UC Berkeley has long been a national hub for student activism, from the free speech rallies of the 1960s to more recent protests to block far-right figureheads like Anne Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus.
Sproul Plaza is usually the bustling heart of those activism efforts, not to mention one of the most trafficked thoroughfares on campus.
But these days, with many COVID-19 restrictions still in place, the plaza is pretty sleepy; aside from the sound of maintenance trucks, it's largely empty and quiet.
"Usually there are students handing fliers directly in your face about issues that they're passionate about and organizations that they want you to join," said UC Berkeley junior and student activist Sam Warren, describing a typical pre-pandemic scene at the plaza.
This year, however, university officials are barring large in-person gatherings on campus because of the pandemic. But that has hardly stopped students from continuing to campaign for causes they care about.
“It is an unprecedented semester," said Nicole Anyanwu, a senior majoring in molecular biology. "Students are going to school online, but they don't have access to the same academic resources at all.”
A student senator, Anyanwu said many of her peers are facing financial instability.
“Many students have lost their homes,” she said. “And then, the general climate of what's going on around the nation — fires, protests, elections, all sorts of chaotic things. How do you rectify all of that?”
Like her fellow student activists, Anyanwu has had to find new ways this semester of organizing around social and political issues.
“We have been repeatedly conveying the message to our student organizations that all of their activities need to be virtual,” said Sunny Lee, UC Berkeley's assistant vice chancellor and dean of students. “We have a COVID-19 temporary provision to our student code of conduct, due to California’s public health guidance for higher education and local public health orders, that prohibits student organizations from sponsoring or organizing in-person meetings, gatherings, and events for students on or off-campus.”
So, like almost everything else, a lot of the organizing has moved online, from protests and petitions, to crowdfunding efforts on behalf of students in need.
“Getting through COVID is getting through COVID with the whole village,” said senior Derek Imai, who this year is also the external affairs vice president for the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC). “And I think really, what I've seen on Facebook, is when friends are financially struggling or going through something, people will fundraise for their friends and communities.”
At a recent webinar, Miyako Iwata, a senior, answered students’ questions about the upcoming national election. The session kicked off with a fundamental question to participants: "Why is voting important?"
A recent Knight Foundation poll found that college students plan to vote in large numbers, but many have major concerns about the validity of their vote and the fairness of the electoral process.
“There is this myth that our vote, especially as California voters, is just a drop in the bucket and that it doesn't make a difference,” Iwata told the group of virtually-assembled students. “But the fact of the matter is that actually our vote has a huge potential to make our voices heard.”
The latest Tufts University National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement found that UC Berkeley students vote at slightly higher rates than the national student average. Still, Iwata, who heads up UC Berkeley's Vote Coalition, was disappointed with turnout in 2016, when just over 50% of the school's eligible student voters cast a ballot. She’s passionate about increasing that number this time around.
