line drawing of a woman with eerie-looking ghosts coming out the back of her partially missing head

Politics & society

When warnings never cease, can we still trust our instincts?

At a time when anxiety and threats feel omnipresent, our instinct to react quickly to danger — while powerful — can become unreliable. UC Berkeley political scientist Marika Landau-Wells says there are ways to help us avoid overreacting to false alarms without missing real threats.

In this black and white photo, UC President Robert Gordon Sproul laughs with Harold Ellis, who opened the UC's first news bureau in 1925. They are both wearing suits and wire-rimmed glasses.

Campus news

UC Berkeley’s central news office marks 100 years of telling the university’s story

A portrait of Joanna Villegas, pictured before a background of green plants with purple flowers.

People

How one Gender Equity staff member fosters community for LGBTQ+ students on campus

rows of packaged junk food in a grocery store

Events at Berkeley

Berkeley Talks: How the tobacco industry drove the rise of ultra-processed foods

Spotlight: Commencement 2025

Two students hug each other wearing their regalia in the bleachers at UC Berkeley's 2025 campuswide commencement on May 17.

At UC Berkeley’s campuswide commencement, grads were grateful for their personal growth — and four Big Game wins in a row

A young woman holds her graduation cap and smiles. She is wearing a white dress and a gold-and-navy sash

Majoring in gender and women’s studies helped this graduate find her voice

Priyanka D’Souza, pictured sitting on one of the wheeled stools installed as part of her MFA exhibition, before various works created for the exhibition mounted on a shelf viewable at seated height.

This Berkeley MFA exhibition probes how museums and institutions exclude disabled bodies

Research

Jack Tseng stands on the second floor of the Valley Life Sciences Building looking down on a replica of a T. rex

Research

A T. rex with feathers? Scientists say dinosaurs were likely different from what most of us picture

UC Berkeley paleontologist Jack Tseng explains how new discoveries challenge our long-held beliefs about the world of paleontology.

a line of Indian women in colorful saris, with their children

Mind & body

Scientists complete the most thorough analysis yet of India’s genetic diversity

a female caregiver, apparently of middle age, feeds an elderly woman with a spoon

Politics & society

Proposed Medicaid cuts could have a ‘far-reaching, disproportionate’ impact on older workers

A white, headless robot body against a green background.

Research

Berkeley engineers develop customizable, 3D-printed robot for tech newbies

A sign with the Statue of LIberty that says

Politics & society

New research says framing protests as fights for civil rights ‘backfires.’ So what might work?

Arts & culture

A group of seven UC Berkeley scholars stand in front of an art piece during their travel seminar to Senegal

Creative Berkeley scholars traverse the globe to experience international art

A painting by Chiura Obata called Sunset, Watertower, March 10, 1943, was done in ink, color and mica on paper while he was in an internment camp. It shows a vibrant sunset behind a watertower in a desolate landscape. There are telephone lines in front of the tower and mountains in the far distance.

Legacy of Chiura Obata, artist and former UC Berkeley professor, endures on campus

More Arts & culture

Podcasts

illustration of a person leaning against a tree writing in a journal

Science of Happiness: How to feel hope in a time of uncertainty

Tony Reames next to the cover of a book he co-edited called

Berkeley Talks: Energy justice expert on his pursuit for affordable and clean energy for all

People

Noah Whiteman

‘The freedom to be fully human’: A Berkeley biology professor’s take on Pride and thriving in academia

Dean Jenny Chatman pictured at the entrance to Berkeley Haas.

Professor Jennifer Chatman named dean of Berkeley Haas

Campus & community

Student walk in front of Doe Library, with the campanile visible in the background.

UC Berkeley ranked nation’s top public university by U.S. News

a brightly colored rendering of a paved walkway. Many people seem to be enjoying it, including a couple with a bike. There are trees of various opacities, and one has red dots that appear to be fruit. In the background, multicolored apartments can be seen as well as a basketball court and squat community building.

UC Berkeley teams nab top prizes at national affordable housing competition

More Campus & community

Student Organic Garden

In North Berkeley, on about a quarter-acre of university land, the UC Berkeley Student Organic Garden has remained 100 percent student-run since its creation in 1971. There, students teach each other about organic gardening, horticulture, experimental education and food justice. Sometimes the garden provides a tranquil place to decompress from classes, papers and exams.

“The garden is a gem, and a place to feel safe on a very big campus and to have a relaxing conversation with another student volunteer,” says Sara Cate Jones, one of the garden leaders. “When I need to relax during the most stressful times, this is the place I go.”

Several De-Cal (Democratic Education at Cal) classes are held each school year “to ensure student stewardship of the garden,” says Jones. They include “Garden Leadership and Management,” “Berkeley Urban Garden Internship” and “Intro to Organic Gardening.”

The Student Organic Garden Association always seeks student volunteers. Those who can run garden arts and crafts workshops or teach others to make compost or do garden maintenance especially are needed, as are students with social media and public outreach skills.

In recent years, workshop topics have included succulent propagation and transplanting, and a garden workday and harvest party typically is held in late August.

Produce harvested at the garden is shared by those who grow it, the community and the UC Berkeley Student Food Pantry.