 Well welcome welcome to the 2023 Convocation for new students here at UC Berkeley now here We have both freshmen and transfer students here. Is that correct? All right, so I need all my freshmen give a loud cheers loud as you can where are my freshmen Nice nice. All right transfers. Can you beat that? Where are my transfers? Freshmen you have some learning to do you have some learning to do that's all right Well, I am one of our mic men here at UC Berkeley Basically what I do is I get you guys pumped and excited about all things cow I'm here for you guys at Convocation We're here for you at football and basketball games and a bunch of other sporting events So make sure to come out to our first football game of the season It's a lot of fun now before we get started I need to teach you guys one of the most important important cheers here at UC Berkeley And that's the go bears so it's very important very easy all you need to do is on three Yeah, go bears. So can I get a go bears on three go bears on three one two three? Good job, and a lot of you know the two beats very well, so it's go bears. We're gonna do it again I need you guys louder. I need you guys more excited. You ready? Give me a go bears on three go bears on three one two three One two three One two three Good job. You're ready Another really fun one we do especially in the football stadium is we've got all our students on one side and all of our alumni on the other So we're gonna practice that here one side skin is yell go the other side is gonna yell bears So we're gonna split along the half court line So this side what you're gonna yell only on the first one Hey students go you got that? After they pick up you don't need to say the hey students. You just say they go This side when you hear hey students go They're talking about you and you need to reply with bears Once again, don't say the hey students after the first try. Are you guys ready to try it out? There we go. All right This side remember hey students go on the first one only go on the second one. You ready? I Need a hey students go on three one two three Hey students go Go round of applause All right, so make sure to come out for the football games Make sure to come out for the basketball games and now I have the pleasure to introduce dean of students Sunny Lee Good morning. I still asleep. Are you good morning? Welcome? I know some of you are from different time zones. They'll be kind to each other and yourself You may be a little bit of a cranky bear today, but I promise you by the end of the day You're gonna be so pumped and excited to start your journey here at Cal. I'm Sunny Lee I use she her pronouns. I have the honor to be your dean of students and On behalf of the campus leadership on stage here today We're so delighted to host new student convocation and as much as We have chosen you just remember that you have also Chosen us and we think we're a little biased, but that you have made the absolute best choice You were chosen from over a hundred and twenty five Applicants to UC Berkeley and you're now a member of the 2025 and 27 graduating classes There are nine thousand four hundred of you today So give yourselves in each other a big round of applause for making it to this point So I want you to think of that special someone in your mom. It could be your in your life It could be your mom. It could be your sibling. It could be your significant other It could be a your dependent who helped get you to here today because no one gets to this point alone So just hold them in your mind send them a Thought and energy of gratitude Before we begin this event We take a moment to recognize that Berkeley sits on the territory of Hu Chun The ancestral and incited land of the Chichenyo alonee the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County This land was and continues to be of great importance to the lonely people and we recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of this land since the institutions founding in 1868 Consistent with our values of community and diversity we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the University's relationship to native peoples By offering this land acknowledgement we affirm indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold University of California Berkeley more accountable to the needs of American Indian and indigenous peoples now like to Officially welcome you the class of 2025 and 27 to the University of California Berkeley and the Chancellor's new student convocation In life, it's important to mark new beginnings and milestones and that's exactly what we're here to do today You get one new student convocation We're here to celebrate this new chapter of your journey here at Berkeley I want you to take this moment to look around this arena and see your new classmates Soak in this special moment and feel the energy and vibrations of this space Your future lifelong friends might be here your future life partner might be here and you haven't met them yet some of you are feeling excited right now some of you may be feeling a little nervous and What's ahead? This feeling has a name by my 11 year old daughter It's called nurse sighted because nervousness and excitement are really just two sides of the same coin It's the same feeling but with different interpretations. So whatever you may be feeling Know that at that over 9,000 other new students are likely feeling something similar as you You are not alone So now we begin our ceremony with a national anthem sung by Paulina Wynn Paulina graduated from