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A crowd of some 3,900 in black caps and gowns, and 21,000 fanatically proud fans in the stands above, turned out at California Memorial Stadium for Saturday’s Commencement Convocation 2013. Apple co-founder and Berkeley alum Steve Wozniak keynoted the event, which was held in the sports venue for the first time in more than 40 years.
Students archive
Building a better trash can
March 19, 2013: A spate of workplace injuries, along with too much landfill, prompted Berkeley staff and students to go back to the drawing board. Their unique trash and recycling receptacles are now making their debut on campus, along with a one-of-a-kind electric trash-collection vehicle.
Berkeley’s new honor code ‘a living, breathing document’
March 18, 2013: The UC Berkeley Honor Code is a student-driven document – and, for a large research university, a pioneering one – that grew out of discussions between the ASUC, the Graduate Assembly, the Academic Senate and the deans of the College of Letters and Science, which accounts for more than half of Berkeley’s faculty and three in four of its undergrads.
Graduation gown donations sought for new lending program serving students in need
March 15, 2013: If you have a black graduation cap and gown gathering dust in a closet, the new Graduation Gown Lending Project at UC Berkeley would love to have it. The project is collecting previously worn caps and gowns to lend them free of charge to students who can’t afford the $50 cost of buying them. Donations are also being accepted.
Time to apply for Cal Energy Corps internships
March 14, 2013: Deadline is Sunday, March 24 for undergrads to apply for university, industry, government and nonprofit internship opportunities in Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and the Bay Area.
1st 3D-printing vending machine headed to UC Berkeley 
March 12, 2013: Dreambox founding members David Pastewka, Richard Berwick and Will Drevno met at a mobile-application development class at Berkeley in 2011. Finding it difficult to get quick delivery of 3D-printed creations from online vendors, they came up with the idea of creating a network of local, accessible, automated 3D-printing vending machines.
Berkeley Law students win two of six diversity scholarships offered nationwide
March 8, 2013: Berkeley Law students Cristina Sepe and Criselda Haro will each receive a $10,000 scholarship after being named Latham & Watkins Diversity Scholars. They are two of just six law students chosen from more than 300 applicants nationwide.
For East Bay students, a visit from spirit of college futures
March 4, 2013: Thousands of young people in and around Berkeley got a glimpse of their futures — and the role college could play in making those futures brighter — at Berkeley College and Career Day, a citywide celebration of higher education spearheaded by the UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships and Berkeley Alliance and underwritten by the Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund.
Regents launch search for next UC president
March 1, 2013: The Board of Regents has launched an international search for a successor to Mark Yudof, who will step down as UC president in August. A special committee, chaired by regent Sherry Lansing, will conduct the search; a recommendation is expected in July.
How will federal sequestration impact the campus?
March 1, 2013: How will federal sequestration impact UC Berkeley?The campus’s Office of Governmental and Community Relations fields questions about anticipated reductions in federal funding.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to keynote 2013 commencement
February 27, 2013: Berkeley’s Class of 2013 has chosen Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to be keynote speaker at its May 18 Commencement Convocation at Memorial Stadium. Gladys Hernandez, senior class council president, said the council put the ’86 alum “at the top of the list” of possible convocation speakers. Wozniak is currently chief scientist for the data-storage company Fusion-io.
Students developing next-generation e-Books platform
February 25, 2013: The electronic book industry is booming, but so are complaints about the current e-book publishing system. Now a group of I School students is developing a next-generation open-source, cross-platform framework for the electronic books of the future.
Students to query campus finance chief at open forum Tuesday
February 22, 2013: Students have many questions about how UC Berkeley raises and spends money, and what it means for them. John Wilton, vice chancellor for administration and finance, will answer questions at a forum set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26. Students are invited to submit and vote on questions ahead of time online.
Righting the SHIP
February 19, 2013: In a Daily Cal op-ed, three Berkeley administrators — Ron Coley, associate vice chancellor of business and administrative services; Harry Le Grande, vice chancellor of student affairs; and Andrew Szeri, dean of the Graduate Division — offer some recommendations “to ensure effective and efficient administration” of the UC Student Health Insurance Program, or SHIP.
Campus unveils revised stadium financing plan
February 19, 2013: Working to keep a promise to pay for the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance and the renovation of California Memorial Stadium without using campus funds, UC Berkeley officials have refined the original financial model to incorporate new sources of revenue.
