This newsletter features stories for and by Berkeley undergraduates. If you've attended CalSO, you've already learned a bit about the campus. Postscript hopes to expand your knowledge about some of the opportunities and advantages available to you.
Joy Sargent and friends practice for a show on Lower Sproul Plaza. Photo by Jenne Mowry.
Discover a club for you!
Student groups at Berkeley cover a wide range of interests in academics, sports, and recreation; professional, religious (including atheistic!), service, political, and social issues; cultural and ethnic concerns; rally and spirit activities; and the arts. With over 650 student groups from which to choose, you are certain to find at least one that appeals to you (or piques your curiosity).
Enhance your education at Cal by becoming involved with as many student organizations as your interest, schedule, and scholastic pursuits permit. There are many benefits to joining one of our various student organizations:
> Making new friends
> Developing new skills and abilities
> Working as part of a team
> Learning to set and achieve goals
> Sharing your time and talents, and
> Having fun!
To see a current list of the organizations, start your own student group, or to find funding options for student group activities, visit Campus Life and Leadership (CLL) for more information (cll.berkeley.edu; 9am-5pm; 102 Sproul Hall; leadership@berkeley.edu; 510/642-5171, TDD/voice 510/642-6778).
For more information on Black Campus Ministries (BCM) or praise dancing, go to www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bcm/.
I am a PK: a preacher’s kid. My father has been a pastor for seven years, and he was a minister for at least 15 years before that. I grew up in a Baptist Christian church, went to service every Sunday (bright and early at 8am!), and then stayed for Sunday school. When I got older, I taught Sunday school. Needless to say, my faith is a large part of my life, and it has shaped many aspects of the way I choose to live it.
When I decided to come to UC Berkeley, my father was concerned. He had heard about Cal’s liberal reputation, and was afraid that I was going to allow someone to debate me out of my faith or change my beliefs—although I was confident that wouldn’t happen. So when I got here, one of my first priorities was locating a church; with the help of a campus organization (Black Campus Ministries), I found one. Black Campus Ministries (BCM) took a large group of students on what is called the “Black World Tour.” We visited churches, restaurants, and even hair salons in the area. By the time the tour was finished, I had decided that I wanted BCM to be an ongoing part of my life at Berkeley.
I was excited about the transition from high school to college because to me it signified a transition from childhood to adulthood. I would be away from home, making my own decisions, and managing my life for the first time. I was eager to meet people and make changes in my life. The only fears that I had were that everyone at UC Berkeley was going to be a nerd and that I was going to be the only “normal” person there. I assumed that everyone was going to be a big geek and wouldn’t know how to have fun—that I wouldn’t have anyone to associate with. As it turned out, I was wrong.
I got very involved my first semester. In addition to my involvement with BCM, I served as the historian for the hall staff on my floor and was an intern for the Black Recruitment and Retention Center. I danced in two campus groups (Color Danz and Dance Junta), and I was a mentor through Stiles Hall. I lived in the African American Theme Program, the Afro floor, Soul Central; it was located in Christian Hall in Unit One. I chose to live there because I felt it was important for me to have a smaller community to come home to. My floormates didn’t judge me, they identified with what I identified with, and I didn’t have to justify myself. It was like a little family.
Of all my activities, BCM was the group that really helped me transition to Berkeley. The aspect of it that appealed to me most was praise dancing. I had praise danced at my church back home, and thought this would be a good way to stay in touch with my faith while I got involved with the community at Cal. The BCM Praise Dancers combine elements of jazz, modern, hip-hop, and interpretive dance into heart-felt routines that express praise to God. We choreograph the movements ourselves, and dance to contemporary Christian and gospel music.
Being a black student at Cal can be trying if you do not find a way to get connected. I found the black community here to be very supportive: whenever we perform—at BCM events, or other wider campus events—we always have a healthy crowd, and that makes dancing that much more enjoyable. The BCM Praise Dancers introduced me to a group of people that is there for me, and through them I have built a network of friends, classmates, and encouragement.
I think it is imperative to find your niche at Cal. Berkeley is a very big place, and unless you find a way to “shrink” it—to break it into smaller, more personal pieces—you may end up feeling a little insignificant. Luckily, there are a number of campus organizations, covering every possible interest, from which to choose. find something to involve yourself in during your first semester—it will really help you adjust, and it will keep you sane while you learn your way around all of the new places, people, and experiences you will have here at Berkeley.
— Joy Sargent, Junior
African American Studies/Social Justice major, Education minor
From Santa Ana, California