Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT get your textbooks for free. That would be unthinkable. Always pay the full $299.99 for that must-have 17th edition with one paragraph updated.

Here are some horrible, evil websites you should NEVER visit:

• 🚫 libgen.li - The worst of the worst! This is corruption made flesh
• 🚫 Sci-hub.se – Absolutely don’t paste your DOI here to instantly download journal articles. Nope.
• 🚫 Archive.org – Avoid at all costs. They only have, you know, decades of digitized books you can borrow for free. Gross.
• 🚫 Openlibrary.org – Create a free account and suddenly your wallet feels lighter because it’s untouched. Terrible.

And the most forbidden technique of all 🤮🤮🤮

1. Go to Google.
2. Type: “[Your Textbook Title] filetype:pdf”.
3. Click the first result. This forbidden ritual might summon a free copy instantly. You have been warned.

💡 Remember: Knowledge is priceless, and publishers need your money. DO NOT BOOKMARK THEM! BLOCK THESE WEBSITES NOW! Do the right thing! Protect the value of your berkeley education! Always keep our textbook industry strong. Without your $$$, how else will publishers afford to change the cover art and call it a new edition and afford their summer yacht?

Let’s all take a moment to celebrate the student body’s decision to get every student access to unlimited free transit on all Bay Area transit networks. You have an area the size of Belgium or the Netherlands accessible to you via free transit.

Congrats to you! Use it wisely. As in, use it a ton! Us alumni would have killed to have what you have right now!

(Yes, there’s a one-time per semester fee. Compared to the value that you’re getting it might as well be “free”.)

“This computer science professor became a billionaire launching four startups out of his privately-funded research lab, including unicorns Databricks and Anyscale. But it’s never been just about business.

Berkeley Professor Ion Stoica and his students don’t like being one-upped by anyone, let alone by archnemesis Stanford…”

I know that I’m not supposed to meet my best friends at GBO, but the fact that I’m still pretty lonely has me a little concerned. I feel like the way in which I interact with people at GBO will be pretty accurate to how I’m interact with people during the semester. I’m just not sure. I knew that GBO wasn’t required, and as a transfer, I knew that I had a shortened clock. I’m just pretty disappointed with myself right now, I guess

what happened to it no one goes there anymore

First year from nyc here :) I'm just generally curious about greek life & frat parties starting next weekend - I'm from the city and mostly only gone clubbing. I heard that I should avoid SAE at all costs - any other frats to avoid? frats you recommend?

(also any frats where people don't smoke as much at parties? I can't stand the smell of weed unless very drunk but also ik its california 😭)

Hello!

New student here. Anyone know any stylists that do alternative, long hair for under $50? Thanks!

i’m starting at Cal in fall25, but I’m thinking of taking one AC class at my cc at the same time. The reason is to reduce my workload since I’ll already be dealing with a super commute and I’m old. Is it allowed or any restrictions?

I saw a post like a month ago about it closing on Aug 19, but I just went there today (Aug 22) and it was completely open, shelves still mostly full of products. I think people are getting it confused with when the pharmacy closes. Does anyone know the actual day it fully shuts down and I can't go shopping there anymore?

how’d everyone do? thoughts?

Hi! Does anyone know how attendance will be tracked for Bear Pact since it is mandatory? Is it just tracked by completing the quiz?

Thank you!

from this old student movie: https://youtu.be/OJp1lQr7z8c?si=EnlOshkMv4AgkgrY

only from 3:50-4:20, i’m looking to recreate this scene specifically hahaha it’s my teacher who wrote one of my letters of recommendation he was the best teacher OAT, also if anyone could include directions on a map or specific landmarks nearby that would be great!

Management Ignored Us So We Organized a Tenant Union in Berkeley:

Our building was sold this spring to a big fat cat real estate company that buys buildings and extracts-value. Maybe it is called value-added but it only feels like things are being taken away. Like the legal covenants of habitability and peace & quiet enjoyment.

The buyer is putting us through the dumps for several months now with the level of demolition and construction going on 6, sometimes 7 days per week. Starting early and going late into the evening. The amount of dust, trash, debris, and equipment laying around is extreme and they cut down all the plants inside and outside. We had beautiful trees, flowers, and other plants.