Cal this past May with a dual BA in political science and music as an undergraduate Paulina kept herself busy with the California golden overtones Drawn to scale a cappella and the UC rally committee in addition to working as a campus ambassador and GBO leader I Ask now that you rise if you are able and please join me in welcoming Paulina Oh, say, can you what's so proud at the twilight to last glee whose broad stripes and bright star? Thank You Paulina such a beautiful voice To meet someone who has quite a celebrity status on our campus and that is our very own Chancellor Carol Christ Chancellor Christ is the 11th Chancellor of our university a celebrated scholar and Victorian literature Chancellor Christ is also well known as an advocate for quality accessible public higher education a proponent of the value of a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences and A champion of women's issues and diversity on college campuses Are you all ready? Are you all ready give a warm heartfelt welcome to Chancellor Chris? Good morning. I Want to welcome you the class of 25 and the class of 27 My name is Carol Christ and this chance as Chancellor It's my distinct honor and great pleasure to formally welcome you to the University of California at Berkeley We are delighted to have you with us. I Have to admit this is my favorite time of year as the fall semester begins as our community begins to come together again as Energy and anticipation build as the campus fills with potential and promise as Berkeley only can This is a place that's filled with passion Purpose and extraordinary people great things await you on the road ahead I know how hard you've worked how you've persevered through difficult days and surmounted numerous challenges to get here in So many ways your resilience is a reflection of our campus as a whole You're joining a strong community where we have in recent years come together in Support of each other our university and our academic mission We've learned a great deal along the way and have emerged stronger than ever before I Believe that Berkeley and all of you are uniquely prepared to take on the challenges and opportunities of these times We're humbled by your vote of confidence in this university in our ability to marshal Berkeley's resources To adapt to innovate to do all that we possibly can To support your dreams and aspirations to help you thrive Connect and take your place as lifelong members of the Cal family You've spared no effort to earn your place here and will do the very same to support you So that you can get all that you wish and need from your time on this amazing campus What makes Berkeley Berkeley is our extended community of students faculty staff and alumni The people who individually and collectively Create the dynamic atmosphere that's so conducive to learning Teaching and discovery It's through our individual and collective actions that we manifest the university's mission and values Our dedication to advancing the greater good our search for solutions to the planet's most pressing problems Now in the wake of the pandemic when it was so difficult to gather and connect We to engage and benefit from all the university and the community have to offer We more deeply understand and appreciate the power and purpose of community and we're more committed than ever To ensuring that our community is diverse equitable and inclusive Offering a true sense of belonging to each and every student A strong supportive campus community is what allows us to take intellectual risks To continuously challenge the status quo To learn from one another To model and embody our societal values To thrive amidst an amazing diversity of origins and identities I also believe that the excellence of our university Depends upon diversity of thought and perspective Both of which are the result of and profoundly enhanced by the diversity of our campus community And so we are today more committed than ever To continuing our comprehensive efforts to ensure that the world's greatest public university Truly represents and reflects the state and people that it serves Our quest for communal strength and connection Assumes even more importance given the salience and urgency of issues related to social justice There is a need and an opportunity to rethink and re-examine how we can In the finest Berkeley fashion make the world a better place And model the change that we wish to see This is the community that awaits you that needs your participation and perspectives And that has much to offer all who dive in And when you do be prepared for passionate debate Sharp differences of opinion about controversial issues With that in mind we're fortunate to have our foundational principles of community Principles that provide for the coexistence of a strong supportive campus community And strongly held beliefs Developed through an extraordinary collaboration among students faculty and staff The principles enshrine Essential values such as respect civility and honesty That enable all of us to feel heard and accepted To explore new ideas To advocate for our beliefs To feel safe And to thrive amidst a wonderful diversity of origins identities and beliefs And so I urge you all to read and embrace Berkeley's principles of community Which are easily accessible online At Berkeley we are and always have been the change makers We're showing I believe how essential the public research university is to our country and our world Now more than ever The world needs people who believe in science In the notion of