There’s a lot a student must deal with on a typical walk through Sproul: dodging flyerers, putting on your “non-composting Republican” face for the Greenpeace recruiters, deciding whether to make eye contact and/or greet casual acquaintances and finally, enduring the impassioned shouts of campus eccentrics.
Our favorite colorful campus character has to be “Bible Man” (we just made that up), found near the steps of Sproul reading Bible passages in a soothing monotone. We like him because his tranquil voice makes him easy to tune out, unlike the confrontational tirades of Yoshua or the “F*ck You Technology” dude.
We always figured he was reading passages out of Deuteronomy or Genesis, but we’d never actually stopped to listen to him. Turns out the open Bible’s just for looks. He’s talking about religion, kinda, but mostly he’s just talking. Here’re some excerpts: read more »
Posted by Jill Cowan on Sunday, January 18, 2009 12:54 am
If the first day of classes isn’t a good enough reason for you to drag your ass out of bed before noon on Tuesday, then maybe a chance to witness history will do the trick, instead. For those of you who have been living under impossibly large, sound-proof, magic rocks, Jan. 20 will mark the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and Chancellor Birgeneau has invited members of the campus community to watch it together on a big screen on Upper Sproul Plaza.
This means you! Yes, even you, who were inexplicably living under a rock, and can’t make it over to the Oracle Arena in Oakland (maybe because, uh, you have class?), can feel like you’re a part of it all, and all for the low, low price of free. Priceless, indeed.
Don’t expect too much of an Election Night-esque fuss, though. Chancellor Birgeneau made it clear in his e-mail that class is not, in any way, canceled in honor of the occasion. In any event, the broadcast is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. (yikes), the university’s “formal program” kicks off at 8:15 a.m. (yikes again) and the BMOC will be taking the Presidential Oath of Office at 9 a.m.
It’s seen two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Counterculture Revolution, the Free Speech Movement, the rise and mental breakdown of Britney Spears and now it will witness its own mutilation, er, restoration. Sather Gate is gettin’ pretty-ful for its 100th birthday, and at 98, we think it looked pretty damn fine for its age. But after reports of the gate “wobbling disturbingly” in 2007 when the UC Rally Committee tried to decorate it, the gate has been forced to join the legions of Hollywood celebrities who have chosen to turn to reconstructive surgery. read more »
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who made a bold choice to legalize gay marriage in his city, leading to over 3,000 same-sex couples to marry in San Francisco back in ‘04 when they could only legally get a “civil union,” is now coming to our home turf to lead a rally in opposition to Prop 8.
The event will take place Friday, October 3rd on Upper Sproul from 12:30 to 1:45pm and will include student speakers, community members and local politicians speaking about the issue. And yet another man who scandalized the country will lead a rally to support something controversial on the steps of Sproul, and so the Berkeley legacy continues.
And check out our post on Prop. 8 from earlier this week.
Today, a flash mob froze on Upper Sproul Plaza as the Campanile struck 1 p.m. The freeze is reminiscent of the impressive mob at Grand Central Station a couple months back in New York.
Check out the clip above, which is far more interesting than the pictures posted on the Facebook group (um, you do realize that you’re already “frozen” in a photo, right?). While we at the Clog encourage flash mob participation and creativity, we’ve got to say that standing still for a few minutes–even if you’ve struck, like, the coolest pose ever–is still slightly less boring than just walking through Sproul. C’mon, where are our ninja battles?
First Person View of Sproul Freeze [YouTube]
Sproul Freeze Interest Check [Facebook]
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There’s a lot a student must deal with on a typical walk through Sproul: dodging flyerers, putting on your “non-composting Republican” face for the Greenpeace recruiters, deciding whether to make eye contact and/or greet casual acquaintances and finally, enduring the impassioned shouts of campus eccentrics.
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If the first day of classes isn’t a good enough reason for you to drag your ass out of bed before noon on Tuesday, then maybe a chance to 
