Bay Area

Winter Commencement 2023 Lessons: Embrace UC Berkeley’s Values, Pursue Audacious Goals

Jade Amor-Shannan Johnson and Cerenity Bush stood under the bright winter sun on Dec. 16, 2023, proudly waiting to process into UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion and wearing personalized caps bedecked in glitter, illustrations and motivating phrases. Johnson’s cap said, “The marathon continues,” and Bush’s quoted Maya Angelou: “Success is loving life and daring to live it.”

Published

2 years ago

January 8, 2024

Oakland Post

An additional 6,000 friends and family members gathered Saturday, Dec. 16 to cheer on graduates at UC Berkeley's Winter Commencement 2023 at Haas Pavilion. Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley

By Amy Cranch
UC Berkeley News

Johnson’s cap said, “The marathon continues,” and Bush’s quoted Maya Angelou: “Success is loving life and daring to live it.”

The wording suited the two friends, who were among some 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students participating in Winter Commencement 2023. Approximately 6,000 guests cheered as graduates’ names were called.

Johnson had majored in legal studies, with a minor in African American studies. She graduated in three years. Her secret? “I know how to have fun and show up for my studies. I’m happy I worked hard,” she said.

Bush’s major was psychology. As a transfer student from Georgia, she said she’d initially had a hard time finding her place at Berkeley and “felt a heavier weight in getting used to the university, with much less time.” But she prevailed.

Another graduating transfer student, Vanessa Reyes, credited Berkeley for having “broadened my horizons.” As a Mexican American, she grew up in a small town and said she had felt “culture shock coming here.”

Reyes was selected to sing the national anthem at commencement but decided to keep it a surprise for the nearly 30 family members there to honor her. “Graduating from college is a big deal to my family,” she said. “I was taught to be proud of who I am and where I grew up. It’s an honor to sing this song.”

Professor Jennifer Doudna, 2020 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her development of CRISPR-Cas9, a genome-engineering technology, gave the keynote address to several rounds of applause. The week before commencement, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever therapy using this technology for sickle cell disease, a painful, debilitating blood disorder.

“I’m particularly proud that this therapeutic came from fundamental research here at UC Berkeley,” Doudna said. But, she said, much work remains to make the treatment more widely and globally available. “We can do this by forging the right partnerships,” she said. “And we need to explain our work and invite discussion and debate.”

Comparing the winter graduates’ journey to Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Doudna said, “Like the world of ancient Greece, the world you are entering is dynamic. Embrace it with open arms and a resolute spirit.”

She encouraged students to pursue audacious goals with passion and determination. “But never lose sight of your values, integrity and empathy,” she said. “Success is measured, in large part, by the positive impact you have on others.”

Yael Hacohen held the hands of her 7- and 3-year-old daughters, both wearing tiny graduation robes, when she approached the stage to be hooded for a Ph.D. in rhetoric. A fourth-generation Berkeley graduate and a published poet from Israel, Hacohen said it took a village to get to this day. “I had the best faculty members, who supported every aspect of my writing, every question,” she said.

When asked about juggling her studies and parenthood, Hacohen said, “It matters to be a woman, a mother, and to know that it is possible to achieve anything.”

In her remarks, Chancellor Carol T. Christ acknowledged that political and ideological divides — and, most recently, opposing perspectives about the conflict in the Middle East — are straining the ties that bind the campus community. She encouraged graduates to carry with them Berkeley’s values, including freedom of expression and respectful dialogue.

“I urge you to try to understand views different from your own,” Christ said. “Be skeptical of those who would divide the world into simplistic categories of good and evil, black and white — if only because the reality of our world is often far more complex in its shades of gray.”

Following her address, Christ presented the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award to Damir Arnaut, who received his undergraduate degree from Berkeley in 1997, his master’s in 1998 and his J.D. in 2002. The award annually honors one of Berkeley’s alumni with a distinguished record of service to another country.

Elected to three terms as a member of Parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina and recently appointed ambassador to Germany, Arnaut has dedicated his life to strengthening democracy and human rights. He was the first public official to support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first LGBTQ pride march.

In his remarks, Arnaut said a Berkeley degree gives graduates both humility and audacity. “Berkeley teaches you what is right, provides you the skills to bring it about,” he said, “but also gives you that healthy dose of arrogance that makes you unwavering in your quest.”

Arnaut is currently working to dismantle ethnic divisions that keep individuals like his son — who Arnaut said was born into a “mixed marriage” (Arnaut is Bosnian, and his wife is Croatian) — from holding public office. “I won’t quit in this endeavor. I wouldn’t be worthy of this school, or this award, if I did,” he said.

Graduate Pearleen Wang, who double-majored in data science and music, was chosen to speak as the student representative. She told a story about her mother, who grew up in rural southern Taiwan and poured everything she had into providing a better life for her daughters, including nurturing artistic activities she had not experienced herself. One day, however, she decided to learn the art of cake decorating.

“The more she studied and practiced, the more fantastic her creations became,” said Wang, describing dreamy flower gardens and scenes painted with edible watercolors. “She unlocked an incredible artistic side that had lain dormant since childhood. My family showed me that learning is a lifelong journey, and it’s never too late to discover something new about yourself.”

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Alameda County

Ferry Fares to Increase July 1 as Ridership Hits Record Highs

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

Published

4 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo.

By Mike Aldax, The Richmond Standard

Starting July 1, the standard adult fare for the San Francisco Bay Ferry route between Richmond and San Francisco will increase to $5.20, up from the current $4.90.

Discounted fares for eligible passengers, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and Clipper START users, will rise to $2.60 from the current $2.40. Children under 5 will continue to ride for free.

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

The adjustments are part of a systemwide fare update approved by the agency’s Board of Directors, which is moving away from a flat 3% annual increase to route-specific pricing for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

This fare update arrives as San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a historic May, transporting 301,270 passengers. The record-breaking figure represents an 8% increase over May 2025 and marks the third consecutive month of record-setting ridership.

Furthermore, it is the sixth month in a row that passenger numbers have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Weekend travel has been a primary driver of this growth, with average weekend ridership seeing a 56% increase compared to pre-pandemic trends.

The agency states that the fare adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of public ferry services. By shifting to route-specific adjustments, the agency aims to offset rising operating costs while maintaining the high levels of service frequency and reliability.