a greater good injustice equity diversity inclusiveness and the truth And these of course are the very values that form the foundation of all that Berkeley is and stands for It's our collective responsibility to ensure that it will ever be so This is a time of creative ferment and possibility And that's prime time for this public university And for you there's so much happening here So many doors to open and avenues to explore So much to learn and experience And so I urge you all to take full advantage of the academic riches on offer To seek out and forge relationships with our amazing faculty and staff To explore the opportunities for engagement and participation and extracurricular activities To make the most of this wonderful place that is truly unlike any other I'm so glad you're here Fiat Lux and Go Bears Thank you Chancellor Christ She has such clear and powerful Words for us and exemplifies just amazing leadership And I definitely look up to her for the way that she has led us through some incredibly difficult and historical times So, uh, thank you Chancellor chris for your continued inspiration All right. How many of you played sports in high school? Raise your hand Many of you how many of you like watching sports Okay, maybe a little more of you. How many of you are allergic to sports? Okay, a few of you Well, I just want to present you here to this beautiful pavilion And for those of you played What like watching or even if you've been allergic to before give it a chance Come and support our wonderful athletics program because it can be a wonderful part of your student experience All right, can you hear me? Wait, what can you hear me? Okay, I just want to make sure Next we'll hear from our director of athletics jim nullton Before coming to berkeley jim served as athletics director of the united states air force academy And the rents and lear polytechnic institute where he was named the national association of collegiate directors of athletics director of the year Throughout his career jim is focused on successfully fostering programs that placed a premium on leadership and character development among student athletes coaches and staff He has demonstrated an unfeeling commitment to high achievement Both in academics and athletics has a proven track record as a fundraiser And has shown a consistent ability to take on complex challenges and develop strategic solutions Now please join me in welcoming jim To the stage will be joined by the woman's basketball coach shaman smith and then basketball coach Mark madsen. Let's give it up for them. Come on All right, come on coaches come come give me that support. I need Thanks, sonny and uh, thanks to your team for putting this on. This is absolutely amazing to see the next Generation of cal students here and we are excited to have you a big shout out to my colleague Steve Sutton who's the vice chancellor of student affairs Who really is is involved in everything you as students will do during your time here in some way shape or form I'm also grateful for the chancellor And as you get to know her you'll find that she's everywhere students are So you will see her a lot and she has been an integral part of the fabric here At the university of california berkeley for a long time I want to start by just saying congratulations And if you don't know it 125,000 young men and women applied to cal but there are millions Of students that would love to be sitting in your chairs Right now and when you step back and think about that. I know you're nervous. I know I know this is new But you are in a seat that there are literally thousands of others that would like to be in and so My message to you is We picked you You picked us you absolutely belong And we are excited to see what you're going to do while you're here At the number one public university in the world. So congratulations We are really really excited to watch you grow and and what you're going to do while you're here at cal and beyond You are sitting in in haas pavilion And haas pavilion is the home of our men's and women's basketball teams Our men's and women's gymnastics teams and our volleyball team Who has ever seen a sporting event in haas pavilion raise your hand All right, I see a few tell your classmates How fun it is to see an event here in haas pavilion and the same for uh, california memorial stadium How many people have seen an event in california memorial stadium seen our football team play It is a great way at both our events here and there to meet friends new friends other students alums Fans and we absolutely want you to come out and support our teams. You're going to see Olympians, you're going to see medalists You're going to see national champions and all of them are training and competing in those facilities every day So we are excited for you We are grateful that you chose us and I couldn't be more proud of our two basketball coaches who are here today both Our fabulous coaches former pro athletes and when you come to a game You are going to be excited to see the quality of our student athletes on the court So thanks for your support. Can't wait to see you here Take advantage of this wonderful university and go bears Now i'll introduce charmin smith come on up. How are you guys doing? Not bad. Um, we need a lot of energy in this building, right? You're in the gym So that means you have to be high energy all the time. So let's try again. How are you guys doing? Good So i'm going to let you guys in on a little secret that dim gym probably didn't share on purpose, but Anyone