University of California, Berkeley student housing
[1]: 93 By the fall of 1954, only 4.8% of UC Berkeley students were housed in university-operated residence halls, while the equivalent number at archrival Stanford University was 36.0%.
[1]: 98 Nearly all the student body and some of the faculty had to fend for themselves in seeking space in privately operated rooming houses in surrounding cities, many of which were in very poor condition.
[1]: 94 When Clark Kerr became the first chancellor of UC Berkeley in 1952, he became aware of a tacit understanding under which the university had traditionally refrained from competing against privately operated housing and dining facilities, and that conservative members of the Board of Regents had traditionally regarded university-operated housing as tantamount to "socialism.
[1]: 93 In August 1956, he secured approval from the Board of Regents of a long-range development plan which included the construction of several high-rise residence halls.
Since their completion, new residential buildings have been added and the dining commons for Units 1 and 2 have been consolidated in the block separating the two complexes.
[3] Each nine-story building is named after alumni or faculty and were originally designed for single-sex occupancy and configured with a ground floor lobby and recreation room.
As a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, additional cross bracing was added to the exteriors of the older highrise Unit 1 and 2 buildings.
In addition, there are the newer Christian and Slottman Halls (completed in 2005),[2] which house two-bedroom mini-suites with a shared bathroom for four people per suite.
The original buildings are Ida Sproul, Norton, Priestly, and Spens-Black Halls, sharing the general design and layout with Units 1 and 2.
[17] Bowles was considered initially as the campus for the executive education program at the Haas School of Business, but this reuse was ruled out as contrary to the spirit in which it was funded.
Student housing includes both residential halls and suites with single, double, triple, or quadruple accommodation bedrooms.
At its opening on July 21, 2018, the 185,000 sq ft (17,200 m2) David Blackwell Hall at 2401 Durant Avenue had 412 rooms that could house 777 residents.
Unlike residence halls, tenants of the apartments pay monthly rent, rather than semester fees, and are not automatically included on the campus meal plan.
[30] The Intersection Apartments are at 3800 San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville, approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) south of campus.
[34] The Panoramic Berkeley Apartments at 2539 Telegraph Avenue are considered on-campus housing, and nine-month leases are available for undergraduates.
[34] The Wada Apartments are within Unit 2 at 2650 Haste Street; they also are considered on-campus housing and leases are limited to ten months.
The demolition of older buildings and their subsequent replacement with new, more expensive apartment units has prompted student protests.
After remodeling and reorganization by a group of Bowles Hall alumni, it reopened as a coed residential college housing students from all four undergraduate years.
The BSC houses approximately 1250 students in 20 properties (17 of which it owns and three of which it leases from UC Berkeley), while other members have boarding-only (i.e. meal plan) contracts.
The BSC keeps rents low in part by requiring its members to perform "workshift" (essentially chores), usually 5 hours per week at most properties.
