If you go to Cal or went to Cal, there are definitely situations that you have experienced that grind your gears. When you try to explain these things to people who do not go to Cal, they may find your complaints to be very trivial. And although they are very trivial, when these irksome situations occurred, your thoughts were probably similar to something like, “10 out of 10, would punch someone in the face right now.” Here are a couple of things that might aggravate you if you are or were a Cal student:

1. When the Campanile just won’t stop … especially during midterms and finals weeks. We love the Campanile’s beautiful array of chimes and tunes, and we always love guessing which song it’s playing at the time. But when you have 24 hours until your next econ exam and your classical music study playlist is being overpowered by the sound of Katy Perry’s “Firework” in bell form, there’s a point when you have to say to the Campanile, “CAN YOU NOT?”

2. Studying on the weekends at night. This is especially troublesome for those living in the dorms and apartments on Southside. It’s a Saturday night, and you’ve got an exam on Monday. You told yourself you were going to be a responsible student this weekend and stay in on a Saturday night in order to finish answering all of those questions on that study guide. It’s 10 p.m., and you hear the stomping of the pregamers leaving down the hallway. You’re jealous that you aren’t one of them, but at least they’ll be gone for a solid couple of hours and leave you in peace. Three hours later, you’ve gotten a good amount of studying done, and after your third coffee, you’re ready to take on some more. It’s at that moment when you hear what sounds like the background noise of animals from “The Lion King” outside of your window and down the hallway. Nothing better than the sounds and smells of the intoxicated to get your brain waves going, are we right?!

3. Getting fliered at when you haven’t had your coffee yet. We all know the feeling. Especially if you have morning classes, the feeling of being the victim of active flier distribution on Sproul is essentially the same feeling you get when you see the person in your life who annoys the shit out of you the most. It’s really awful to think that, we know — and to those of you who pass out those fliers, please don’t take this personally — but we just can’t help it! The thought of having to force ourselves out of bed, crawl to our 9 a.m. classes and then be attacked by someone who is clearly on a much superior level of happiness than we are makes a person cynical.

4. Fliering at someone who hasn’t had his or her coffee yet. It works both ways, everyone. When you’re fliering for whichever organization you are a part of and you approach a random pedestrian with your flier, you may receive a look that suggests a phrase you might know: “Fuck off.” Your initial reaction might be “WHY DOESN’T ANYONE LIKE ME?” But please do not blame yourself, and please do not allow your self-esteem to go down just because someone ninja’d his or her way out of receiving your flier. It’s OK. It’ll all be OK.

5. There’s only one dude in the row, and he decided to take the seat on the very edge. Honestly, we’ve all probably done this. Of course, lefties are exempted from this category. But there’s always that one person who thinks that it’ll be a great idea to sit on the very edge and then get annoyed every time someone has to squeeze past him or her to get to a seat inside of the row. We have something to say to this person: “DUDE! YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF, OK? Stop rolling your eyes at me! And stop acting like my butt (rubbing against your desk and knocking over your papers) is Satan!”

What Cal pet peeves do you have? Let us know in the comments!

Image source: greg westfall. under Creative Commons

Contact Gabrielle Nguyen at gnguyen@dailycal.org.

The post 5 pet peeves of the average Cal student appeared first on The Daily Californian.

ARYA ALIABADI/Staff

Cal alumni Louis Peitzman — a former arts and entertainment editor and a former Sex on Tuesday columnist at The Daily Californian — and Ariane Lange of Buzzfeed fame teamed up recently to create this love letter to Cal. It went viral. In The Daily Clog’s debut use of GIFs, we have composed this updated  list of 40 more signs to recognize a Golden Bear in 2013.

1) You’ve hoarded almost all of your school supplies from Caltopia.

They are giving away free Xbox 360s? Gimme!

2) You’ve mastered the ninja art of flier-dodging on Sproul.

3) You start running when you hear, “Girl Scout cookies for sale!”

4) Or when you see Top Dog empty. 

Lemon chicken or Smoked chicken apple? Decisions, decisions …

5) But to get your CREAM sandwich fix,

That glorious first bite…

6) You will endure anything.

The line starts two blocks away? It just began to rain? Challenge accepted.

7) You wonder whether you spend more time looking for an open seat at Moffitt than you do actually studying.

8) And whether finding an open spot at FSM is even possible.

Seriously. Where did all you people come from?

9) To avoid the late-night lines at RSF, you try to get there early.

