Campus & community, Campus news, Events at Berkeley

Glimpse this year’s Golden Bear Orientation — no longer 100% virtual

New to GBO this year: Anti-racism chats, free child care and an in-person, silent nighttime disco party and light show

By Gretchen Kell

Students walk through a light display shining on the trees and pavement next to the Campanile during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event. The word Cal in white lights appears on the sidewalk and the trees are shades of bright blue.
Wowed students walk through a light display next to the Campanile during GBO's Paint the Night event on Friday. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

August 23, 2021

It’s a daunting experience, being a new student on campus, and some 10,000 new first-years and transfers are arriving at UC Berkeley this month, many having never seen the campus. What’s more, this is the first time most of them will be attending classes in person since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted remote instruction.

As usual, Berkeley’s annual Golden Bear Orientation (GBO) — a year in the making — is ready to help. Like last year, the five-day, morning-to-night program to introduce incoming undergraduate students to Berkeley— it began Thursday, Aug. 19, and wraps up today — offers a packed schedule of online events, such as training sessions, ice breakers, tours and academic planning. But unlike last year’s GBO, which was completely virtual, this year’s program is a hybrid one, also providing some in-person, small group activities, including 20 evening events.

Various GBO leaders stand under Sather Gate with signs that spell out the names of their student orientiation groups.
Some of Golden Bear Orientation's 400 volunteer student orientation leaders stand under Sather Gate holding handmade signs that indicate the names of the groups of new students that they'll lead — a welcoming sight for incoming first-years and transfers eager to learn more about UC Berkeley before fall semester 2021 begins. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
Two friends at GBO pose for a photo in their masks and Cal gear.
Gabrielle McDowell, a first-year student from Benecia, and Nouhamin Leoulekal, a first-year student from Richmond, sport their new Cal gear at GBO. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
A GBO student orientation group called 123 Oski Street poses on campus with their sign.
A new student orientation group called 123 Oski Street poses for a photo on the first day of GBO. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
GBO student participants, all wearing masks, walk across Sproul Plaza on their way to and from activities.
Students and student orientation leaders in pandemic-era masks walk across Sproul Plaza on their way to GBO activities. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
GBO attendees pose on campus, wearing masks, and a food truck is parked nearby.
Students take a break during GBO to relax near the Campanile. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
staffers in blue-and-gold do a dance on lower sproul plaza
Several of this year's 400 volunteer GBO leaders dance in Lower Sproul Plaza during the second day of new student Move-In. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
Students walk through a light display shining on the trees and pavement next to the Campanile during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event. The word Cal in white lights appears on the sidewalk and the trees are shades of bright blue.
Wowed students walk through a light display next to the Campanile during GBO's Paint the Night event on Friday. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
The Campanile is lit up in rainbow-colored lights during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event. (
At Paint the Night, the 307-foot Campanile was lit up in rainbow-colored lights. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
A staff member of the UC Berkeley Art Studio makes screen-printed bags for students during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event on Friday, Aug. 20. She's wearing a tie-dyed UC Berkeley sweatshirt and is using a screen printer. a
Isabella Schreiber, a staff member of the ASUC Student Union's Berkeley Art Studio, makes screen-printed bags for incoming students at Paint the Night. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
Celina Mac, a first-year student from San Francisco, gets ready to ride a mechanical bull during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event. She's wearing a Cal sweatshirt, a mask, and has her arm raised to signal she's ready to ride. The mechanical bull is sitting in a red, white and blue inflatable enclosure.
Celina Mac, a first-year student from San Francisco, gets ready to ride a mechanical bull in a stars and stripes inflatable enclosure during Paint the Night. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
Students in brightly colored headphones dance at a silent disco party in Lower Sprout Plaza during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event.
Students in headphones dance at a silent disco party thrown for them by GBO leaders on Lower Sproul Plaza during Paint the Night. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
Meher Kajaria, Khushi Sancheto, Ananyaa Jain and Diya Patel — all first-yearstudents from India — pose for a photo during a silent disco dance party in Lower Sprout Plaza during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event.
Wearing bright blue silent disco headphones, Meher Kajaria, Khushi Sancheto, Ananyaa Jain and Diya Patel — all first-year students from India — pose for a photo during the dancing. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
A Cal sign is illuminated in gold on the ground as students walk along Campanile Way during Golden Bear Orientation's Paint the Night event.
A Cal sign is projected onto on the ground as students walk along Campanile Way during Paint the Night. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Paint the Night, for example, held last Friday, was an in-person, late night event at which students enjoyed a spectacular light show on Campanile Way and the bell tower, as well as arts and crafts made possible by the ASUC Student Union’s Berkeley Art Studio. They also danced en masse on Lower Sproul Plaza at a silent disco party, wearing headphones that glowed bright colors in the darkness, and some even rode a mechanical bull in an inflatable red, white and blue enclosure.

Other new additions to GBO 2021 included anti-racism conversations; information about the campus’s many affinity, or identity-based, spaces for various student groups; and free child care assistance so that student-parents could more easily attend GBO.

“We know GBO matters for students. It’s never crossed my mind to call it off during the pandemic,” said Micki Antovich, Berkeley’s assistant dean of students and director of New Student Services. “Students may not pick Berkeley because of GBO, but they may stay because of it. Our 400-plus volunteer student guides and our staff make that happen.

“This is Year Five for GBO, and in five years, we’ve become essential for student success.”