Three Unit 1 male security monitors were robbed at gunpoint early Wednesday morning as they waited at a nearby bus stop.

Alex Cheng, 19, Jason Keller, 20, and Devin Koba, 19, were sitting at the bus stop between the Putnam and Freeborn halls, waiting for the Owl Line to come pick them up when the suspect approached them holding a handgun and took two cell phones and $182.

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I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into a war tax resisters’ meeting Monday evening, but I was surprised to find that among these government-defiers were mild-mannered old ladies, farmers, school children and writers.

The gathering, which was held in a private residence, and the stories the speakers told gave me glimpses into how these people had come to feel so strongly about a cause that they were willing to illegally withhold money from the government.

An immigrant from El Salvador, Julio Serrao, told of how he became a pacifist when the civil war in his home country destroyed his life and left 31 of his family members dead.

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When interviewing members from city governments across different college towns, it was clear that there were differences in how students interact with city government, and the way in which city councils function. But one overarching shared problem across the towns was on housing crises.

Jesse Arreguin, recent Cal grad and Jason Overman, fifth year who ran for city council in 2006, both expressed that as members of the Rent Stabilization Board, they are able to work with both student and non-student residents over the need for affordable housing.

“Rents are very high, not enough student housing, co-op housing and affordable housing is an issue for the broader community,” Arreguin said.

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When UC Berkeley journalism graduate student James Buck flew into Egypt late last month, he was there to observe how the nation’s emerging blogosphere serves as an alternative to the mainstream press.

But when police detained the freelance photographer in a town outside Cairo, his research trip quickly became a real-life lesson in the powers of the Web.

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As I strolled down Telegraph Avenue last Sunday on my way to Moffitt Library with my backpack weighing down on me, I was almost jealous of the sidewalk vendors I passed by. They chatted idly with one another in the sun, as my shoulders sagged under the 20-pound economics textbook in my bag.

After I talked to long-time vendor Diana Yoshida though, I realized I was not the only one with this misconception.

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Wednesday’s Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco was more about protest groups rallying for their cause than it was about the Olympic games.

Whether it was Pro-Tibet, Pro-China, activists against involvement in Darfur, activists for animal rights, or even for bringing back nudity in the Olympic games, everybody had an opinion.

Although thousands of people showed up on the Embarcadero Monday for the event, there was only one I met who was there just to watch the torch relay. (Click here to read more…)

Protests took a creative edge Wednesday evening when more than 150 Berkeley parents, teachers, students and administrators gathered in front of the Old City Hall to oppose the impending budget cuts to California schools.

The tentative cuts are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to close the $14.5 billion state budget deficit by cutting 10 percent of funding to all state programs, which would involve up to a $4.4 billion cut from K-12 education.

The demonstration featured speeches, songs and skits by members of the school community. One group of teachers put on a skit, complete with costumes and masks, depicting the governor and his “yacht-owning” cronies as villains and the school teachers as superheroes. (Click here to read more…)

Next month’s commencement convocation at the Hearst Greek Theatre is expected to draw record audiences, according to ceremony officials.

1,400 graduating students are currently set to attend the May 13 event, while roughly 700 came to last spring’s ceremony, said Katherine Nguyen, the Californians’ vice president for May commencement. Each student is allotted 10 tickets for relatives and friends, yet the venue’s Web site indicates it can only seat about 6,000.

Nguyen did not know what has compelled so many students to attend this year, but said they and their guests will likely be able to attend if they reserved their tickets by April 1.

This year’s keynote speaker is Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark, who said his undergraduate years at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio were enjoyable — if somewhat introverted.

“I got a good education, but I should have gotten out more and had a little bit of fun,” said Newmark, who majored in computer science. “I was very much in my ‘nerd years’ then — let’s say I was bad at interacting with people.”

Newmark, who has also given commencement speeches at USC and Stanford University in recent years, hinted that he may soon collaborate with a popular cable TV comedian.

“I’ll also be speaking the following week at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and that’s where Stephen Colbert lives, so there may be mischief in store,” he said. “I don’t know (what), but I’ll think of something.”

When the U.S. News & World Report ranks the nation’s educational institutions–most recently, the top graduate programs–the lists often stir debate.

But first-year Haas School of Business student Buzz Buzko, who earned his undergraduate degree in Ukraine, said that a school’s reputation carries more weight than its exact ranking for people outside the U.S. This year, the U.S. News & World Report listed Haas as tied at No. 7 with Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business Administration.

“Both employers and employees in Ukraine are not aware of anything but Harvard (University) and Stanford (University)–they don’t know what Berkeley is,” he said. “In this respect, there is a problem for students who want to come back to Ukraine and search for a job. The power of Haas is enormous here in the U.S., but it’s basically zero in Ukraine because they don’t know who Haas is.”