10) But all your exercise actually comes from the trek back to your room.

RSF to Foothill? More like Shire to Mt. Doom.

11) You know why blue and gold are the most appropriate colors

Nathan Adrian, three-time Olympic Gold medalist.

12) And have so many reasons to watch the Olympics

Dana Vollmer, four-time Olympic medalist.

13) From the soccer field

Alex Morgan, one-time Olympic gold medalist and 2012 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year

14) To the water course

Erin Cafaro, two-time Olympic gold medalist in rowing.

15) And even the swimming pool

*12-time Olympic medalist. Tied for most medals won for an American woman.

16) Look out, Rio, Cal Bears coming through!

Missy Franklin, four-time Olympic gold medalist.

17) And we mean, seriously …

Dana Vollmer, Natalie Coughlin and Nathan Adrian recreate “Abbey Road” with Michael Phelps

18) You watch movies to find Berkeley references

Now what gate does that look like?

19) Or television shows with familiar personalities

Professor Farnsworth of Futurama is inspired by campus philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus.

20) And appreciate alumni contribution to college classics

John Cho promoting “Harold and Kumar.”

20) And generational icons.

Cho along with Chris Pine in Star Trek.

21) Sometimes the alumni are generational icons.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., delivering the 2013 commencement address at UC Berkeley.

22) Others will lead nations

Haakon Magnus, crown prince of Norway.

23) And all lay claim to the single best mascot of any university.

What you got, Stanfurd??

24) Speaking of which, you turn into an animal during The Big Game

Let those Cardinals know true school pride.

25) And remain an animal for concerts at the Greek Theater.

Green Day is playing? To the Hill, everybody! Who’s with me?

26) You get a heart attack each time you find this in your inbox.

But you secretly admire the subtle passive-aggressiveness.

27) You’ve been aggressively advanced upon by a squirrel

28) And aren’t surprised to find evidence of hipsters in every bathroom stall

29) Or that every class has at least one hipster GSI.

30) You know where to find wizards in your backyard

Bowles = Hogwarts.

31) And have seen Muggles play Quidditch on Memorial Glade.

32) You wonder if the T-Rex from Jurassic Park

33) Was inspired by the giant skeleton in the Valley Life Sciences Building.

34) You have a go-to favorite picture of the Campanile

35) For every

36) Single

37) Possible 

38) Occasion.

39) When someone says you “go to UCB,”

40) You tell ‘em, “I go to Cal.”

You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole wide world this is bear territory!

This article was made in collaboration with Arya Aliabadi of the photo department and Emily Chin of the multimedia department. 

Image sources: Incase, Astrobuddha, RSammer. Hakan Dahlstrom, Kate Gardiner, MIke_fleming,  John Morgan , D.H.Parks, bil_bly_ca, wallyg under Creative Commons and Arya Aliabadi, Ruby Elizabeth Lee, J. Hannah Lee, Dean Ignacio, Anthony Martinez, courtesy

Contact Alex Mabanta at amabanta@dailycal.org

The post 40 more signs you went to UC Berkeley appeared first on The Daily Californian.

So you’re at the No. 1 public university in the country. Living up to the prestige of our cherished school is probably the most difficult experience you’ve ever had in your life. But despite all the stress — the early morning classes and late night paper-writing — college is a wonderful time, especially at Cal, so appreciate the perks you have here as long as you can.

1. You don’t have to get up nearly as early as you would for a job. We admit that maybe you’re that unlucky student with the 8 a.m. discussion by yourself. But even with that unfortunate class time, you’ll never have classes from 9 to 5 — with no breaks — for five days a week.

2. You know what you’re supposed to do. Write a paper? No problem. Talk to your GSI. Contribute to discussion? Please, you know how to work bSpace. Once you get a job and step into the “real world,” you’ll have to figure new things out all over again.

3. You could just not show up. We’re definitely not recommending this, because we’re sure your professor — and whoever is monitoring your GPA — will notice eventually. But in the short term, you won’t get kicked out if you skip class without telling anyone. Try that with your boss.

4. You have some long breaks between classes or days without class at all. Get a job, and you’ll (hopefully) be working five days a week for at least eight hours a day. While steady paychecks are wonderful, say goodbye to your 3 p.m. nap — unless you somehow find a forward-thinking employer who values your night-owl circadian rhythm.

