Berkeley: Still Fun? (San Diego, Oakland, Bell: private school, camping, living)

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by MisterC

Berkeley is Not fun!!!!!!!!

I'm a gay white man (40ish hehehe) and I've been here almost a year now and I can't hook up with anybody. I've done everything I'm supposed to like drive a Prius with Obama 2008 and rainbow stickers on the bumper. I even had a rainbow flag on the front door of my apartment, until the neighbors complained to the manager, and had to take it down. NOBODY GETS THE MESSAGE!

I wave to cute guys as I drive by all the time and I always strike up conversations with guys I think might be 'on the hunt' -but no takers.

Any advice would be appreciated. Am I too aggressive, in the wrong city, wrong strategy?

Also, I don't do clubs or bars- too many wierdos. Please help- I'm not having fun

Berkeley, for all it's liberalness has never been a haven for the LGBC. In fact, some people can be rather homophobic at times. It's not another SF by any means.

[sjnative]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Considering studious Asian kids make up an ever larger portion of the student population, it's no surprise Cal's no hotbed of radicalism.

No kidding. That's how it was at SJSU- it was a technology institute, not a university- and I can believe that Cal's the same way now.

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

And out of state students must have a much better sat score than their california peers with similar gpa's in order to get into a uc. The kicker for out of state students is that tuition costs them double what a californian pays. This is the main reason there are not a lot of students from out of state. If californians with all their affluence can not afford it, what makes you think out of staters can at twice the cost?

What affluence? Californians have to pay the cost of living in CA, whereas the wealthy parents of out-of-state students and financial assistance recipient students from any state aren't so financially burdened.

As any Californian knows, the middle class is the class that is treading water whereas the lower class gets welfare aide and the upper class has so much financial freedom, but the upper class is pretty small. Which "californians with all their affluence" are you referring to?

To go back to the first part of your paragraph, though, you are comparing Californian students to all non-Californian students which doesn't seem to me to be a reasonable comparison given that the latter far outnumber the former, in which it is no surprise that the latter- many of whom may come from private schools or the nation's best public schools- can come in with higher GPA's.

[Ceece]

I never "got" Berkeley. I live 20 minutes away and even though I've gone there for this or that (including some frat parties back in the day), it's not a place I think to go just for fun. My son, 20, just went with his friends a few weeks ago and he was amused by the bums and the out in the open pot smoking. They had fun but he doesn't seem particularly anxious to go back either.

[Curmudgeon]

Don't know about fun but Bezerkeley's always been funny.

@MisterC: If you need to openly advertise your sexual preference, you have a real problem.

[CAVA1990]

It's probably more fun if you have some connection to the university. Most of mine was had on campus, playing intra-mural sports, or with my girlfriend (openly advertising my sexual preference). If I were to move back, I'd probably get involved again with the school. I believe an alum of any of the UC campuses can join the alumni association there and receive the same benefits as a Cal grad.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Actually no. Berkeley still is obligated like all UC's to make room for californians top students. Very few at the under grad level are from out of state. If anything berkeley has more asians and is less whites then my freshman year nearly 10 years ago. Its very far from a party school and even frat row is tame.

And out of state students must have a much better sat score than their california peers with similar gpa's in order to get into a uc. The kicker for out of state students is that tuition costs them double what a californian pays. This is the main reason there are not a lot of students from out of state. If californians with all their affluence can not afford it, what makes you think out of staters can at twice the cost?

With California schools performing at what 47 out of 50 in the nation, it wouldn't surprise me that a lot of Ca. residents may not possess the SAT scores to get in. I wasn't saying it's absolutely filled with out of state students. My point was that even with say a 15% out of state student body, that could make the campus somewhat more conservative than the city as those students are most likely more conservative than the residents of the city.

[18Montclair]

There is more to Berkeley than the few blocks of Telegraph closest to the university.

Its a very vibrant city with tons of things going on all the time.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

With California schools performing at what 47 out of 50 in the nation,

Please dont believe that BS. Its totally incorrect.

We have some of the best and brightest.

When it comes to the highest percentage of silver and gold medal(public) high schools, California is 3rd behind the teeny-tiny states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

States ranked by public schools earning a silver or gold, 2010
1 Connecticut
2 Massachusetts
3 California
4 New Jersey
5 New York
6 Illinois
7 Vermont
8 Washington
9 Maine
9 Maryland
11 Florida
12 New Hampshire
13 Rhode Island
14 Texas
15 Colorado
16 Nevada
16 Oregon
18 Kentucky
19 North Carolina
20 Georgia

America's Best High Schools: State-by-State Statistics - US News and World Report

[CAVA1990]

I'm just curious why out of state students would be more conservative. I'm sure kids from Washington and Oregon as well as those from the East Coast would be just as likely to be liberal. I doubt that many kids from places like East Moosejaw, MT are going there.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Ceece

I never "got" Berkeley. I live 20 minutes away and even though I've gone there for this or that (including some frat parties back in the day), it's not a place I think to go just for fun. My son, 20, just went with his friends a few weeks ago and he was amused by the bums and the out in the open pot smoking. They had fun but he doesn't seem particularly anxious to go back either.

I kind of agree with this. Berkeley was fun and cool in high school but now I really don't care for the place at all. I find many of it's commercial areas dirty, boring, and full of types of shops I just don't care for. Definitely not my scene at all. Telegraph Ave is a joke, that place really hasn't changed much unfortunately; still lots of bums and beggars. Berkeley is like a bad stereotype imo but to each their own, certain types obviously love that scene. But the city does have a decent amount of nice looking residential areas imo.