Staying Overnight in UC Berkeley (OSP)
Written on June 25, 2010 by moe2love
Category: Colleges
A giant, looming campanile stands over the campus of UC Berkeley, extending its dominating presence over all those
The everseeing clock tower of Berkeley
who dare to run late on its prestigious grounds. Along strawberry creek, a group of students collect samples of the water for their science experiments. A lone old man stands in the middle of the square, dangling a watch from his fingers, his eyes locked on the object that fascinates him for reasons unknown. Another man yells at those who dare to use any form of science in front of him. In the Greek houses by the Clark Kerr dorms, walls shake to the bumping music of sorority parties.
This past weekend I participated in the Overnight Stay Program (OSP) at UC Berkeley. I was the only one from my school at this program (no one else even knew this existed), and I enjoyed it immensely. The experience was amazing, and it was well worth the 90 bucks (in my opinion, the experience was even better than prom, although that’s debatable). By taking this program, I truly understood the hype behind the Cal Bear experience.
Bears: The Superstitious Animals of California
We first started the program with a tour of the campus. Our tour guide told us about the numerous superstitions of UC Berkeley. One of them revolved around the statue of the Greek goddess, Minerva (not actually Athena as many believe, but essentially her Roman counterpart) in front of the library. The belief goes that when walking into the library entrance Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, will imbue you with extraordinary learning powers. However, if you exit through the same way the goddess will suck out all that you’ve learned, and you will undoubtedly find yourself forgetting all the answers during Finals time. Superstitious or not, most Cal students decide not to test the truth of the Minerva statue, and you’ll often find many people entering the library under Minerva, but never leaving.
There are many superstitions, but I would say one of the funniest superstitions is the fear of stepping on the emblem of UC Berkeley (which will randomly appear on a sidewalk when walking on campus). While an onlooker might interpret the bubble of people appearing around the seal as a sign of respect for UC Berkeley, it is actually avoided because the students believe it is cursed! If you step on the Cal emblem, you are disrespecting UC Berkeley and you will fail in all your endeavors that year.
Another great superstition is 4.0 hill. According to the wise alumni of UC Berkeley, if you manage to roll all the way down 4.0 hill, you will get a 4.0 that semester. Of course, no one has proved that as true, but it’s a fun myth nonetheless. Sometimes I wonder about how that myth started. Was it just a group of seniors playing a prank on some freshmen, or was it created just to give people hope? (With Cal’s rough curriculum, I wouldn’t be surprised)
Continuing the Tour
Along with all the various lecture halls and dorm rooms of Berkeley, our guide informed us of all these myths. But get this – he did this all while walking BACKWARDS. Cal isn’t the largest UC, but it is by no means a small campus. Somehow he managed to go through the entire campus without having to turn back around once. I know that’s supposed to be some sort of common trick among tour guides, but doing so on such a large area cannot be an easy feat!
After being informed of the dorms, the famous and infamous lecture halls alike, and more, we returned back to our original spot where we were divided into groups for ice breakers. We were all feeling (and sounding) like little kids, so the ice breakers were going to help us get used to being in a big campus and help us socialize. Unfortunately, the ice breakers didn’t really do a good job of it (at least in our group), but they helped later when we began to talk to each other on our own. Everyone there was friendly and agreeable, so carrying a conversation wasn’t really a problem.
We then had dinner in some classy hall in Berkeley, and then, we went on the Big C Hike. The Big C is a large hill on Berkeley that lets you see the entire majestic city, and other cities beyond. The walk up the hill was kind of a pain, since it was extremely dark and we were always tripping over each other. But once we got up, the view was brilliant. I was truly awed. At the top, the instructors taught us some things about spirit at Berkeley (and those despicable cardinals).
Then, the next day we got to see what being a student was really like at Berkeley. We were essentially given free rein to do what we wanted, so my group decided to check out the lectures. The classes at Berkeley weren’t as daunting as I expected, and when it came to biology I didn’t have a very hard time understanding what the professor was discussing. It was also fun to laugh at the students who fell asleep during class and came late. One student even came just in time for the professor to give his end-of-the-class speech.
My trip to visit UC Berkeley was well worth it, and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to go (all because of my application for the Student Leadership Award). Cal looks like a great school, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a higher end college to go to.