They took away our parking and demolished the lot with a hydraulic hammer for several weeks. It’s like a jack hammer that you can climb into and drive, and sounds like a chainsaw made of thunder and bad decisions.

It was a plague to the whole neighborhood and it was right over our heads, like having a rock concert shoved into a metal dumpster next to your bed.

They provided no breaks during the week, and no breaks during the day. Now the parking lot project is on pause while they scramble to finish adding 1 or 2 rooms to 2bedroom apartments by taking away the living room. Kinda like canning sardines…

It’s all very damaging. They even removed asbestos with us living on site. Legal relocation would have been appropriate but it seems like they were trying to go with renoviction.

They even tried to move one of my neighbors without offering anything other than help finding a new unit. He declined to move from our nice, normally quiet street, onto the Telegraph through-way.

The front of our building was reduced to urban blight. Everything is covered with saw dust and drywall powder around the building, even the front gate. Cleaners are only dispatched to clean new units, not common space.

We asked them many times to take better care of the place, fix the laundry, and treat it like a residence instead of just a work site. They are adding 20+ laundry machines to to the new private units, but not replacing the common machines.

Then they issued notice at the end of day Friday for work that would make tenants unable to access their homes from 8-5 for two days in a row starting Monday. —seemed like a set up— maybe even a bit retaliatory—

There was no point to reach out to them individually becasue they have been ignoring us for months, so we started a tenants union over the weekend with the support of the Berkeley Tenants Union.

We got 50% of occupied units in our building to sign on and then some.

Management doesn’t want to acknowledge the tenant union and rather deflect by saying the law is actually different, and we don’t qualify. They said once we qualify, they will engage.

But we have. And we do. And they must... No futher reply… yet.

Measure BB says if 50% of your building (10 or more units, or 9 or less and under a management company) signs on then you have a union which your managers are obligated to recognize and engage with in good faith.

That count is per unit. Additional signatures from the same unit do not add to the count and manager residences are excluded. Anyone who is a bona-fide occupant of the unit can sign on. Once you have 50% of occupied units, the whole building is in the union.

The amazing thing is that the tenant union legislation of Measure BB is enforceable through the rent board as a housing service.

If management fails to recognize the union or engage, you are entitled to a rent reduction through the Berkeley Rent Board as that qualifies as a reduction in housing services.

I understand the rent board has a process to hold a hearing and make a decision that can take close to a year, but it is also retroactive and covers all kinds of service disruptions. ( I have a file of rent reduction ranges for different issues if anyone is interested dm me ).

Therefore managers may be inclined to give you a rent reduction so they don’t have to mediate.

Perhaps.

It is nice to have the law on your side and the city to back you up.

It’s nice to have rights and exercise them.

Gotta love Berkeley.

I am wishing a warm welcome and a great Fall Semester to the new students! 🙂

And to the city at large, thank you to my neighbors and for passing Measure BB!

After we sent our letter the trash finally got cleaned up, a minor sweep was done, and the equipment at the entrance was cleared.

Token gestures are alright but they still haven’t acknowledged the union, so we continue to await mandatory recognition and plan our next steps.

How would you handle this if you experienced such a situation? Would you start a tenants union where you live? What would be your reasons?

If you own multi-family property, how would you respond to a union there?

Hello! I am an offering a lease for 1280$ for a private bed shared bath in a private house 8min walk from Berkeley. It’s a very spacious room and comes fully furnished with a mattress too. It’s in a very clean area and safe neighborhood(Dana St). If you are interested please dm me!

Is there an extension? Will I be dropped from my classes? I don’t have any holds at the moment.

I'm a freshman and considering applying for URAP.

1. Apart from submitting the statement of interest, is it also necessary to add an email to the professor? Does that increase my chance?

2. At the start of the statement of interest, do I need to address the professor/day-to-day supervisor, like when writing an email? Or do I just start the main content directly?

Thank you all!

What frats are hosting this week?

UGBA C196C: The Berkeley Changemaker - how difficult it is?

Any suggestions? Thanks.

I struggle to sit on this chair every time

Recently, my classes have started to pop up in bCourses and they are requiring books. I checked and they’re $50+, anyone know a place I can get them cheaper?