One of the first things seniors do when deciding on a college is take a tour of the campus. And boy, does UC Berkeley win major brownie points when people see it. When we first come to UC Berkeley and take the traditional prefreshman tour, we revel at all of the culture and beauty that surrounds us and dream about all of the great places we can enjoy when we get here. But once you’re here, it becomes a lot more of a struggle. The campus lures us in with its intense beauty and wonderful promise of knowledge, yet most of this beauty fades into the background as we think of all the assignments and stress that it brings – we know that it’s the place where our dreams of procrastination come to die, because the deadlines and homework assignments are bound to come from within those beautiful classrooms.

But all of our stupid homework shouldn’t keep us from enjoying the dazzling campus that we saw as incoming freshman. Whether you’re already on campus studying or at home continually getting distracted during the week, taking the time to explore campus a bit will do your overworked brain some good. Plus, who doesn’t want to look at pretty buildings? The answer is “no one.” We’re basically giving you a reason to justify your procrastination. Because if you procrastinate for a good reason, then you’re not screwed, right? That’s the dream, anyway.

But wait — before you go exploring campus at night alone, let the dear ol’ Clog have a little parent talk with you. We know it might be tempting to go adventuring by yourself at night, especially after seeing these awesome places, but please be smart. Berkeley is a pretty dangerous place, especially when it’s dark … so we advise taking a friend or two … or three along with you on your nighttime adventures. The more the merrier!

OK, we’re done. Carry on. Go explore these places:

1. The Campanile

Lights line the Campanile all the way to the tippy-top at night. It’s so bright and beautiful, which makes it a great place to take a break from studying with a group of friends and just marvel at the fact that we get to go to school with it.

2. Hearst Mining Circle 

There’s a cute little stone bench nestled in between some trees near the reflection pool that offers a great view of the pool, its cool ring sculpture and the Campanile. Come here with a smaller group and just sit and stare. Allow your mind to take break from thinking and just take in the view in front of you.

3. East Asian Library 

OK, this might be our favorite spot. It’s just so great. If you climb the stairs of the East Asian Library and head toward the entrance, there’s a bench right in front of it. If you sit there, you will see one of the best views of the Campanile and Doe Library that you can find on campus. At night, both of them are lit up as well, so it just looks amazing. Once again, this is great for two or three people to just come and relax for a bit and enjoy the incredible view.

4. Balcony on Evans Hall 

This was an unexpected find but a pretty cool place to chill at night. There’s a balcony-type place on the first level of Evans that is open, with several benches and a ledge you can lean on and look at campus. You’ll get a pretty sweet view of Memorial Glade from here.

5. The grass area outside of O’Brien Hall 

You know the grass area that has the two seductive bears lounging? That’s the place. This one is cool because it seems more secluded for the rest. So, basically, you can prance and dance all around the field, and it’s likely that no one is going to see you.

6. Lower Sproul Plaza

There’s a surprisingly sweet garden-esque area that’s nice to relax in near the Alumni House at Lower Sproul. This is a great place for a larger group of friends. When we checked it out, there was a dance group practicing nearby, so noise shouldn’t be an issue here. Talk and laugh all you want — no one’s going to care.

Do you have any favorite spots on campus that you’d go to at night? Tell us about them in the comments!