Disordered sleep schedules, baths while in class, the ability to just “hop on” — as a full year of virtual learning comes to a close, UC Berkeley students are looking toward the future with eyes wide open, excitement in their voices and a hint of apprehension as they reflect on the ways the year has changed them, good or bad. Most were not thrilled with remote learning. UC Berkeley students applied for an experience entirely opposite to the pandemic-ridden year that brought the stress and anxie

I can’t have TikTok downloaded on my phone at this point in time. I’ve become accustomed to the cycle of downloading and deleting the video-sharing app, as the urge to swipe through videos for a ludicrous amount of time on days that I don’t have any pressing tasks is strong. It makes me feel like I have a short circuit in my brain. The app, which has grown to 53.3 million weekly users as of September 2020, has had an impressive year. When lockdowns began in March, people began recording themsel

Orange skies. Poor air quality. Increased screen time. COVID-19 case spikes. The fall semester in the Bay Area has proven to be one crisis after another, and UC Berkeley students are feeling overwhelmed by the endless cycle of bad news. Transfer students especially are experiencing a tumultuous introduction to UC Berkeley amid all the chaos. Certain counties in the Bay Area and the students who live there are becoming accustomed to annual evacuations due to the threat of wildfires and the idea

SuenaTron hypes an excitable crowd at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, California. The band is currently working on its first album and has not yet set a release date. The Mystic Theater in Petaluma clamoured with dancing feet and sweaty audience members enthralled with the new age spanish sound emanating from San Jose-based band SuenaTron. “If you have a drink in your hand, I want you to raise it now. Salud!” SuenaTron’s lead singer and accordion player Mexia Hernandez shouted to the crowd.

Winning was the last thing on Gina Stahl-Haven’s mind as she stepped on stage for the finals of the San Francisco Comedy Competition. In her mind, she had already won. “Once I was in, I was like, ‘I’m in. I got the Ph.D. now. Who cares?’” she said. Jokes come naturally to Stahl-Haven. As she stepped onto the stage, all of the potential jokes swirled around in her brain and bounced off the excitement in her heart. Would she perform the joke comparing her second husband to a skittish rescue dog

Most of the classrooms in Emeritus hall have broken or nonfunctioning locks that are safety hazards in lockdown events. Santa Rosa Junior College students took shelter in some classrooms with malfunctioning, broken or non-existent locks during a campus lockdown Oct. 22, despite years of safety committees and administration promises to upgrade campus security. “I have been begging for locks on the doors in Emeritus since 2005. It’s been ‘in the works’ for almost 15 years,” said interdisciplinar

Local law enforcement huddles in front of Ridgway High to plan their entry into classrooms. Santa Rosa Junior College locked down its Santa Rosa campus Tuesday morning after one student at neighboring Ridgway High School shot another, disposed of the weapon, then slid back into class where he was later arrested. Police detained two Ridgway students after the lockdown froze the three contiguous campuses of Santa Rosa Junior College, Ridgway High School and Santa Rosa High School, affecting thou

I did not want to jump, yet I wanted more than ever to feel the crisp Oregon water swallow me whole. The rocks were uneven, my feet’s grip on the perforated cliff shaky and apprehensive. My heart raced and clawed its way up to my throat. I don’t usually let myself feel fear over something that can be remedied by a mere “f*ck it,” yet in this instance, it was hard not to. Before my heart could leap out of my esophagus and try to stop me, off the cliff I went. The idea that I can return to this

Anetra McCartney, 24, holds up a photo of her mother Sylvie McCartney and her newborn brother, Braden, radiating joy. McCartney lost contact with her family during Dorian and thought this photo could be their last. The last time Santa Rosa Junior College international student Anetra McCartney visited her family on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas was May 29. The three precious days she spent with her mother, Hepzibah “Sylvie” McCartney, and getting to meet her newborn brother Braden for the fi

For most Sacramento residents, losing an earring in a parking garage is unfortunate, yet the jewelry is replaceable. But for the homeless who choose Old Sacramento as their home base, a lost earring could be their next meal ticket, the price of Donald “Don” Frueh’s sleet grey skateboard or the tattered red baseball cap sitting on Chris Lanse’s head. Lanse was born and raised in Sacramento and chose to stay local to remain close to his 6-year-old son, Nate. Frueh and his dog, Nemesis, have lived all around Sacramento for about five years. He takes pride in the nomadic lifestyle and the freedom it provides. While both men live here with different personal motives, they agree getting by in the California capital takes ingenious thinking. Lanse and Frueh use found objects, such as earrings, in a system that harkens back to a time predating Old Sac: bartering.

