What new UC Berkeley students need to know about fall 2020

Each year, it's a UC Berkeley tradition to welcome incoming students with a plethora of live tours, outings, information sessions, artistic performances and resource fairs that help connect new Golden Bears to each other and to a campus known for its palpable exuberance. Enter COVID-19. The global pandemic has turned normal routines upside down in nearly every aspect of life - including back-to-school time on campus, when Golden Bear Orientation typically offers new freshmen and transfer students the mother of all welcomes. This fall, however, these action-packed activities will be online, campus officials said during the third of four Campus Conversations , in which housing, instruction and supporting the student experience were addressed. But they assured students listening to the livestreamed event that there will be no shortage of fun and information sharing as the semester starts. "So many of us have been working tirelessly to prepare for your arrival online and to offer you something meaningful," said Lorena Valdez, director of transfer programs. "We will do our utmost to make sure you are seen, heard and valued." On Wednesday, Valdez was part of the panel, "The Student Experience: Newly Admitted Undergraduates," that included Micki Antovich, assistant dean of students and director of new student services, and Samuel Santos, assistant vice chancellor and associate dean of students.