legacy

Like many of you, I’m still trying to figure out how to maintain a record of myself in a world where I can’t be seen or heard.

On Sunday, NBA legend Kobe Bryant died at the age of 41. The Daily Californian’s sports writers muse on their memories of the mamba and his career.

After 77 years of selfless service, Oski has finally confirmed his retirement. Oski will be training his replacement to become the next iconic Golden Bear.

We at the Clog are here to give you a second, third or even fourth chance to live out your UC Berkeley dreams — send your kids!

But underneath all the layers of my California loyalty lies a deep, dark secret that I am about to divulge for the whole Internet to know: I am a $tanfurd legacy.

UC Berkeley admissions do not consider legacy status as part of its application process, but some campus legacies continue.

I come from a long tradition of blue and gold. My grandma and grandpa were both students here; so were my great aunt and uncle; so was my cousin; so was my aunt. And even those who didn’t choose to attend Cal were still avid fans of the school — my dad in particular, a UC Davis graduate, still swore allegiance to the Golden Bears.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the grandeur that surrounds you on the Berkeley campus. Regal buildings plant themselves alongside groves of ancient eucalyptus trees, Strawberry Creek flows along banks and under bridges, and above all of this the Campanile rises, proud and tall, marking the hour as they pass.

The legacy of the Reagan administration is tainted by the Iran-Contra affair and even the controversy of Reaganomics, but I invite students here at Berkeley to look at Reagan beyond the things we already know. This was not an evil man hell-bent on destroying the Soviet Union or disregarding human rights. Reagan took great thoughtfulness in his actions as president — as both an ideological man and a man of practical compromise.