Last week, while having dinner at one of the dining halls, my friend dejectedly remarked, “I want to get more rice, but the line is so long.” She ended up not getting the rice she wanted after all. This sparked a conversation about the many unique situations that we hear UC Berkeley students discuss regularly. Here are some of the quirky and distinct scenarios that UC Berkeley students face throughout their time in college.
The 51B is delayed
I know, I know, we’ve all been there. You check the multiple bus tracking apps on your phone and see that the 51B is only a couple of minutes away. After waiting for the expected time and more, you’re stuck in a battle of waiting more or just acquiescing and walking. I’ve grumbled about this frequently, but in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if your bus is five minutes late due to traffic? On the bright side, we’re fortunate enough as students to have the 51B bus route at our full disposal, which can take us to campus, Downtown Berkeley and even the Berkeley Marina.
There are no unoccupied laundry machines
One Sunday, desperate to do my laundry, I trudged up and down to all the laundry rooms in my residence hall three times in one morning. I couldn’t even find one machine open. Well, the joke’s on me because I shouldn’t have left my laundry until the last minute.
There is no space to work in Moffitt Library
Moffitt Library is by far one of the most popular libraries on campus. I don’t understand what makes it so enticing compared to the other libraries, but whatever the reason is, Moffitt gets pretty packed on a normal day, and even more so during midterm season. Instead of getting annoyed over the lack of space in Moffitt, maybe it’s time to pay a visit to one of our other beautiful libraries on campus!
Being late for class even with Berkeley time
A couple weeks into being a UC Berkeley student are enough to have you fully operating on Berkeley time for the next four years of your life. For those who are unfamiliar with Berkeley time, most classes, sections, meetings and social gatherings start 10 minutes after the stated time. Even though students are given this 10 minute leeway period to curb tardiness, that won’t prevent someone from walking into discussion even later, with AirPods in their ears and an iced coffee in hand.
Worry about walking over the seal
One of the oldest superstitions on campus is stepping on the Berkeley seal. Just one step on the many seals spread across campus will prevent you from earning a 4.0 GPA. Every time you come across one on campus, you’ll feel the sudden urge to swerve away. You might observe a couple of brave souls walk right on the seal, but the majority of students abide by the curse. Grade deflation is ruthless enough, so any opportunity to curb its effects are taken more seriously than you’d think.
AirBears vs. CalVisitor
Complaints about the campus Wi-Fi can be heard just as regularly as the Campanile bell tower rings. But, in all honesty, the Wi-Fi isn’t as bad as we all make it out to be. It’s just a matter of switching between AirBears2, CalVisitor and eduroam to see what works best.
So there you have it! Can you think of any more unique scenarios that we face as college students at UC Berkeley?
