas about how to make the discipline more accessible or, at the very least, more fun. It is, fundamentally, a trade school. You are there to learn an industry, to make contacts, to produce content that becomes almost absurdly niche and to spend an exorbitant amount of time figuring out who in your class has the required reading out on reserve so you can passive-aggressively get it back. Needless to say, I don’t have many friends in the graduate department. Then again, I don’t know how many friends they have either.

Studies show that the attrition rate for doctoral programs is about 40 to 50 percent. Part of this reason may be that graduate students retain some of the highest rates of depression and suicide. In 2004, UC Berkeley polled more than 3,000 graduate students and discovered that nearly 10 percent of the respondents had “seriously considered committing suicide in the past year.” Even more troubling, 18 students actually attempted suicide. So, the question becomes: Is graduate school worth it?

Speaking of worth in monetary terms, it absolutely is not. The national student debt now exceeds $1 trillion. For most graduate students, their time of study is funded, but because federal policy now “requires graduate students to pay the interest on their loans while still at university or let it build up until they graduate,” the debt only grows more crippling as job prospects for postgraduate employment lessen every year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

I knew this going into my program. I knew it was a lonely venture, an intellectually-gutting experience and a sure sign of an empty wallet. I had seen the shriveled, crestfallen looks on my English GSIs’ faces as they read Keats with all the passion of a dead sloth. They were the very thing Keats was writing about. They were in grad school, “Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies” and “Where to think is to be full of sorrow.” I knew and saw all of this and still entered, blindsided by the romance of knowledge and the pursuit of some noble dream.

But, that’s all it ever was — a dream. The reality of graduate school, for me, was the realization that meaning in life does not arrive in the form of an advanced degree or that super fancy velvet hood they give to doctoral graduates. Meaning in life does not blossom via rigorous, deconstructive intellectual analysis. There is worth in study, and there is value in the act of resurrecting the past from dust-covered pages or routinely pipetting test samples. But if you’re thinking of going to graduate school right after college, heed this suggestion: Before you study life, you should live some of it first.

Contact Jessica Pena at jpena@dailycal.org.

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