California (San Francisco Area)
Berkeley

This Berkeley was like no somnolent Siwash out of her own past at all, but more akin to those Far Eastern or Latin American universities you read about, those autonomous culture media where the most beloved of folklores may be brought into doubt, cataclysmic of dissents voiced, suicidal of commitments chosen – the sort that bring governments down. – Thomas Pynchon The Crying of Lot 49

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More than any other American city, BERKELEY conjures up an image of 1960s student dissent. When college campuses across the nation were protesting against the Vietnam War, it was the students of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the charge – gaining a name as the vanguard of what was increasingly seen as a challenge to the authority of the state. Full-scale battles were fought almost daily here at one point, on the campus and on its surrounding streets, and there were times when Berkeley looked almost on the brink of revolution itself: students (and others) throwing stones and gas bombs were met with tear-gas volleys and truncheons by National Guard troops under the nominal command of Governor Ronald Reagan. Such action was inspired by the mood of the time and, in an increasingly conservative America, Berkeley politics are nowadays far more middle-of-the-road. But despite an influx of conformist students, a surge in the number of exclusive restaurants, and the dismantling of the city’s rent control program, something of the progressive legacy manages to linger in the city’s independent bookstores and at sporadic political demonstrations, if not on the agenda of the city council. 

In recent years, the most entertaining cause célèbre on campus was Naked Man, an undergrad who refused to wear clothing while attending class. More seriously, in 1999, the entire Berkeley community was outraged when Pacifica, the parent company of local leftist radio station KPFA 94.1 FM, decided to change the station’s programs to less subversive themes in an attempt to draw funding. When staff members wouldn’t play along, Pacifica sent in armed security guards to remove them from the premises, and the ensuing standoff was broadcast live, drawing thousands of militant supporters. For now, KPFA remains on the air, as unrepentant as ever, though relationships with management are unsurprisingly strained.

The University of California, right in the center of town, completely dominates Berkeley and makes a logical starting point for a visit. Its many grand buildings and 30,000 students give off a definite energy that spills down the raucous stretch of Telegraph Avenue which runs south from the campus and holds most of the studenty hangouts, including a dozen or so lively cafés, as well as a number of fine bookstores. Older students, and a good percentage of the faculty, congregate in North Berkeley, popularly known as Northside, popping down from their woodsy hillside homes to partake of goodies from the “Gourmet Ghetto,” a stretch of Shattuck Avenue crammed with restaurants, delis, and bakeries. Of quite distinct character are the flatlands that spread through West Berkeley down to the bay, a poorer but increasingly gentrified district that mixes old Victorian houses with builder’s yards and light industrial premises sandwiched around the restaurants and houseware shops of Fourth Street. Along the bay itself is the Berkeley Marina, where you can rent sailboards and sailboats or just watch the sun set behind the Golden Gate.

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