3 | University of California at Berkeley
By Han N. Hong
junior, communications
Every penny I pay is worth it -- not only because I'm able to learn from the best professors and people that are at the top of their field but also because of the experience I'm gaining. Cal provides students with the opportunities to make the most of their education beyond lectures, textbooks, and exams.

On any given Friday during the school year at Berkeley, you'll find a band performing, a rally or dance group performing in front of Sproul Hall, the Men's Octet or some other a cappella group singing near the front gate. And any day of the week, you'll find a plethora of student groups distributing fliers for their upcoming events (students sometimes take a different route to class to avoid being bombarded by paper). Culturally, I've become more aware of what's out there. Before I came here I didn't know the difference between Korean and Thai food. Now I can tell you the different types of kim chi.

Even though Republicans are the obvious minority on campus, you'll find them to be one of the most vocal, organized, and effective groups on campus. Where else other than Berkeley could you find a Squirrel Fishing Club? There's at least one rally every week.

But as dynamic and as politically charged as our campus may be, it also has the ability to come together as a community. The morning of 9/11, our senate chamber was filled with administrators and students from all different groups discussing how we were going to mobilize and deal with the situation at hand. A vigil was organized that night (by students), a blood drive was organized a couple of days later, a safe haven for students who felt unsafe was created, money was given to students from New York who had to fly home, and the list goes on.