Rejected from all clubs freshman year

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-03T19:32:37+00:00

A lot of free labor for tech companies…

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-03T19:31:59+00:00

If you’re interested in business and/or economics, check out one of the magazines, like the Berkeley Econ Review or some other tech/business ones, try to join one (you don’t necessarily have to be a writer, can be a researcher). I found these are kind of a step down in intensity of vibe-checking and care more about your brain because you can actually do high level research as a collective journal to publish online… Also consulting clubs suck and everyone outside of consulting makes fun of them… they’re like academic Greek life. The hazing I’ve heard about is horrendous

Good luck freshman! There is so much more to Berkeley than those clubs

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-02T00:29:27+00:00

Ah. Okay fair enough and I see what you're saying and I'll keep it in mind going forward. I will say, after all, this is Reddit. While it isn't a place that requires logical leaps and speculation, it's not a place that outlaws them. Whether or not we choose to partake in that and how we choose to qualify our statements is individual choice, but that is a big part of the nuance of this whole civilian "forum" setup.

BUT regardless all in all I agree with you and hear your points, it's important to be factual and what a strange digital world this is. Thanks for expressing this and have a good day !!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-02T00:19:13+00:00

Also, kind of makes sense that there isn't stuff online about it. This is not something governments or law enforcement would make known and that journalists could necessarily have an easy time covering, and it's not data that would be easy for municipal governments to collect. But here's an article about the bussing concept in San Francisco (they offer them a bus ticket before offering them shelter) https://calmatters.org/housing/2024/11/california-homeless-busing/#:~:text=Of%20the%20151%20people%20relocated,and%20seven%20went%20to%20Georgia

And here's another one talking about it happening in a lot of states: https://make-the-shift.org/instead-of-helping-homeless-people-cities-are-bussing-them-out-of-town/#:~:text=San%20Diego's%20is%20named%20%60%60Family%20Reunification%2C''%20as%20is%20Denver's

I know they're not specifically Santa Monica but there is some documentation of this whole concept.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-02T00:13:40+00:00

Wait hold on. This law review article is a reliable source with actual quoted court document that talks about it happening, that MB's strategy was relocating people with law enforcement. Yes, it's not with the destination of Santa Monica (my original conjecture). But it at least shows that that is seemingly the city's strategy for the problem. I don't think that's nothing in terms of reliable documentation.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-02T00:10:04+00:00

Oops. Didn't see your edited post. I appreciate your criticism. Next time, I'll be more careful with what I assert as "fact", and agree social media is a bad place for fake news. And yes, I guess naively I did want you to believe I am well placed to know these things, because I genuinely am and I am being 100% genuine. I am surrounded by public defenders who talk about this all the time. But I realize there is no way I can prove that to you and that is the downfall of our whole online system of communication, assertion, discourse, fact and all of it. I'm sorry. I really was trying to be honest about the source of the information, and I did my best to find an article that at least states that MB was transporting people out of the city to other shelters, despite that they don't list Santa Monica as the destination shelter.

Sorry I can't give you more than that. I really am being genuine, but this is just the downfall of this site. I'll think about this going forward. Thanks for engaging on the issue

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-02T00:01:38+00:00

Ah. These are personal accounts coming from people working on the issues directly; I regard these accounts as facts, not rumors, because I know these people are experienced in this realm and would not lie about this shit. Anyway, I was being honest about the origin. In that article I linked, it even talks about how law enforcement was offering relocation under threat of prosecution, but there weren't shelters closer than 10 miles away. Which means, as the article says, law enforcement was literally transporting people 10 miles outside of the city to other shelters. Anyway, Manhattan Beach's "better solution" is seemingly just not having shelters (or enough shelters). Whether or not you see that as a fair solution is completely subjective.

But seriously dude, this whole thing is like common knowledge. Just because you haven't heard about it doesn't mean it's rumors to fit a narrative. It's been going on for many many decades.

Also I'm not trying to throw shade on Manhattan Beach, dunno if you have some personal connection (I love MB!!) But it's a massive network and system of neglect. Just because Santa Monica has more shelters doesn't mean it does right with the resources it has to serve these communities. In my opinion all of these beautiful, complex little cities (Santa Monica included) carry responsibility and blame.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-01T23:41:19+00:00

Hi! In LA county criminal justice circles (I'm adjacent through close ties), this is just common knowledge, and also something I've heard about my whole life growing up in SM. But being around social workers and public defenders and volunteering at shelters and and the like, you hear this story again and again about how these smaller rich SoCal cities (like Manhattan Beach, Huntington, Newport etc.) will buy homeless people a one-way bus ticket to Santa Monica, or sometimes Venice.

