Picture of Declan Hamill.
Courtesy of Moses McClure
UC Berkeley students are “pretty chill … kind of just doing their own thing… half of them are wearing backward caps and sunglasses,” BHS junior Declan Hamill said. Hamill explained that he does have interest in UC Berkeley. While the university doesn’t have his intended major, aeronautical engineering — though it does have a major in aerospace engineering — he still plans to apply there in November of, 2024.
Picture of Jayceon Atkins.
Courtesy of Moses McClure
Jayceon Atkins, a BHS sophomore, looks up to students at UC Berkeley. As an aspiring punter on BHS’s football team, he’s been able to text with a punter on UC Berkeley’s football team and meet other players. “I met one of the players named Jaydn Ott, one of the best players (at Cal). I took a picture with him: he was really nice,” Atkins said. ” I really like the football players … they’re just really friendly and nice.”
Picture of Arvin Ghaemmaghami.
Courtesy of Moses McClure
BHS senior Arvin Ghaemmaghami noticed that students at UC Berkeley tend to wear pastel tones and other modest colors. When he takes public transportation around Berkeley, he feels that “they’re either completely quiet … or they’re traveling in a gaggle and they are the loudest on the bus, and they act as one entity,” he said. If given the chance, he’d be happy to go to UC Berkeley, but unfortunately, “I got rejected,” he said.
Picture of Kimberly Pruitt.
Julian Nathan
UC Berkeley senior Kimberly Pruitt noticed that students at Berkeley High School have a distinct sense of style. “I think that skater style is really in, very big pants and belts holding them up … yeah, skater shoes and big hoodies,” Pruitt said. Pruitt also commented on the friendliness she feels in Berkeley and from BHS students in comparison to Southern California. “I would say that the people are a lot nicer in norcal in comparison to socal,” Pruitt said.
Picture of Pablo Silver.
Julian Nathan
“If I see six colorfully dressed people … I’ll be like, yeah, that’s … the people from BHS,” Pablo Silver, a UC Berkeley student said. He observed that Berkeley High School students are especially common in certain stores — like CVS and Walgreens — where they tend to travel in groups. “Fashion wise, you guys are way ahead of the curve,” he said, adding that “I see a lot of skater culture but I don’t see a lot of skateboards.” Still, some aspects of BHS students remain mysterious. “Where do these people go … after they’re in high school? I don’t see these kinds of people (in the world) … Like SF state, or what?”
Picture of Anya and Divya.
Courtesy of Moses McClure
UC Berkeley students Anya and Divya feel that BHS students are under less pressure than their stereotypically studious Silicon Valley neighbors. “I know that Palo Alto is famously super wealthy …They are like next level wealthy,” Divya said. Both expanded on this, explaining how they each experienced different sides of this issue: while Divya attended a high school in Seattle, Anya attended a rigorous engineering-intensive high school program, “It’s definitely not as high pressure there compared to here,” Divya said. Both now study engineering at UC Berkeley.