5. You don’t have to get dressed … not really. We don’t recommend tripping around in your PJs every day of the semester, but school is a time when you might just be able to get away with that. In the working world, it’s really not the best impression to make at a professional job.

There’s plenty of stress to be experienced during the summer, but it isn’t unbearable. College will end at some point, so we might as well enjoy it while we can.

Image source: Kenneth Moyle under Creative Commons

Contact Jessica Rogness at jrogness@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jessarogness.

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Just like you and your sibling, UC Berkeley and UCLA have an interesting relationship. This particular UC campus definitely took after its big-sister school. But what can be more awkward than this relationship between sibling schools? Conversations with a sibling who attends the sibling school. Here at the Clog, we highlighted some awkward similarities you may discover when talking about college life with a sibling who is a UCLA Bruin:

That awkward moment when…

1. You talk about how much you love reading The Daily Californian. Then your Bruin sibling admits that he or she loves reading —you’ve guessed it! — The Daily Bruin.

2. You love blue and gold. Then you discover your Bruin sibling also loves blue and gold — baby blue, that is.

3. You’re singing “Sons of California.” Then from a distance, you hear your Bruin sibling sing “Sons of Westwood.”

4. You talk about CREAM. Then discover that Diddy Riese is the exact same thing.

5. Someone yells “Go Bruins!” Then you discover that this explicitly excludes you, unlike when someone yells “Go Bears!”

6. Your sibling gets mad when you say that UC Berkeley has more Nobel laureates. Even though you’ve never met one.

7. You get mad at your sibling because UCLA has more TV commercials. But hey, it was just Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dribbling a basketball with people chasing him.

8. You accidentally say that UC Berkeley is the No. 1 public university. And your Bruin sibling says nothing.

9. You hate red. Then you find out that your Bruin sibling also hates red.

Regardless of rankings, we are all part of one united UC system and, for some, part of one big family. Though now all Cal vs. UCLA sporting events will be a tad awkward, ice cream cookie sandwiches or nearly identical mascots shouldn’t get between family.

What are some awkward college conversations you’ve had with a sibling that attends a different UC school? Share with us in the comments!

Image Source: hans s under Creative Commons 

Contact Karen Kwaning at kkwaning@dailycal.org.

The post That awkward moment when your sibling is a Bruin appeared first on The Daily Californian.

With about a month left of summer, you probably feel like school is going to start too soon. But there are also some things — fun or quirky things — that you might actually miss about Berkeley. The good thing is that you can try to get those things when you’re not in Berkeley. Here’s how:

Go to Peet’s. Even if you don’t need the caffeine for an 8 a.m. discussion, enjoy a cup of coffee. You can go get an iced latte at Starbucks too, but we recommend Peet’s because it was founded in Berkeley and can be found on nearly every block in our city, including in front of Crossroads.

Scrapbook. Do you walk into Michael’s and walk out two hours later with more craft supplies than you know what to do with? Next time you crafty people do that, pick up some scrapbook paper and an album. Summer is a great time to reflect on your years at Cal, and it’s a great time to put those reflections on paper.

Don’t just go to the movies. We all appreciate a good summer flick. But it’s good to check out something a little different too. Maybe your hometown has a free concert or a Shakespeare festival you never knew about. Outdoor events that offer cheap student admission don’t just exist in Berkeley.

Read a book. We’re from Cal; a lot of us are total book nerds. But even if you love books, you might forget to read if you’re too busy. Before you know it, you’ll be out of sorts and wondering why. It’s because your brain’s probably crying out for something imaginative or thought-provoking. Whether it’s the latest thriller best seller or a Victorian-era novel, remind yourself how much you love reading.

Find a squirrel. You can find the greedy little fur balls in more than just your college town. Don’t believe us? Check out a park you haven’t visited in a while. Different varieties of the species inhabit all of North America. But if you really just cannot find a squirrel in your local park, there’s always the Berkeley Squirrels Facebook page.

Are there other things you miss about Berkeley? How do you stay connected to your adopted city when you’re not there? Let us know in the comments!

Image source: tobucil & klabs, under Creative Commons

Contact Jessica Rogness at jrogness@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jessarogness.

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Breaking news: More Bay Area locals will now be able to experience the sweet goodness that is a CREAM sandwich. CREAM, arguably a grand favorite of Berkeley and East Bay residents, will soon branch out and open another shop. While we applaud the expansion of our favorite supplier of sugary amazingness, we question its choice of real estate: Palo Alto.

