It’s just that I hear such incredible things about the academics, the teachers, the campus and the community. But I also doubt I’d get in. My GPA is not stellar [3.8] and my SATs will probably barely be a 2000, and I will have fought for it.

It’s so hard to know these days.

I’m off to read your text from this extemporaneously extemporized speech…

[BTW, I'm loving this interactive blogging. It makes me feel a little self-indulgent about my lack of responding to comments on my own blog. You're too cool.]

YOU SHOULD TOTALLY APPLY, MAN. Really, it’s an amazing place, and I can say that even though I am as biased as possible. My mom went there, and insisted my sister and I go, so we did, and didn’t even apply anywhere else. Lucky we got in since otherwise we would have been w/out a college education.

But it is really such a vibrant microcosm of so much. Maybe a person could be disappointed, but I tend to think those folks are rare. The faculty are across the board leaders in their fields, really, in big huge nationally/internationally relevant ways. But more, the students are alive in a big way. Look into the specific major you’re interested in, really. Esp. since if it’s a concern about “too liberal” or not, the rep the campus has from a coupla decades back doesn’t apply in totality now, nor did it ever really fit some departments. Poli Sci in particular. UNLESS THE TEACHER WAS A STUDENT AT BERKELEY RECENTLY I WOULDN’T TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT. Okay enough w/ the all caps. You can see I’m a zealot, no need to resort to the all caps to make that point.

And yes, it was there. I’m not so sure the text of what I said will be all that interesting, but you and eyejunkie have both put the squeeze on me, so I’ll have to cough up something. I switched it from a formally written-out thing to a series of notes from which I extemporaneously extemporized (!), before and after a reading of a post. But it was definitely a thrill to be able to reflect on this work to folks. I realize how powerfully it’s a nexus of so many things I hold so dear.

Anyway, I hope that there will be some sort of text released of your speech. It sounds like it will be such an applicable topic, especially with the current political climate. Kick ass and take names…with a peaceful pen, that is.

-Lauren

I’ll slip you the Jackson on Monday at 12:01 for the P.R. work.

Can’t wait to see you there… gives me goosebumps thinking how important and inspiring it will be for the students to hear from you.

And wow! What a thought. Kind of brings it full circle: reflections on writing online for online community, and bringing it back whence it came. Figuring I have it enough in a written-out format, I’ll totally post it here mebbe Monday night or so. Thank you for asking. It’d be neat to see what any of you-all think about it.

What about a transcribed copy of your Other Voices lecture for those (way) out of the Berkeley area? It would be great to get a glimpse of you in your off-line element.