Help me confirm: Michigan over Berkeley

SunnyByTheBay
Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:10:38 +0000

I attended UC Berkeley a while back (OK, 25 years ago!) and found that its reputation for radicalism is really overblown. Yes, there are small groups of students who are passionate advocates for some issues, and they may occasionally stage a loud protest or write articles for the school newspapers. However, most other students are focused on their classes and the typical activities and social aspects of college – and those students see the protests or activist newspaper editorials with only mild interest or amusement. “What are they getting all worked up about now? Oh, that’s kinda silly. Well, guess I better start studying for my exam.”

The majority of students choose UC Berkeley now because of its very strong academic programs and because they believe the school’s reputation will help them get better employment opportunities. They are not specifically seeking out a very liberal or radical college environment. There are plenty of students at UC Berkeley who are apolitical or take moderate or conservative positions on political and social issues.

So, you may read headlines about something like “The Naked Guy” who was attending classes at UC Berkeley in the nude until university administrators put a stop to it. However, you have to keep in mind that there were 25,000+ students who were thinking, “Dude, please put some pants on like the rest of us!” Keep in perspective the news stories about the most radical things that have ever occurred at UC Berkeley – those are not the experiences of most of UC Berkeley’s students.