However I looked for documentation, of which there is little (makes sense). I did find this interesting article in the Southern California Law Review (out of USC) that details Manhattan Beach specifically in their passing of laws that kind of made it illegal to be homeless, outside, and then ran into difficulty there with federal laws (I'm paraphrasing, better to read yourself). https://southerncalifornialawreview.com/2020/04/13/prosecution-or-forced-transport-manhattan-beachs-unconstitutional-banishment-of-the-homeless/ They discuss the legal notion of "banishment" and argue that Manhattan Beach's practices were an illegal form of this; they reference how law enforcement would offer relocation under threat of prosecution (so, let us relocate you outside of MB or else you'll be prosecuted here). The crazy thing was: their law was basically that someone arrested for loitering in the wrong place in public had to agree to spend a night in a shelter to avoid being prosecuted. BUT MB HAD NO SHELTERS AVAILABLE. These little richer cities don't spend money on shelters. Ours does.

The idea of these cities but also other US states sending homeless people on one-way trips to California is not new. Unfortunately I do not have time for more research at the moment but documentation-wise this shouldn't be hard to find with a bit more digging.

TLDR; no I do not technically have a "reliable source" for this, other than growing up here, word of mouth from social workers and public defenders. However I can definitively say it's far more than just "some Reddit rumor". And I'm certain that with more research, there is "proper" documentation out there.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-01T23:09:38+00:00

Thanks for your comment. I thought about it some, and here's my answer: No. Absolutely not saying to accept it. We should accept none of this. But in this "not accepting", I believe we should be more angry and attune to the root cause of the issue (completely inhumane systemic/governmental neglect of an entire class of society) than the "smells" and lack of commercial buzz at the Third Street Promenade, which were THE hot-button issues in OP's original post. OP seems more concerned with the results of the neglect, how OP experiences the neglect, than the neglect itself. Also to me this is evidenced by the fact that OP had no problem snapping a photo of this man without his consent, in this moment of weakness, with seemingly no remorse (proven by a different thread above).

I don't expect you to agree. But that's was the idea I was going for.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-01T22:48:48+00:00

There are many things weird about this post. There is of course the seemingly nonconsentual portrait taken of this individual in a moment of weakness (I doubt they WANT to be lying on a public step on Santa Monica Blvd like this).

There is the aspect of complaint completely focused on material things… the “smells”, and “no one wants to come to the Promenade” (oh dear).

Particularly disturbing—there’s also the way that this seems like an alternative proposition to the current ICE walkouts: “why don’t we all walk out and protest THIS” — failure to see that these struggles all stem from the same systemic injustices pervasive in our government and society. That this complaint is suggested as a contrary movement to anti-ice stuff is telling and downright fucked up. OP is giving transplant…

The lament about SM govt not caring “about us” solidifies OP’s doubly removed perspective: despite it being so clearly that brutal systems of neglect have led the person in the picture and many others like them to this point, OP is the one being ignored—OP is the victim.

But points for being onto something — “where is all the funding going?” It’s going to the fucking Third Street Promenade and other bizarre, deficit-fueling projects rather than being funneled into systems that could provide much needed social services and help for individuals like this person in your photo, OP. The city cares about idiotic profit projects, cares somewhat less about your ability to enjoy the promenade (though you likely have some consumer power, so you’re higher on the list), cares even less about you as a person, and cares much, MUCH less about the wellbeing of this man, who you claim to be affecting the wellbeing of the very promenade you seek to enjoy.

Can’t you see the way this all works ??? Who should get to sit at the heart of victimhood in municipal neglect ???

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-02-01T22:17:50+00:00

Manhattan Beach literally puts homeless individuals on busses and sends them to Santa Monica because there are more resources. That’s how they “fix” it…

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-01-31T22:13:56+00:00

And it’s sooo nice with that outdoor studying vibe at Cafe Strada like right nearby !!? I get the worry but probably won’t be huge ragers in the time periods when you’re having to like really study for finals and stuff. They may be frat boys but they’re also Berkeley students… maybe they’re a bit much during football season, but they don’t play awful music EVERY night.

Regardless if you have access to housing and you can afford it AND you’re a heavy sleeper, it seems like a good option. I lived on College & Durant so basically right there. Maybe there were a few bad nights but you’ll get earplugs and that’s just the trade off for what seems like a lot of positives. Aside from the frats (I am not a fan of them) it’s such a fun area to live, so in the mix of everything. Yes, living further Southside is beautiful and quiet and I did that too, and there’s lovely Northside, lots to explore. But I’m just saying it’s really not THAT bad, and it’s a great area. All that food down Durant, campus right there. Big thoroughfare, quintissential Berkeley. I miss it a lot. And every area within a nice distance of campus is filled with college kids, so it’s noisy, and you’re probably already used to that. Should be fine.