know what mark and I have in common one of the things we have in common Because your new students, maybe you don't know but both mark and I attended stanford university Got that boo go ahead Go ahead right Exactly and I say that because we are here now We wised up and now we're here right for you with the bears We are highly competitive individuals and you can imagine You know what we take from some of our peers and colleagues from coming to the other side of the bay And because we're competitive we need you guys to help us win that battle So that people are like well, of course they're at cow. Of course, they're in the east bay Of course, they're wearing the blue and gold because that's the best choice and they made a really good choice I've been here for 16 years now 16 years i've been wearing blue and gold and I absolutely love it And i'm here today to ask for your help for our women's basketball program We have a very good women's basketball program. We've been to a final four We've won a pack 12 championship and we need your help to get back there And so there are places where you know people say oh the cow students aren't engaged the cow students have to study too much I need you guys to prove them wrong I need you to come to Haas pavilion and support women's basketball I'll give you a couple reasons why number one. It's free. Sorry mark, but our games are free Right, so nothing out of your pocket and I guarantee you you will get a lot by coming to our games Your peers on this team are phenomenal individuals You will see them in your molecular and cell biology courses You will see them in your legal studies courses You will see them in your political economy classes Because we are a team like many of our teams here that has above a 3.0 and came here for both the academics And the athletics they are student athletes and they deserve your support the true form the true meaning of a student athlete That's what our women's basketball team represents So I hope you'll come out and see us A couple other reasons I've been in this gym when we played stanford when we played the uconn huskies When we played the usc and this place is packed for women's basketball Right, but it hasn't been students. It's a new challenge. We need students Our marketing team will tell you our students aren't into women's basketball. Please change that I asked you to come one time and I guarantee you you will want to come back based on what you will see One other favor i'm gonna ask if you could all take your phones out right now I know you have your phone. You're probably on it already Help me out here. Are you guys twitter or threads? What are we? Where do we going towards? Everybody who's going to stick with twitter. Can I hear you? Everybody moving the threads New students don't know what either one is okay Take your phone out, please And I want you to go to your instagram and I want you to follow cal w b-ball That's our program social cal w b-ball Right now. I should see a boost of 9 000 plus followers for cal w b-ball right now And also a boost on either threads or twitter whatever you prefer When I go back into my office, I'm going to pick 10 people from our new followers That will get a 25 dollar gift certificate from me to ibis If you don't know about ibis you need to ask somebody it's going to be one of your spots Where you go and eat? It's a special place in the east bay So I'm going to pick 10 people 25 dollar gift card If you follow us on social So please do that come out and support This is a great institution and this institution needs this athletics apartment to be great as well So come help us be a part of that. I hope I don't still make it's thunder But I want to leave with just one cheer. That's my favorite cheer here. Okay So on the count of three, we're going to say roll on you Bear like that Just like that. All right, and we gotta see how long we can make the bears last ready one two three One more time. I'm not going to use the mic ready one two three Love it. Love it. You're going to need that at the football games. All right. Thank you so much and go bears I want to start by thanking chancellor christ Each one of you and every alum For making u.c. Berkeley the best university in the world This year's men's basketball team has new players A new style of play and a new winning attitude my vision for this arena Is winning you guys coming and making friends and everyone having a great evening and a great time When I see you on campus, I want to high five When I see you in hospital, I want you loud And when I see you over on telegraph avenue at my favorite restaurant mezzo sandwich shop Lunch is on me Go bears All right. Next. It's my privilege to introduce Sydney Roberts your asuc president and asuc is your student government Sydney is a fourth year student studying political science and african-american studies with minors in public policy and race and the law She's a passion for political campaigns criminal justice and public policy Prior to becoming asuc president, sydney served as chief of staff for the student body president and was the chapter president of alfalfie Sorority, let's give a warm welcome to your president Sydney Morning new golden bears. I am truly honored to give you a warm welcome to the university of california of berkeley You're on the precipice of an extraordinary journey and not just at any university But at the number one public university in the world Cal students are a collective of remarkable individuals And you are now an integral part of that legacy. You should