Activity Heightens as Berkeleyans Begin Preparation for a New
Academic Year
Among the nearly 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students expected to enroll when classes resume Aug. 28 is the freshman class of 1999--the last class of the millennium.
Expected to enroll for fall '95 are 20,900 undergraduates and 8,600 graduate students. There'll be about 3,470 new freshmen and 1,630 new transfer students.
Students began moving into residence halls on Aug. 20. All week long the "Smooth Transition" team of faculty and staff wearing special T-shirts is assisting students arriving on campus.
On Friday, Aug. 25, new students will be initiated into the spirit and history of the campus at a 2 p.m. assembly in Harmon Gym. Speakers will include Chancellor Tien and Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean. The Cal Band and spirit groups will teach new Cal songs and lead cheers.
Students also will be greeted this fall by a speedier processing system for student loans, new scoreboards and a grass playing field at Memorial Stadium, and vegan food in the dining halls.
Fees Hold Steady
For the first time in nine years, there will be no general increase in fees. The cost of a year at Berkeley is the same in 1995-96 as it was last year--$4,354 for two semesters, including required health insurance.
There will, however, be an increase in the additional fees paid by new students attending two professional schools, Boalt Hall and the Haas School of Business. New students will pay an additional $4,000 a year beyond the regular university fees. Continuing students will pay the same fees as when they entered.
The estimated overall living costs --including housing, food and transportation--to an undergraduate living in a residence hall will run $13,474, compared to $13,162 last year, according to the Financial Aid Office.
Meanwhile, financial aid this year has been put on the fast track, with federal loans processed directly by the university. This means a loan can be delivered in two to three weeks, compared to six when the university went through financial institutions. All 14,000 loans, worth $90 million, will be processed this way.
Also, lines to pick up loans should be eliminated this year. All students who request it may now have their checks deposited directly into their bank accounts.
Bay Views and a Computer Hook-up
The Manville Apartments, the campus's first housing specifically for law and graduate students, is opening this month. The complex features 132 studio apartments located at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Channing Way. The ground floor will house commercial enterprises.
Built around a central courtyard, the apartments offer a variety of amenities including balconies, bay views and hookups for cable TV and the campus computer/Internet network. The design style is described as "colorful and fun" and the theme is efficiency--desks and bookcases are built-in.
This Class Meets on the Internet
In a novel experiment with nutritional science education, students will enter cyberspace this fall, exploring and answering some of the questions posted on the Internet. The postings are a rich mix of information, folklore and mythology, according to Professor George Chang, who will teach two undergraduate nutrition seminars using the Internet this fall.
Students learn by surfing the news groups in food and nutrition, such as ones named Sci.Med.Nutrition and Alt.Agriculture.Fruit, picking out questions asked online and then seeking out the correct answers.
Sports Gap Is Bridged
For the first time in campus history, there are as many women's sports--13--as there are men's. With the addition this year of a women's golf team and water polo team, campus efforts to comply with federal regulations calling for gender equity in student "participation opportunities" have made significant progress.
While Berkeley's student population is 52 percent men and 48 percent women, about two-thirds of its student athletes have been male. "But if you add 30 women playing water polo and 15 women golfers," said Christine Dawson, associate athletic director, "it will better reflect the overall student population." Lacrosse will be added for women in the 1996-97 school year.
The new coaches are Nancy McDaniel, a former golf all-American, and Maureen O'Toole Mendoza, considered the greatest player in the history of women's water polo.
Return to Grass Roots
Memorial Stadium's artificial turf has been replaced with grass in time for the 1995 football season. The $1.5 million project, which was financed by private donations, replaces artificial turf installed in 1981.
The stadium also will have three new scoreboards, one of them with an instant replay screen. In addition to replacing the scoreboards at the field's north and south ends, a new one will be installed on the bottom of the press box to benefit fans in the student section.
The $750,000 scoreboard system, to be paid for with money raised through advertising, will be installed in time for the Sept. 9 season opener.