Equity & Inclusion

How are individuals and groups racially classified? What are the meanings attached to different racial categories? And what impact do these categories have on a range of policies and practices? Taking the U.S. Census as a site of racial classification, Michael Omi, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, examines the shifting state definitions of race and how individuals and groups assert, embrace, reject and negotiate different racial categories and identities.

Dear Campus Community,

We are excited to write and encourage everyone - students, staff, and faculty - to set aside time to take the My Experience survey. This is a confidential survey to capture your experiences, perceptions, and thoughts about the campus and workplace climate, and how we can make Berkeley a better place to learn and work.

Isat in the first lecture of Cy Plan 120, Community Planning and Public Policy, not knowing quite what to expect. This class was one of a kind in its subject matter, but what I was even more curious about was the instructor, Dr. Victor Pineda. I had never been taught by a disabled instructor before. The idea both intrigued and excited me.

Last December, in a message to the campus, I outlined the overarching values and objectives that form the foundation of our plans to expand the diversity of our university community in the broadest sense and in every form.

Six years in the making, UC Berkeley’s new Basic Needs Center, a one-stop shop for students with food, housing and financial insecurity, opens Monday, Feb. 25, on the lower level of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. The novel, nearly 3,000-square-foot facility is considered the first of its kind in the UC system and nationwide.

Many colleges and universities, including four other UC campuses, have a basic needs center with a food pantry, nutrition workshops, aid for homeless students and referrals to off-campus social services.

The spring 2019 semester finals — spanning May 13 to May 17 — will coincide with Ramadan, causing UC Berkeley to provide accommodations to students who observe the holiday.

Students will receive different accommodations based on what they request, according to campus spokesperson  Janet Gilmore. These accommodations can vary from having flexible scheduling of exams to providing spaces for students to participate in their religious practices. Cal Dining will also provide to-go meal options.