We know that there are Cal students and alumni who hail from the South Bay and, especially in the summer, they certainly deserve to have CREAM closer to home. But which university’s students will most frequent downtown Palo Alto? Not Cal’s, but Stanford’s.

CREAM is there for us throughout the year during various points of the Cal school year: welcome week (when it’s appropriately summertime), the dead of December finals week, the odd March midterm study break or the farewell May celebration. We love our ice cream, no matter the weather, and we love CREAM even more. It’s disturbing to think that Stanford will have this same dessert opportunity when Berkeley is so well-known for it. Even college students who don’t go to Cal know Berkeley, not Stanford, for CREAM.

We would also like to point out that CREAM’s famous logo is blue and gold, not red and white.

This could be a call for peace between our university and the Farm. Maybe we will see past our longtime rivalry with Stanford and peacefully connect through our mutual love for ice cream.

Just kidding. What world do you think we’re living in? Some animosities can never be soothed — not even by the delight of a mint double chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

Image source: Alan Nakkash, under Creative Commons

Contact Jessica Rogness at jrogness@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jessarogness.

The post CREAM expands to Stanford appeared first on The Daily Californian.

The Cal Student Orientation is your first impression of the incredible smarts and urban eccentricity that is Berkeley. We at the Clog sure haven’t forgotten our own CalSO experiences. If you’ve already had your CalSO years and years ago, we hope you’ll find something you can relate to in our stories, and if you’re a new freshman admit, we hope you’ll learn something!

Freshmen, meet Tele-BEARS. 

How sweet were the days in which I had no clue what Tele-BEARS was. If only it really were an intergalactic bear floating somewhere out there in space. But it’s not. It’s your worst nightmare.

I can recall both my sense of naivety and the aching of my calves while trying to keep up with my CalSO leader heading into Tolman Hall. I had no course control numbers written on a notepad — just a bunch of classes I thought I would be interested in (a list that I would soon realize was useless). Upon finding an unoccupied computer, I sat listening to what sounded like the fast-forward Terms and Conditions in a sketchy infomercial on how to work the thing. After nodding, acknowledging, “Yes, I totally understand completely,” when we were asked if we understood their directions, I was released to attack the beast — in less than 30 minutes.

I proceeded to add and drop classes like I knew what I was doing. My heart would break a little each time I was wait-listed for a class I wanted to take that was my only option. Wasn’t college all about having the liberty to take the classes you wanted?

I didn’t have the best first Tele-BEARS experience, but I learned the importance of using ScheduleBuilder and having course control numbers and back-up plans ready. Lots of them.

— Karen Kwaning

Thank God for caffeine

It’s amazing that I was able to stay awake at all during CalSO. Because the transfer student CalSO is only one 12-hour day, I opted not to stay the night before. Plus, I didn’t want to pay to park my car overnight, because I knew that no matter what, I would be driving to Berkeley. Who knows — maybe my subconscious was telling me that although I’d never visited Unit 3, I definitely wouldn’t want to sleep there. So I woke up at 3 a.m. to drive to CalSO. Did I mention that I couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight?

I made it to Berkeley just as the sun was beginning to rise — or rather, just as light was starting to poke through the overcast sky. There were hardly anyone on the streets (an image I recall on days when Telegraph is bustling). I don’t think I have ever seen Berkeley as quiet as I did that morning. I parked at Underhill right before 5 a.m., and I’m sure I was the first student to show up that morning. So I just relaxed in my car until I could head over to Unit 3 to sign in.

For the rest of the day, as many incoming Cal students will soon find out, I practically sprinted from one end of campus to another, trying to acquaint myself with as many new resources and people as I could in 12 hours. It was one of the most tiring days of my life, but that also means that I’ll never forget it.

I would like to thank caffeine — both Starbucks and Dr. Pepper — for making my CalSO experience possible.

— Jessica Rogness

Is that a … mustache? 

I had a CalSO leader with a mustache … who was a girl. She was super friendly and laid back and introduced our CalSO group to the joys of falafel and vegan dining options at Cal. She got me thoroughly  excited to be at a liberal-minded college after living a very conservative region of Orange County for so long.

