Berkeley

Berkeley’s College Signing Day a Celebration of Family Firsts

Published

7 years ago

May 10, 2019

In some ways, UC Berkeley’s College Signing Day on Wednesday was like any other meet-and-greet— moving around a room you’ve never been in, talking to people you don’t know and may never see again.

But that’s if you didn’t count the photo booth. Or being serenaded by the Cal Band. Or chomping away at the burrito bar. Or hamming it up with Oski. Or placing your name and higher institution of choice on a window of the California Athletics Hall of Fame. There was even financial assistance for the asking.

And did we mention a drop-in video visit from former First Lady Michelle Obama, preceded by a welcome-to-Berkeley talk from Chancellor Carol Christ?

And the event’s highlight was when the majority of the nearly 500 college students-to-be who had gathered in California Memorial Stadium’s Field Club wrote their names and chosen colleges on gold stars and affixed them to a glass panel. The act signaled their intent to attend a variety of colleges and universities, including Berkeley.

For many, they will be the first in their families to attend college. For all of them, financial aid is essential. This was a day to celebrate the former and to map out plans to address the latter.

“This is a huge day for me and my family,” Lesly Serrano said. The senior at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, a small public high school in Oakland, was putting up her gold star with her name and the word “CAL” in four-inch block letters. “This is my dream, but it’s also the dream of my parents.

“I’ve never even been on the campus before. This is such a special day.”

Serrano plans on pursuing computer science at Berkeley, saying “I’m a techie. I like to code.”

While Serrano will attend Berkeley, most of the rest of the 500 will follow separate, if somewhat parallel, paths. Berkeley High School friends and classmates Mitzy Rubio and Stefanie Casteneda took selfies after putting up their stars adjacent to one another. Rubio will be coming to Berkeley in the fall, while Casteneda is off to University of the Redlands.

It turns out Wednesday morning was a life-affirming morning in the Rubio household.

“As big as the day is for me, I think it’s bigger for my parents,” Rubio said. Her parents never made it to college. “My mom (Esmeralda) was crying. It was emotional.”

Casteneda said her father had to drop out of school to work after the second grade, and while her mother did finish high school, her formal education ended there.

“I’m another one of the first-generation (students) to go to college,” Casteneda says. “The thought of it is so exciting.”

Not every one of the high school seniors will be off to a four-year school. For Aliea Torres of Emery High School in Emeryville, the choices have been narrowed to Berkeley City College or Sacramento City College. She’d visited UC Berkeley twice before Wednesday and previously had felt that, for her, being a student here was impossible.

“I had good grades, but I never thought I could make it at Berkeley,” Torres said. “It always seemed out of reach. But after two years, who knows? I might be back here.”

She wouldn’t be alone. As Oscar Dubón, vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, emphasized, one-third of the students coming to Berkeley now do so as transfers from the community college system. Berkeley’s transfer system prioritizes California community college students over students from elsewhere in the UC and from the California State University system.

After the stars were aligned, the day’s emcee, Ruben Canedo, chair of UC Berkeley’s basic needs committee, welcomed the students, gave a general outline of campus services available to them and spoke of the importance of making the most of college, not only for themselves, but for their families.

John Hickey

Posts by John Hickey

Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.