be incredibly proud of yourself. Congratulations My name is sydney roberts and i'm berkeley's 146 student body president I'm going into my fourth year but three years ago. I was a newly admitted student just like you Moving my entire life into a clerk her triple I vividly remember my first time here It was a mix of excitement and unease And some of you might face similar hardships. I struggled to find community and It was hard to adjust But I want to reassure you that all of the challenges you might face are just as vital to your journey as the victories I learned a lot from my time here And I want to share some lessons with you Berkeley is a campus teaming with opportunities ready to be seized I had to put myself out there more times than once to find my place here But taking chances like joining the ascc and running for position in my sorority Enabled me to make meaningful connections with people. I've depended on throughout my college career Changing my major and taking a research position over the summer Introduced me to a new career path that I had never explored before The people you befriend here the people you're sitting next to right now Are going to be the ones to get you through late night study sessions And the professor you spontaneously spark conversation with could completely reshape your thinking The pause you take at a sprout closet table could redefine your entire college experience Every opportunity you seize will contribute to your growth You will be rewarded an insurmountable ways when you put yourself out there And my journey may look different from yours You may decide to join a hiking club or an acapella group and find your place there Just know however you start it may take time But you will absolutely find a community here ready to embrace you and an environment you're going to flourish in So starting tomorrow, I want you to relentlessly pursue your passions What really matters is your ability to rebound from stepbacks And to adjust to new circumstances I want you to embrace challenges to celebrate your achievements And to let the lessons learned here be a foundation for your future successes Let your journey at UC Berkeley be marked by curiosity and courage and camaraderie Each one of you brings a unique perspective an individual narrative And that's what makes UC Berkeley unparalleled Thank you feel likes and go bears Thank you, Sydney Right So next my honor to introduce the student coordinator for golden bear orientation Jennifer Antonis Lopez It's new student services mission to give each student the support and resources necessary for a successful transition to campus academically, socially, emotionally and culturally So Jennifer's gonna come up and take a few minutes to tell you about this amazing orientation that they have planned For you over the next few days now before Jennifer comes up. I just want you to think about all of the people That it took to put this event together how many of you have ever planned an event or a meeting or a birthday party A little something a little gathering raise your hand who's ever planned anything in your life Have you ever planned an event for almost 10,000 people? Probably not. I don't think I don't know if I have even so just think about that scale Planning a week-long program like this Welcoming people from all over the world the best of the best you Right smart sharp critical intelligent So I just want you to really give it up because these are students mostly students who have made today possible With some incredible staff behind them But it takes hundreds Hundreds of people to make this event and I hope that you will consider being a gbo Volunteer did you hear me volunteer the people who are going to lead you today Are volunteering their week to create a warm welcoming environment for you So with that let's give the best welcome And thanks to jennifer. Hi. Hello everyone. I want to say welcome to everyone here Everyone in the front and everyone in the back As sonny said, I am one of the new student services new student coordinators And you probably have seen me in some emails and you probably saw me yesterday running around helping check all of you into gbo Now back in 2019 Before I met some of my best friends failed the class or two attended my first big game Had my first kids talk about tmi It made so many memories at cal. I was just like you all I was a new student attending my very first gbo event convocation Since then I have served our campus community through various roles within the new student services department The department in charge of golden bear advising golden bear prep and golden bear orientation Or as we like to call it gbo Again, my name is jennifer antonis lopez, but you all can call me jenny I use the she they pronounce and I am about to start my final year at berkeley as a society and environment major I stand before all of you as one of four students who help plan major gbo events They like to call us student coordinators And I am incredibly excited to see all of you embark on your very own gbo journeys I am sure all of you have a remarkable memory of opening up that acceptance letter and seeing the famous famous confetti Some of you like me maybe felt shocked happy fearful excited Or even a little worried Being accepted into a school like berkeley is a huge accomplishment It is the product of years of hard work and dedication So suppose you're dealing with some imposter syndrome or are having doubts about whether or not you will belong here Take it from me a student who's going into her