— Liz Zarka

From SoCal to NorCal

My CalSO experience started at the Oakland Airport the night before orientation. I arrived about as wide-eyed as any suburb-slicker would; admittedly, I was a tad nervous but still eager to take on the big city (truthfully, Berkeley is quite a modestly sized city. It felt big at the time). As I strolled through the airport, I emphatically quipped “Go Bears” to an older man with a Cal sweatshirt; I saw Berkeley merchandise at a vendor’s window. Soon, I was walking with an unwarranted sense of belonging. I felt at home.

Unfortunately, all those good feelings disappeared when I arrived at BART. As a native of southern California, public transportation was never my strong suit. But in a stellar example of the pride, friendliness and ubiquity of Cal’s student body, I saw a fellow Bear wearing a Berkeley sweater. I asked her if she was en route to the school and thankfully, she said yes. I was guided through the terminals, through Center Street and right to the west side of campus. Needless to say, I was awestruck by Berkeley’s unique blend of urbanity and forest.

The next day, I woke up bright and early to get ready for orientation. As I sat in 2050 VLSB, getting my “bear”-ings, an advisor enthusiastically said, “ Even some of your classes will be taught by Nobel laureates!” The person sitting next to me casually looked down the aisle to make eye contact with his friend, turned to me, and casually said, “Yeah, his father is a Nobel laureate.” I was starstruck and a little overwhelmed. But looking back, that is Berkeley in a nutshell: Academic excellence is somehow both revered and everyday. CalSO, like Berkeley in general, is special because it prepares its students for bigger and better things.

— Griffin Mori-Tornheim

Image Source: ctsnow under Creative Commons.

Contact the Clog Staff at clog@dailycal.org.

The post Our CalSO memories, Clog style appeared first on The Daily Californian.

For those of you who have successfully maintained a long-distance relationship at Cal, we applaud you. Seriously, bravo. (No, this isn’t sarcasm.) Long-distance relationships can be really tough, and we here at the Daily Clog know exactly what you’re going through. If you’re currently in a long distance relationship and are absolutely, without a doubt, in love with your significant other, we can tell you that we seriously have no idea how you’re doing it — but keep it up! But if you’re contemplating pursuing a long-distance relationship during your time at Cal, we’ve got a couple of things that you should probably keep in mind:

1. Time difference. You have to admit getting a text saying, “OMG, so glad I’m done with my classes today!” just as you’re waking up to the 8 a.m. ringing of the Campanile’s bells would get pretty annoying. Or imagine getting a text that says, “Good morning, sweetie. How’s your day going?” when you’re drunk off of your a$$ down frat row somewhere.

2. When describing Cal to significant others, they’ll be like, “WTF?” As a Cal student, you’ve probably tried to explain things about Berk to some friends who don’t go to Cal and ended up saying, “Sorry … I can’t explain it. It’s a Berkeley thing.” You probably felt like a pretentious douchebag, but you couldn’t help it! It is a Berkeley thing. Imagine trying to explain to your significant other that you couldn’t hear them on a phone because a homeless man on Sproul was angrily preaching to you. And how would you even begin to explain what a Berkeley co-op is like? “Oh, the needle disposals? They were just next to me on the wall while I was peeing! Don’t worry! I’m fine!” Please, be honest with yourself, and imagine what that sounds like on the other end.

3. You’re going to get jealous of your sexually experimental Cal friends very quickly. Here at Cal, we can guarantee that you will make a very diverse group of friends. Of that group, at least one will probably be sexually adventurous and will tell you about the awesome sexcapades that he or she has had. When that happens, you’re bound to grow envious of the amount of action they’re getting compared to you. You could read the Daily Cal’s “Sex on Tuesday” column and attempt to live vicariously through the numerous column writers, but you don’t need us to tell you that it won’t be the same as the real thing.

4. Berkeley love is fun. There are countless fun activities to do around Berkeley, and if you’re in a long-distance relationship, you don’t get the privilege of sharing those activities with your significant other. Think about how fun it would be to lie out on Memorial Glade together, wait forever in line at Ici or ride bikes through campus together while holding hands (only do the last one if you’re coordinated enough).

5. Give some Bears a chance. We’ve got about 36 thousand students at Cal, and within those 36 thousand students, the probability that you’ll find someone physically and emotionally attractive to you is pretty high. That cute girl in your political econ class whose favorite movie is “The Darjeeling Limited” and whose favorite band is Pink Floyd? You can’t have her. That hottie that in your Math 1B discussion who shoots you that alluring grin when you walk into class every Tuesday? You can’t have him. Unless you have already found “the one,” you may be missing out on finding whoever that person is. And that person may very well be a Bear.

