A different perspective on Cal

[AURex 2,055]

I lived in SF during the 90s (much different from now) and as an academic, I spent a lot of time on the UC campus. I think this has not changed much over the years.

1. Yes, the outside of many buildings look bland. But if you actually go inside, you find that they are amazingly beautiful. For example, the Berkeley main library looks pretty plain from outside. Inside it is marble and classically beautiful. Add to that the tradition of the annual naked streak during exams -- yes, naked coeds running around naked in the building -- this is definitely NOT Auburn. Better? Worse?

2. Berkeley theater complex features performers and productions from around the world. I'm thrilled that Auburn now has a performing arts center. So far, it's just pablum from Nashville and a couple of generic road shows.

3. Berkeley campus town has wonderful shops. A real record store, meaning you can actually buy LPs. Real bookstores that have troves of historical texts, actual literature, as well as the current blather, not just text books and a few best sellers.

Restaurants -- Ethiopian, authentic Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Korean, West Coast Pizza, etc. Auburn = zero.

Wine shops with wines from around the world at reasonable prices. Auburn = zero.

Pubs that have beers from around the world, many on tap.  Auburn = zero.

Liberal? Yep. Berkeley ain't right wing Trumpland.

As for sports, the Bay Area is dominated by Pro sports. But as for Berkeley, they turn out for Directors Cup sports -- gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, water polo, tennis, rowing, etc. And they are good at those sports. They are always in the Director's Cup contention. Auburn? Nope.

Different from Auburn? Yes, of course. Better/worse, well that is a matter of how homie you are. After graduating from Auburn, I lived in Houston, SF, NYC etc. There really is a whole world outside the deep south.

I've lived in Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, California, New York, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, Seattle ....... there are good people everywhere. There are positives everywhere. It is myopic to view the rest of the world through one lens.

And that is multiplied when encompassing the rest of the world -- Europe, Asia, South America. If all you got is "I'm a homer," you are not Auburn. Auburn is a national and world brand. Not just some homie caricature?

Apple = Auburn = international. Wikipedia = Auburn = International.

Going to Cal Berkeley, Auburn should have been presenting its worldwide/international achievements. Apple, Wikipedia, etc. Instead it was just "We got some guys who play football."

I got nothing against football. I love Auburn football. But on the national stage, I think we need to present Auburn as a world class academic institution. Not just some homies who play football.

JMO.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by AURex

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

Thanks Rex, good stuff. Our public relations department is one of the few things to be embarassed about at Auburn. Yes - blown opp to sell Auburn's many success layers.

I visited Cal Berkley a lot when sis went there early '80s (Bault law school) when it was still very Haight/Ashbury hippy-groovy. Great restaurants & cafes. Cal athletic tradition is, and alum really flock to, non mainstream sports like crew. I'm a flaming lib but have always thought Cal Berkley tries too hard to uphold their anti-authoritarian reputation, to the point of looking silly.

Shot in the dark - any body else remember Timothy Leary debating G. Gordon Libby at Auburn early '80s? OMG, legendary Auburn moment.

[aubiefifty 17,107]

Auburn has some wonderful restaurants and i am pretty sure you can buy craft beers all over the place as well. also auburn fans do not chant 2.0 at the visiting team basically calling southerners stupid. i am an auburn homer and i will die one. and i am pretty sure auburn went out there to play a game and it was considered a big deal by many. i am sure cal has some nice things going for it but at the end of the day i will choose auburn over and over. and i am not sure if you go to auburn to a five star restaurant you will find  human feces close to the door. you are welcome to your opinion but i choose to disagree. and in my mind a homie is another word for someone loyal and i am proud to be an auburn homie. but thanks for posting!

[aubiefifty 17,107]

2 hours ago, aucanucktiger said:

Thanks Rex, good stuff. Our public relations department is one of the few things to be embarassed about at Auburn. Yes - blown opp to sell Auburn's many success layers.

I visited Cal Berkley a lot when sis went there early '80s (Bault law school) when it was still very Haight/Ashbury hippy-groovy. Great restaurants & cafes. Cal athletic tradition is, and alum really flock to, non mainstream sports like crew. I'm a flaming lib but have always thought Cal Berkley tries too hard to uphold their anti-authoritarian reputation, to the point of looking silly.