fifth year here at cal and has seen the good The bad and the ugly of this university You will find your place on campus Because you have worked for it. And if you have gotten this far, trust me You belong here Now I know everyone has probably been telling you the same thing. You will find your place. You will find friends You will find your community But you're probably still a little lost on how Exactly you're supposed to do all of that How are you supposed to find friends and find your community and find your place where you belong on this campus? Well, that is what gbo is here for You might have been surprised when you found out how we do orientation here at berkeley I know I was when I found out that our orientation is nearly a week long But fear not I am here to break it down for you all Your new student orientation gbo will run from today august 17th through august 21st However, we do not expect you all to guide yourself through an entire week of programming That is why each of you has been assigned into a small group In these small groups, you will be led by orientation leaders or like we call them ols Your ols will be who guide you through the entire week of fun activities and fun programming Your ols will share your small group schedule with you a little later on today when you meet them And it's very important that you follow this schedule Fun fact this year there are around 300 unique gbo schedules So it's really important that you follow your leaders and stick to your schedule Believe it or not, we have been preparing to welcome all of you for a long time Your ols have undergone Several days of intensive training to figure out how they're supposed to guide you through a week full of fun and information of programming such as bay area excursions late night activities This year I hear upper sprout is turning into a carnival You didn't hear it from me though And many more programs that are designed to help you meet fellow students As well as help you find a sense of community and belonging in your new home Berkeley now I have to have a successful gbo I have a few tips for you all number one You all got a fancy wristband like the one I have here And a name tag with your lanyard Please make sure you have these two things on you at all times during gbo Treat it like a festival if you have your lanyard and your name tag and your wristband you can get into all gbo events If you don't you guessed it you're going to have a little trouble getting into events and it might take longer to eat your meals so The next thing I have for y'all is one more tip Engaging us much programming as you can Like we said there is a law to do this week But we want to make sure that all of you are taking care of yourselves So do whatever it is you need to make sure you are okay throughout the week number three Follow your schedule again stick with your group You're going to be having your meals with your gbo group and we need to feed all 9,000 of you so timing is very important And finally number four Feel free to use our help desk We are going to be located in upper sprawl in front of sprawl hall In case you lose your group or have any gbo related questions So I truly hope that all of you enjoy gbo Find community at berkeley And have an amazing undergraduate experience Go bears Thank you jenny Now let's get into some cal spirit I'm honored to bring out one of our premier singing groups on campus to get you in the mood Please welcome the uc men's octet He fears Burn some trees before the big game Now it's a more difficult of a cheer for you guys I know it's going to be really hard for you cal students, but it's spelling You think you guys got that? Yeah, all right. All right. Here we go. So this one's pretty easy You're just going to repeat after me and then you're going to have to spell that's the tricky one I believe in you though. You can do it all right Cal you guys still asleep wake up wake up. Here we go cal students Can you get me in so you need to scream that last cal as loud as you possibly can Welcome to the stage one of my favorite groups here at berkeley cal band uc berkeley isn't fun I mean, we know that it has a reputation of being serious highly academic hyper focused intense But you know what you got to play it just as hard You got to rest go to a game make friends Come in and be part of the community and make your own communities I want you to on your phones just like coach charming, but this time I want you to look at berkeley life Because for those of you who don't like to read to the bottom of our emails. This is where you get the t l d r The essential info about activities events things that you need to know about your student experience here So that's berkeley life. I know reception is not that great. So you can also remember it for outside All right. Are you all ready to start gbo? Yes, lots of 25 27 I can't hear you Don't go anywhere. I see you all getting up one more person the most important person Who is in charge of this all mickey and tovich who's the assistant dean of students and the director of new student services Who made all of gbo possible? Mickey keep asking we want to make sure you're getting to your orientation leaders They are anxiously waiting for you each of you on your name tag has a number if you're 100 through 200s You're going to valley life science building lawn. We have incredible volunteers outside 300s 400s 500s You're going to memorial blade and if you are 600 700s by incredible transfer students you are going to crescent lawn Thank you orientation and go bears