If you’ve ever been in a long-distance relationship at Cal, what are some problems you’ve had? Let us know in the comments!

Image source: procsilas under Creative Commons.

Contact Gabrielle Nguyen at gnguyen@dailycal.org.

The post 5 things to consider before you pursue a long-distance relationship at Cal appeared first on The Daily Californian.

When it comes to bikes, our campus seems to be divided. An unspoken rivalry hangs in the air between the bikers and the walkers … the bikers just want the walkers out of the way and the walkers just don’t want to be run over.

This week, our great university has sided with the bikers. The Bicycle Friendly University (yes, this is a real thing) recognized 58 universities for being ‘bicycle friendly’ campuses — Cal was given the silver award as a new member this semester.

What exactly does this mean for students at Cal? We can probably expect an increased number of bikes on campus, since the school is now officially promoting it.

For some this may be amazing news, while others may be cringing at the thought of dodging more bikers. However you view the current situation (if you’ve ever even thought about it), we all have a choice to make: are you going to join in on the bike hype? The choice is up to you.

To help you out, we at the Clog has some pros and cons for you to consider before becoming a Berkeley biker.

Pros:

Time efficient. With a bike, you can get to a class across campus in five minutes. As long as you know how to ride well and can maneuver around people, this could be a huge time saver.

More convenient than buses. Perfectly timing buses around your schedule is a hit or miss kind of deal. If you’re cursed with bad bus luck, a bike could completely eliminate your problem.  

Increased daily exercise. Studying enough to pass your classes takes up a majority of our time. We’re sure everyone would like to work out if they could, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Biking around campus would increase your daily exercise and release some endorphins …  and make you happy!   

Cons:

Accidents. Bikes pose a risk of terrible accidents if you aren’t careful. Look out for cars and people walking. Coming into contact with either one of these on a bike is terribly dangerous, not to mention painful.  

Theft is real. We’ve seen countless bikes with missing parts — still locked on the bike rack — while walking through campus. Bikes can be expensive, so the risk of them being stolen is important to consider. 

Storage. If you plan to live in an apartment or a place without bike storage, consider where you can store it. They aren’t the most space-saving items, so make sure you have a place to put it if you want to have one.

Contact Kristen McFadden at kmcfadden@dailycal.org or follow her on Twitter at @kmcfadden7.

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James Hall/Courtesy

Do you remember your first time at Cal? We’re assuming you walked through the craziness of Sproul, roamed around the beautifully aged buildings on campus, tried the “famous” food places like C.R.E.A.M. and Cheeseboard … or all of the above.

It’s time to take a trip down memory lane to help possible incoming freshmen make this crucial decision. After all, they are going to become some of the happiest freshmen of all state universities.

We started a list, but we know all of you creative Berkeley students probably have more reasons you will tell your friends/siblings/classmates before the May 1 deadline passes. What did you love most about Cal when you first visited its campus? What made you fall in love?

We at the Clog think these are the main reasons Cal is so great:

1. Spirited student body. Our school is full of amazingly talented and ecstatic people. We are passionate, brilliant and full of life. Hanging around a group full of charisma is infectious.

2. Lively city. From rallies and protests to scientific discoveries and world-famous professors, Berkeley is a city that makes history. Our city thrives and is full of people seeking greatness. If you don’t find inspiration in a city like Berkeley, we’re not sure where you’re going to find it.

3. Nature or city life. We have the best of both worlds. If you’re a city lover, hop on BART and take a trip to San Francisco or simply explore the awesome places in Berkeley. If you’re more of a nature person, you can hike behind Clark Kerr Campus, enjoy the pockets of nature nuzzled between buildings on campus or take a trip to Strawberry Canyon. Berkeley accommodates both types of people.

4. Awesome food. Meal plans may suck, but the food in this city sure doesn’t! What’s even better about it is its price. There is a plethora of cheap, delicious meal options for Cal students all over Berkeley.

5. Quality education. We’re learning from the best, obviously. We have so many teachers who care about our education — not just the grade. They want us to succeed in life and truly understand the material they are presenting to us. This was especially evident when we broke our record of applicants this year.

These are just a few of the fantastic things that make Cal the greatest school in the world, now add your own in the comments below.

Contact Kristen McFadden at kmcfadden@dailycal.org or follow her on twitter @kmcfadden7.

The post 5 reasons we think everyone should attend Cal appeared first on The Daily Californian.