Shot in the dark - any body else remember Timothy Leary debating G. Gordon Libby at Auburn early '80s? OMG, legendary Auburn moment.

how did they finally get rid of the naked man? i always thought it was a great story. it was an interesting look at freedoms as well.

[GreenTiger 1,007]

57 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

Auburn has some wonderful restaurants and i am pretty sure you can buy craft beers all over the place as well. also auburn fans do not chant 2.0 at the visiting team basically calling southerners stupid. i am an auburn homer and i will die one. and i am pretty sure auburn went out there to play a game and it was considered a big deal by many. i am sure cal has some nice things going for it but at the end of the day i will choose auburn over and over. and i am not sure if you go to auburn to a five star restaurant you will find  human feces close to the door. you are welcome to your opinion but i choose to disagree. and in my mind a homie is another word for someone loyal and i am proud to be an auburn homie. but thanks for posting!

I think you are missing the point of the post.  

[aubiefifty 17,107]

1 minute ago, GreenTiger said:

I think you are missing the point of the post.  

i am pretty sure i am as i am a homer but i was nice right?

[augolf1716 21,434]

4 hours ago, aucanucktiger said:

any body else remember Timothy Leary debating G. Gordon Libby at Auburn early '80s?

Timothy Leary is dead..........................great great song by one of the best bands of all time.

 

 

 

[AUGoo 2,666]

8 hours ago, AURex said:

I think we need to present Auburn as a world class academic institution.

How would you do this?

[The Freak 2,529]

19 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

How would you do this?

Lie, of course.

[1716AU 732]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

Auburn has some wonderful restaurants and i am pretty sure you can buy craft beers all over the place as well. also auburn fans do not chant 2.0 at the visiting team basically calling southerners stupid. i am an auburn homer and i will die one. and i am pretty sure auburn went out there to play a game and it was considered a big deal by many. i am sure cal has some nice things going for it but at the end of the day i will choose auburn over and over. and i am not sure if you go to auburn to a five star restaurant you will find  human feces close to the door. you are welcome to your opinion but i choose to disagree. and in my mind a homie is another word for someone loyal and i am proud to be an auburn homie. but thanks for posting!

I have friends on the Auburn faculty, and I have been told some great stories.  Try feces in the Library stacks after a home ball game.

Try the fella who came in and used your library computers and watched an hour of porn and left leaving it on the screen.

That's just a couple.  I have a few more.  And a host from uat.

People are people.  Unfortunately, portions of the country haven't figured that out as of 2023...

[aubiefifty 17,107]

1 minute ago, 1716AU said:

I have friends on the Auburn faculty, and I have been told some great stories.  Try feces in the Library stacks after a home ball game.

Try the fella who came in and used your library computers and watched an hour of porn and left leaving it on the screen.

That's just a couple.  I have a few more.  And a host from uat.

People are people.  Unfortunately, portions of the country haven't figured that out as of 2023...

i get it. and i did not say rex was wrong. i do not care for them and their 2.0 chant. i just think Auburn is a wonderful place and has a lot to offer. nothing more. and of course all places have crazies. auburn has a homeless guy wearing some kind of crazy looking pants threatening students here and there. this is according to auburn students on reddit. and the 2.0 thing is political so i am not going to get into it much other than to say i am a lib and i did not care for it. i was stationed in the pentagon for three and a half years and think or did that most southerners were morons. and i am sure cal has some wonderful people but the how cal crowd chanting 2.0 because they think they are superior sticks in my craw and i will not apologize to anyone for it. this is more about cal than rex for the record.

[TexasTiger 13,138]

5 hours ago, aucanucktiger said:

Thanks Rex, good stuff. Our public relations department is one of the few things to be embarassed about at Auburn. Yes - blown opp to sell Auburn's many success layers.

I visited Cal Berkley a lot when sis went there early '80s (Bault law school) when it was still very Haight/Ashbury hippy-groovy. Great restaurants & cafes. Cal athletic tradition is, and alum really flock to, non mainstream sports like crew. I'm a flaming lib but have always thought Cal Berkley tries too hard to uphold their anti-authoritarian reputation, to the point of looking silly.

Shot in the dark - any body else remember Timothy Leary debating G. Gordon Libby at Auburn early '80s? OMG, legendary Auburn moment.