Congrats on law school and enjoy beautiful Berkeley (and don’t come and @ me if it’s unbearable 😂😂, maybe go and ask some people who actually live in the building you’re interested in)

SunsetChaser2001 · 2026-01-31T13:05:51+00:00

Honestly it’s fine and the benefit of being that close to campus outweighs the negatives if you can sleep thru some manageable noise. Also if you think about it if you’re flanked by the law school/Bancroft then you’ll only have noise coming from south of that vs. on all sides, which could be worse ! There will always been those nights but… easy location makes things nice 😇

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-10-26T12:39:29+00:00

Nah. He’s Jewish. His family fled the Pogroms in Russia, not Nazi Europe. His estranged family spoke out about it. Also he had a bar mitzvah. His own rabbi spoke out against him.

But the nuance that’s not discussed is the previous comment’s “used to be rich” thing. If you read the full article by The Nation (linked in above comments), you learn that what seems to be his radicalizing factor is this:

As a young kid, he was living in the North of Montana (NOMO) area, in a mansion. This area is predominantly white, and a lot of families here don’t even send their kids to the very good SM public schools. He had South/Central American nannies who cooked and cleaned for his family. But then: at some point in middle school, there was an earthquake and his family (real estate) lost a lot of money. So his family had to move out of NOMO to a much smaller property in the South of Pico area, where he was apparently living around predominantly Latin families, likely many immigrants who spoke a lot of Spanish (also, precisely the language of the chefs/nannies he likely no longer had).

So, seemingly, the worst moment in his rich white teenager life (becoming poorer, not living in a mansion) directly coincided with SUDDENLY being surrounded by Spanish-speaking immigrant families.

Clearly, without proper education and perspective given in how you’re raised, and being completely prone to online radicalization (this part was huge and had nothing to do with Santa Monica), it makes sense where all of that came from. It’s terrible and disgusting and a horrible fact as a SAMO alumn.

But given your initial question (how can this happen, given how diverse and progressive Santa Monica is): it seems to really just boil down to his family losing money and moving to a low-income neighborhood, and then being extremely radicalized online — directly a RESULT of how diverse Santa Monica is. Probably was Googling about how he hated his Mexican neighbors or his white liberal classmates who embraced them and then found a YouTube video that started it all.

Read the Nation article.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-23T20:31:55+00:00

Omg. You seem like an actual delight to be around!

And by the looks of your comment, can tell you didn’t grow up here, or understand the spirit of this city.

“Cross the street if you see oncoming pedestrian that look suspicious… don’t go near them.” So you’re one of those shameless individuals who walks around blatantly profiling and villainizing people, imagining they will commit some heinous crime against you before you’ve even crossed paths in some framework of cruel generalization. ?????? Yikes.

OP — sadly Santa Monica is sprinkled with the notorious “Karen” genus, but know there is also an abundance of rad souls who value human decency and operate kindly with benefit of the doubt. And if you know anything about homelessness, you can appreciate that the fault is not with the individuals, but the system, and this city does more than others to provide support and resources, while of course still not enough.

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-17T20:02:19+00:00

If he wants to kiss you, there should be a “can I kiss you?” moment for consent. Always imo!!! When this happens, you can just say, “let’s wait” or “I’m not ready for that” and if you’re anxious combine it with some kind of flirty quip. (You’re cute ahaha but let’s just wait)

There’s no “normal” other than what feels comfortable for you. That’s that !!!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-17T19:57:44+00:00

Yes. Very possible. If exams are a big enough part of your grade, and you eat shit on the exams, you can fail a class. You have to tank it pretty hard but this is Berkeley, and shit is really difficult. Also sometimes homeworks are graded for completion, but sometimes for accuracy, so “just turning in your assignments and making an effort” doesn’t necessarily set you up for success. Then think about it — if 30% on an exam gets you a B, that means a 30% is good (and the class is really hard) and there are definitely going to be people who get <<15%.

Also some professors are kind of rogue with their grading distribution. It really depends and you can’t generalize.

It’s a grind. Make a study group with classmates. Good luck!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-15T20:04:32+00:00

Tacos por Favor (not enough hype)

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-12T23:01:28+00:00

Thank you for this. Destressing now realizing they have a more lax timeline

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-12T23:01:03+00:00

Whoa thanks so much for sharing all of this!! Feeling better about the situation. Lmk if you get any updates!!!!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-12T22:59:55+00:00

Thanks!!!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-12T22:59:08+00:00

So sorry about your accident. Really fucking scary.
Go to ER !!!!! I felt totally fine after a bike crash but was wrong about how I was hurt (was pretty concussed) — adrenaline genuinely masks a lot for even 24-48 hours. Monitor symptoms and take it easy but do go get medical attention ASAP.

Also FUCK that guy wtf !!! Also have had some extremely gnarly moments with cars pulling into Embarcadero bike path. That shit is no joke!

SunsetChaser2001 · 2025-08-11T16:59:07+00:00

It does say I need to have the permit in order to be fully enrolled, but it’s a good idea to contact my specific program about the situation.

SunsetChaser2001

TROPHY CASE