Perspectives

First Person: Berkeley Student and Afghan Refugee on Why She Hasn’t Given Up on Afghanistan

In 2008, I was a typical seven-year-old living in the rural outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, and completely oblivious to the reality of war and destruction occurring in my country—until my father was injured in a bomb explosion. It was the first time I had ever felt internal pain. It was the end of my childhood. I started questioning why there was so much chaos in Afghanistan and why this had happened to my family. Visiting my father in the hospital (he was hospitalized for three years), I realized that this was a reality for so many people who had it much worse than my family did.

From the Winter 2021 issue of California.

A Pan Am Stewardess Found Freedom in the Skies

HOLLY BOROWIAK-ROGERS STILL REMEMBERS the flyer pasted up on campus: “You want to travel? Call this number.” It was 1970, and she would soon see her four years at Cal come to an unceremonious end—literally. After National Guardsmen gunned down four students at Kent State, Berkeley administrators had canceled graduation.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

A Year Without Movies

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This summer, for our second “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: What gives you optimism for the future? Below is the winning essay. For entry entry rules and other winners, click here.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

Award-Winning Reporter Lisa Armstrong Joins Berkeley J-School Faculty

This summer, after a nationwide search and interview process involving current students, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism announced the addition of two new faculty members: Lisa Armstrong, an award-winning reporter and associate journalism professor at City University of New York (CUNY), and Shereen Marisol Meraji, co-host and senior producer of NPR’s Code Switch. The two will teach courses on race and journalism as well as reporting.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

She Never Gave Up on Her Dream of Working at Pixar

GREEN AND YELLOW FLAMES engulfed Maleficent as she transformed into a gigantic dragon.

“Fire is supposed to be red!” I thought, staring at my TV. Then, when Prince Phillip threw his sword through the heart of the fire-breathing monster, I was done.

My coach mentioned that Pixar was down the street. I immediately dropped my fork. I had no idea Pixar was near campus!

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

Snapp Chats: a Television Columnist, Etiquette Guru, and Cooking Club Instructor

BECKY WHEELER ’49 DIED ON APRIL 9 in the home where she grew up in Walnut Grove on the Sacramento Delta, one month shy of her 94th birthday. One of her final wishes was to see Cal one last time, so her daughter and son-in-law, Caroline Perkins ’84 and Tadd Perkins ’83, arranged for her to have a virtual tour of the campus.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

Editor’s Note: The Asteroid is Us

We live in a place where the state animal—mascot of this very university—has been extinct for just shy of a century. No one alive today has ever seen one, but not so long ago they roamed California by the thousands, in kind with the Hupa, Miwok, Yahi, and all the multivarious human tribes that also inhabited the land.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

She Hoped to Improve Her Career, Instead She Got a Lesson on Living

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This summer, for our second “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: What gives you optimism for the future? Below is one of two runners-up.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

The Pandemic Taught Me the Importance of Touch

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This summer, for our second “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: What gives you optimism for the future? Below is one of two runners-up.

From the Fall 2021 issue of California.

Safe at Home! Remembering Cal’s Season on the Brink

UNDER DARKENED SKIES laden with humidity and sparked by lightning, Cal’s Devon Rodriquez slowly strode to the plate. It was June 6, 2011, the title game of the NCAA Baseball Regionals in Houston, the Golden Bears’ most crucial at-bat in their most dramatic of seasons—one in which the very existence of the team hung in the balance.

Posted on July 2, 2021 - 1:01pm

Student View: “The Seasons Still Change”

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This spring, for our inaugural “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: How has the pandemic changed you? Below is the winning essay.

From the Summer 2021 issue of California.

Student View: “The Power of ‘No’”

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This spring, for our inaugural “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: How has the pandemic changed you? Below is one of two runners-up.

From the Summer 2021 issue of California.

Student View: “Sunsets and Little Things”

Welcome to “Student View,” a new column featuring the thoughts, opinions, and musings of undergraduate writers at Cal. This spring, for our inaugural “Student View” essay contest, California asked current Cal students to answer the question: How has the pandemic changed you? Below is one of two runners-up.

From the Summer 2021 issue of California.

Pages

Subscribe to Perspectives