I was at that debate. Two capitalists maximizing their respective brands.😉

[TexasTiger 13,138]

43 minutes ago, The Freak said:

Lie, of course.

I had a neighbor in college— student from Brazil. I asked him why Auburn? He informed me we had the #2 fisheries program in the world. I had no idea.

[Mikey 16,777]

44 minutes ago, 1716AU said:

I have friends on the Auburn faculty, and I have been told some great stories.  Try feces in the Library stacks after a home ball game.

Try the fella who came in and used your library computers and watched an hour of porn and left leaving it on the screen.

That's just a couple.  I have a few more.  And a host from uat.

People are people.  Unfortunately, portions of the country haven't figured that out as of 2023...

What you mention are uncommon incidents at Auburn. They are routine at Berkeley and similar places.

[GAAubie 501]

2 hours ago, GreenTiger said:

I think you are missing the point of the post.  

What was your perception? 

[Auburn 1993 1]

Interesting stuff.  I was stationed in the Bay Area in the 80s (Navy) and I fell in love with the region.   I felt so privileged to live there.  You could be in so many places in ~ two hours.   Snow in Reno, Tahoe, the Redwoods, Napa Valley, Yosemite, Monterrey, etc.  We would often go to Berkeley to go to movies, bars, hang out - it was a really fun place.  
 

I joined the Navy for the GI bill and knew I would go to college…. Couldn’t imagine a better location than Berkeley and at that time, I seem to recall that Cal had the second lowest in-state tuition of any college in the country (think Chapel Hill was cheaper at the time).  I think it was ~$300/semester  
 

Anyway, around the time I separated from the Navy, my father became ill and I returned to Alabama, eventually falling in a long line of other Auburn family graduates.  
 

I enjoyed my time at Auburn but I often wonder what my life wouldve been like had I remained in California and graduated from Cal.  
 

Guess I had a unique perspective watching the game. Don’t get me wrong, of course I wanted Auburn to win. But I viewed the images of the campus and stadium in a very nostalgic way.  

[TexasTiger 13,138]

I’ve lived a lot of places and traveled to many more. These experiences have led me to both appreciate aspects of the Deep South as well as see things that are concerning. Same for everywhere else I’ve lived. For example, the Deep South was the last region of the country where you could pump your gas first and then pay for it. I was shocked and offended the first time when traveling I had to pay before pumping. Had a helluva time cashing checks out West before getting an ID issued by that state. Had to persuade the clerk I was a good person she could take a chance on. Haven’t been to the Deep South lately, but just a few years ago I still saw a roadside produce stand operating on the honor system. Those were common growing up.

I’ve found that everywhere has pros and cons, joys and frustrations. Everywhere has good people and obnoxious jerks.  I’ve enjoyed almost everywhere I’ve lived for one reason or another. 

[stoic-one 1,552]

I've lived all over the country and visited 30+ countries.

With exception of New Jersey, I have seen good and bad in all those places.

 

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

Auburn has some wonderful restaurants

I'm sure they do, but the level is just different. 

 

There are multiple Michelin Star and bin gourmand restaurants in Berkeley.  It's not the same level.

[aubiefifty 17,107]

19 minutes ago, stoic-one said:

I've lived all over the country and visited 30+ countries.

With exception of New Jersey, I have seen good and bad in all those places.

 

you know i am from new jersey right?

[stoic-one 1,552]

1 minute ago, aubiefifty said:

you know i am from new jersey right?

Did you miss the poke emoji?

[aubiefifty 17,107]

Just now, stoic-one said:

Did you miss the poke emoji?

i am lying my butt off...............grins.

[aubiefifty 17,107]

49 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

I had a neighbor in college— student from Brazil. I asked him why Auburn? He informed me we had the #2 fisheries program in the world. I had no idea.

they have an acclaimed forestry program as well or did when i was a rug rat.............

[auburnatl1 5,253]

I go to San Fran once a month.  Bay Area is wonderful. That being said, I’m not sure how you can promote AU academics during a football game. Or compare an urban college (ie GT, ucla, Harvard, Miami, ect) to a smaller college town based university (AU, Princeton, Penn St,  Notre Dame, ect). Imo It’s not so much a southern thing as it is the size of town it’s in that drives much of the campus culture and feel.

[icanthearyou 4,464]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

you know i am from new jersey right?

Jersey Ave.,,, Anniston, AL