Berkeley

UC Berkeley Black Students Press Demands on Chancellor

Published

11 years ago

June 16, 2015

Black student activists at UC Berkeley, looking back on the school year that just ended, are saying they have accomplished many things, but have much more work to do.

Earlier this semester, the Black Student Union (Cal BSU) released a list of demands calling upon Chancellor Nicolas Dirks to implement “structural changes” to alter what they called a racist, hostile campus.

Cal BSU’s demands included a Black Resource Center, increased recruitment, hiring of Black staff, and funding for various diversity programs.

Dirks wrote in an April letter to the BSU that he is committed to identifying a location for a Black Resource Center. He asked Gibor Basri, outgoing vice chancellor for Equity and Inclusion, to form a workgroup to develop a plan to locate and finance the space.

A final workgroup report will be due in November. Students demanded the site be called the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center and be under the current African American Student Development office, a space currently prone to overcrowding.

Responding to students demands to hire two full-time Black admissions staff members and develop strategies and allocate resources towards recruit more Black students, Dirks asked two vice-chancellors to form a taskforce of students, faculty and staff to develop a program and financing strategy to increase Black recruitment and admissions of Black undergraduates.

This taskforce’s report will be due in November 2015. The BSU originally demanded a list of recommendations by April 8.

The chancellor said the November date was necessary because of summer break and many students leaving. Dirks promised to fund a fulltime coordinator and liaison for the “bridges” recruitment and retention centers.

Students also demanded the hiring of two full-time Black psychologists. The chancellor committed to working with University Health Services to fill future vacancies with culturally competent psychologists or therapists.

The chancellor acknowledged students most controversial demand, to rename Barrows Hall after former political prisoner Assata Shakur–currently living in exile in Cuba. Dirks said he does not have the “unilateral ability” to rename the building and forwarded them the “UC Naming Policy” and information about the process to rename a building.

“I am and will continue to be committed to creating an environment at UC Berkeley where African American students, faculty, and staff can feel welcomed, respected, and supported,” Dirks wrote.

Incoming BSU chair Cori McGowens told the Post via email that campus administration’s response “cannot be really taken seriously.”

“Chancellor Dirks has stated on numerous occasions his eagerness to work with Black students but has done little more than hold meetings and briefings, (at) some of which he wasn’t even present,” McGowens said.

She the administration’s plan for Black students is vague, lacks timelines and could have already been implemented instead of being a response to the Cal BSU’s demands.

The demands came after a semester full of protests and negotiations. In December, Black students blockaded a campus café in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

After nooses were found hanged on Sather Gate and elsewhere on campus, campus administration pledged to work with Black students to improve the campus climate. Students released their demands and met with campus administration in February.

On April 18, students blocked Sather Gate during “Cal Day,” a major recruitment day when prospective students and their families visit campus. Cal BSU called the protest “#BlackatCal Day” to highlight their demands and to celebrate Black life, on campus and off.

In an attempt to sabotage the group’s goals, the Cal BSU email and its @CalBSU Twitter profile were hacked twice. The source of the attacks has not been confirmed.

Still, the Cal BSU is hopeful for “substantive action” next school year.

“The Black students at Cal are determined, creative and powerful, and I’m excited to work as a community again this upcoming year and really utilize our platform as Black students at a top institution,” McGowens said.

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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 days 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.

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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

10 months 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.

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Arts and Culture

Cal Performances Presents Angélique Kidjo & Yo-Yo Ma in Sarabande Africaine at UC Berkeley Greek Theatre on Aug. 30

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the pair will debut the Bay Area premiere of Sarabande Africaine, joined by pianist Thierry Vaton, percussionist David Donatien, and special guest Sinkane. The program illuminates centuries of musical interplay between African traditions and Western classical forms, using the Baroque sarabande dance, and its African ancestor, the Congolese spirit dance Zarabanda, as a gateway to exploring the deep, interconnected roots of global music.

Published

10 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Angelique Kidjo and Yo-Yo Ma. Wikimedia photos.

By Carla Thomas

On Labor Day weekend two of the world’s most celebrated musicians and cultural ambassadors, Grammy Award–winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma join forces for an evening of music, history, and cultural dialogue at UC Berkeley’s historic Hearst Greek Theatre.

Both Kidjo and Ma have built careers not only as great performers but as passionate advocates for cultural understanding. Sarabande Africaine is as much a conversation about shared heritage as it is a musical performance, blending genres, geographies, and histories.

“Every day there are moments when all of us can feel we are on the inside of something and also when we feel we are on the outside of something,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “To be able to understand both at the same time and oscillate between the two gives us a larger perspective on the world.”

“If your mind is open, and there is no fear, it’s easier to listen, and to question yourself,” said Kidjo.

The upcoming performance is presented within Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Exile & Sanctuary” series for the 2025–26 season. The production explores exile as more than just physical displacement, but a disruption in identity and belonging, while sanctuary represents both refuge and the creative space where new connections and communities can take shape.

Cal Performances’ Illuminations bridges performances with UC Berkeley’s academic research, pairing the arts with conversations about urgent global issues.

Kidjo’s continued partnership with Cal Performances includes her 2021–22 artist-in-residence, premiering her music-theater work Yemandja, set in 19th-century West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

She also participated in the Bias in Our Algorithms and Society panel alongside campus leaders like Jennifer Chayes, and joined the Black Studies Collaboratory for a dialogue on music, diaspora, and the world.

She has since returned to Berkeley for multiple performances, most recently in 2024 at Zellerbach Hall.

Yo-Yo Ma’s history with Cal Performances spans decades, beginning in 1997. One notable project includes the 2018 performance of Bach’s complete cello suites at the Greek Theatre, a testament to his devotion to creating “transformative concert experiences in iconic spaces.”

For tickets and more information, visit calperformances.org.