Math Club president reveals himself to be an undocumented immigrant
February 14, 2013: In a video released nationally on Feb. 14, UC Berkeley Math Club President Terrence Park reveals that he is an undocumented immigrant and, as part of an effort to sway American minds on immigration, makes an economic case for legislation to make young people like him citizens. SFGate’s Spin Cycle politics blog was first with the news.
Student store moves across Bancroft during construction
February 12, 2013: To accommodate construction in the student union as part of the Lower Sproul renovation, the Cal Student Store will be moving across the street. The store will close on Friday (Feb. 15) and open in its temporary location at 2470 Bancroft Way on Tuesday (Feb. 19).
University launches campus climate survey
February 5, 2013: An unprecedented survey, being launched at UC Berkeley on Feb. 5, will query faculty, students and staff about campus climate. Among many incentives to participation, offered by UCOP and the Berkeley campus, is a $10,000 scholarship.
Nominations sought for public-service awards
February 5, 2013: Later this spring, the campus will honor outstanding public-service contributions in research, service learning, civic engagement and campus-community partnerships. The deadline to nominate students, faculty or staff is March 4.
The making of a ‘lifetime mentor award’ winner
January 28, 2013: Mechanical-engineering professor Alice Agogino has been named winner of the AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award. In a Q&A with the NewsCenter, she talks about her influences and her efforts to transform a profession, from human-centered design to blogging and Barbies.
In tradition of Ed Roberts, youth with disabilities urged to think big
January 23, 2013: Local high school students with disabilities were urged to consider higher education, even UC Berkeley, as within their reach, at a campus event celebrating California’s annual Ed Roberts Day, Jan. 23. A take-home message: “your presence is going to matter to the University and the world.”
One-stop student-services center opens in Sproul
January 23, 2013: Now, for the first time, UC Berkeley students can take the lion’s share of their campus business to a single convenient location, 120 Sproul Hall. Cal Student Central, which recently opened its doors for business, is an Operational Excellence project, recommended by students, to help simplify their lives.
Online ed aims to meet undergrads’ needs
January 17, 2013: At the UC Board of Regents Jan. 16 meeting, President Yudof described efforts to build a larger catalog of online courses, which could make up as much as 11 percent of the undergraduate curriculum over the next five years. This would allow incoming freshmen to fulfill a portion of their lower-division coursework online, he said.
Law school launches reproductive-rights center
January 17, 2013: As Roe v. Wade turns 40, Berkeley Law announces the formal launch of its new Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice. Founded by professor and Pulitzer Prize nominee Kristin Luker, it is one of the first centers to research the legal, economic and social impact of reproductive laws on women, families and communities.
Law clinic hails victory for Guatemalan civil-war victims
January 17, 2013: In a ruling hailed as a victory for Guatemalan civil war victims, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has condemned Guatemala for its actions related to 28 forced disappearances in the 1980s. The International Human Rights Law Clinic at Berkeley Law litigated the case along with the Myrna Mack Foundation, a human-rights organization based in Guatemala City.
An overview of UC’s online-education project
January 15, 2013: UC Office of the President offers an overview of the UC system’s online-education efforts to date. The initiative will be the subject of a presentation — by systemwide provost Aimée Dorr — at the Wednesday, Jan. 16 meeting of the UC Board of Regents.
Berkeley ranked one of Kiplinger’s ‘best-value’ top 10 
January 15, 2013: In its new ranking of 100 “best-value” colleges and universities, based on academic quality and affordability, “Kiplinger” magazine ranks UC Berkeley among the top 10.
Law students work to help inmates navigate parole
January 14, 2013: Berkeley Law students will help prisoners navigate the parole process as part of the new student-initiated Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP). The group will also work on appeals for inmates who have been denied parole.
Flu shots available Wednesday at Tang
January 14, 2013: It’s not too late to get a flu shot through University Health Services. Drop in this Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., or make an appointment with the Tang Center’s Allergy/Travel Clinic.
Berkeley named a Fulbright ‘top producer,’ twice over
January 10, 2013: California Hall won kudos this week for being a “top producer” of student and faculty Fulbright scholars. The achievement is due in part to the campus’s robust support for those applying for funding from the State Department’s flagship scholarly international-exchange program.
Berkeley’s triple hitters: 27 students have three majors
January 4, 2013: Anyone who makes it into UC Berkeley is exceptional. But 27 students hold special status: They’re triple majors, and according to a San Francisco Chronicle feature about them, they don’t feel remarkable. (Photo by Michael Macor.)
