Dear New Or Returning Student,
Congratulations and welcome to the University of California, Berkeley!
You’re beginning (or continuing) higher education in an interesting time, to say the least. The US-Israeli genocide in Gaza has been exacting its murderous toll for 22 months, our communities are being kidnapped by ICE, and necessary life-saving government resources are being stripped back every day. Maybe in the midst of these crises, the GBO programming—with its upbeat music and dancing Oski—just isn’t doing it for you. Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t want to be in a bubble. People are dying. I want to take advantage of being at the alleged #1 public university and make a real positive impact during my time here.” To make that impact, you should know the University you’re walking into, and what you’re up against.
While we have “free speech” bars and cafes, and Chancellors boast of “UC Berkeley’s history” at every graduation, UC Berkeley’s mission since the creation of the University has been the opposite. The university wants you to know: there’s a time, place, and manner for protest. You can think genocide is bad, but most places on campus you can’t say it. You can “protest” ICE’s kidnappings, but don’t bother people on their way to class about it. If you find a loophole in the policy, they’ll change the policy overnight and arrest you for it anyway.
That’s where the title for this literature you’re holding comes from. Universities across the country have something called “Time, Place, and Manner” restrictions, that (arbitrarily) decide for us how we are, or are not, allowed to say things like, “I don’t want my university to be invested in the occupation, displacement and slaughter of the Palestinian people.” These rules are always changing. They are intentionally confusing.
Join us for a real orientation: the People’s Orientation. Learn Cal’s true colors (hint: it’s not blue and gold!) through programming that we, a coalition of students, alumni, and community, have been working all summer to bring to you. GBO tells you what the University wants you to know, but we are here to help you learn what you should actually know—the hidden history and tunnels of power that make up UC Berkeley. A full schedule is available at the end of this pamphlet. We hope that by attending our events, you will join us in building community beyond the ivory tower bubble.
While they have spent millions of dollars to distract us, you, dear student, are smarter than this institution. Cal would have you believe that it has always stood on the right side of history. You will soon realize that it has always been students and their communities, through principled struggle, that have forced the institution to do better. This year will be no different, and with American universities’ cowardly posture toward our fascist administration, it’s only going to get harder. That’s why we need you.
Our collective liberation depends on our politicization; it begins with unlearning the myths of the neoliberal university campus. From Amerikkka to Kashmir to the Philippines to Palestine to the streets of Berkeley, we fight for justice for all who have been murdered, exploited, and dispossessed by this school and empire.
We hope you join us to translate this education into action, and get organized with us. Welcome to the People’s Orientation.
Until Liberation,
🔻The People’s Orientation Team🔻