My brother Julian and I have completely different minds. He is fascinated by the world of 1980s VHS tapes and has shelves upon shelves of colorful cardboard boxes, while I am more of a Netflix person. He has a mysterious fear of dogs, but I welcome any that show up on our porch. He has no concept of an inside voice and chews so loud it’s as if he’s having a conversation with his bag of Doritos; I prefer to internalize my satisfaction with the infamous orange chips. Typical as it may be for two

Carnival float in Viagreggio that takes place end of January through the beginning of March, a possible field trip opportunity for Florence Study Abroad 2020. Cross international waters. Stroll down cobblestone pathways at dusk. Clink wine glasses as your eyes wander onto the Ponte Vecchio while the sun takes its final bow. Many college students see international travel as an item on their post-education bucket list, but for Santa Rosa Junior College students, this opportunity is not as far awa

Removing old liner, rocks and cardboard used for weed prevention during the wait for a delivery of new topsoil. For Santa Rosa Junior College students, walking down Elliott Avenue isn’t exactly a scenic path. Overgrown weeds, invasive shrubbery and brittle blades of yellow grass grimace at students meandering between classes. Not only are the front yards of these SRJC-owned faculty houses unpleasant, they also are not fire safe or drought friendly. SRJC, Habitat Corridor Project and the Santa

Actors Stephan James and Kiki Layne look out on New York City as Alonzo Hunt and Tish Rivers, respectively, in the 2018 film “If Beale Street Could Talk.” “If Beale Street Could Talk” is a warm, welcoming conversation about the beauty and anguish of the African-American experience in the 1970s. Director Barry Jenkins adapted the film from the novel of the same name by James Baldwin, aiming to draw parallels between the struggles of the black community today and in the past. This year, the Acad

You unload an enormous backpack, shoulders throbbing and head pounding from another day at Santa Rosa Junior College. Before you can dart into your room unnoticed, your parents are already nagging about the FAFSA and whether it was your day to chauffeur your little brother to school and back. Your mind wanders away from the kitchen table in the 900-square-foot, double-wide mobile home you share with them to the dream of your own peaceful, quiet apartment. In my “College Fantasy Pad,” more than

Kettles Vietnamese Bistro, located on 1202 Steele Ln in Santa Rosa, has been open for five years. Santa Rosa Junior College business major Jason Do has worked at his parents’ restaurant since the age of 10. Nine years later he has transformed into a successful manager, well-versed in his parents’ finances. Do’s family was one of thousands in Sonoma County that lost their home in the Tubbs’ Fire. “When I was escaping the house, I went into full survival mode; I grabbed the essentials: food, wat

Waste Diversion Technician and self-proclaimed janitor Guy Tillotson spends his whole day thinking about Santa Rosa Junior College’s garbage. In addition to processing all campus waste after it lands in trash cans, Tillotson’s team manages the resale of scrap metal, handle compost for the SRJC culinary program and the servicing of campus recycling bins. He has bigger concerns too, including informing students on how to put the right trash in the right bin and minimizing waste overall. It’s all

Working three jobs at 15. Watching five-hour shifts morph into nine-hours in the blink of an eye. Bussing tables instead of busting out research papers. For 21-year-old Alexis Morgan, this story is all too familiar. Since she was a teenager, Morgan chipped in with bills and made sacrifices in her academic career to afford her basic needs. “If I didn’t work I wouldn’t have shampoo or conditioner. I wouldn’t have working water or power, and most importantly, I wouldn’t have a roof over my head or