22 Comments

Fantastic article Piotr. Thank you so much for the research. Man, much appreciated!

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"...[F]olks who think that Berkeley is somehow a leftist hell-hole where the only thing left of them is a wall."

I always had to restrain myself when hearing the Leftists shouting as I walked through Sproul Plaza. One day I had an epiphany as I rushed from class to class: Actual students do not have time to sprew such bullshit all day; these are most likely not students and I must wonder what they do for a living.

The "leftists," who are very loud and preaching all day are, most likely, faux students, perhaps paid to get into our heads.

That being said, there is an old saying:

"If you were young and never liberal, you have no heart,

If you are old and never conservative, you've got no brain."

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I never had a heart...lol

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"...UCLA has been suspiciously good at hiding their AD-specific data."

Because they have always been doing NIL, even before it was called that. ;)

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Exactly! Isn’t it amazing, B, how some major schools with dynastic histories just seamlessly transitioned into the NIL period…it’s almost as if they’ve done this before….

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Out of the closet and into the stands.

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The most stridently conservative people I've known I met while a student at Cal. There are plenty of fairly dim witted right wingers, but Berkeley produces more than a fair share of thoughtful right wing folks. So be it. Our motto isn't Fiat Left or Fiat Right. Fiat Lux, mother f*&^%$#@er.

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Well played with the motto, my friend! Love it!

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Thank you, Sir.

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I think if you lean to the right, Berkeley tends to make you either cast aside those beliefs or move much further to the right. It actually would be really interesting to study the political tendencies of those with minority political beliefs at major universities. I moved quite far over and then found that once I left I moved back towards the center. Maybe it has to do with a persecution complex coupled with a small bubble, idk. But yes, a lot of conservative leaders attended Cal.

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Great analysis!

Thank you!

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NIL, but for competent administrators.

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Nice presentation and analysis. Turning a profit may be king. But losing teams will eventually lead to losses that cannot be recouped and whether the University will bail them out each season is an open question.

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Uh, Berkeley is a leftist hell hole.

I tell people that when I went to Cal, it made me a reactionary. And then I became more centered by joining the Marines.

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Since this toothpaste is already out of the tube, I’ma gonna add a few pet peeves.

1. It seems most of the time, my fellow alums assume I, like them, am a “blue” voter. “Are you blueish?” Sorry to disappoint, but I am not, though I did experiment with some liberal, worldly thinking, with most of which I have come to disagree.

2. Some posters here, referring to item # 1, above, would be wise to consider that Cal fans are politically diverse. I do not come to here or any Cal fan site to hear Spartacus Youth League or the latest DNC rhetoric. I love it when we stay on-topic and talk about Cal. Occasional jibes, slips, or slurs are forgivable, but persistent veiled and/or outright politicking is not, presumably, what the mission of W4C is.

The deep dives and analyses, here, are a joy to read and the writers show their honest love of Cal in their work. I am sure the site will flourish if it can stay on the common ground of all around Cal-ness.

For the love of Oski! Go Bears!

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LOL.

And thank you for serving.

I went to Berkeley, so I could know my enemy, but fell in love with Cal.

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Back in the 70s/80s where I was there, you at least got all different viewpoints represented. From what I hear, it's now so slanted that conservative speakers aren't even allowed on campus.

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I graduated in '80.

Yes, the campus Republicans called themselves "closet Republicans,' but were present in Sproul Plaza, but not every f'ing day. LOL

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I generally tend to avoid any mention of this stuff on this blog, but I was an active conservative on campus for a long time (I had health issues so I was actually a student for 7 1/2 years.

There was a shift in the mindset surrounding debate and discussion around 2013. I haven’t been on campus since 2017, but my sense is that it’s probably not much more slanted than a lot of major universities. I didn’t see it impacting athletics that much, tbh. That may have changed, idk.

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That's easily explained: athletics is a meritocracy not concerned with feel good concepts like equity and inclusion. I played football in 1977, and never had any issues. And the USMC is the most colorblind workplace I have ever been in, and I did 11 years.

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Really great job, but remember, it's Cal or California, always has been always will be, let Berkeley fade away like all mistakes should

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Wow! Terrific Job. Thanks a lot

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