BERKELEY, Calif.-They are No. 1, and they couldn't care less.
The University of California-Berkeley, crowned by U.S. News & World Report as the country's top-ranked public institution of higher learning, knocked Mr. Jefferson's University off its perch last fall. And Berkeley doesn't care.
For the five years before the new rankings were released, University students, admissions officers and Capital Campaign officials bragged to anyone willing to listen that our school was the creme de la crème. Now Berkeley owns the bragging rights, but they don't care in the slightest.
Richard Black, Berkeley's highest-ranking admissions official as vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment, said recruiters never use the school's newfound ranking to persuade prospective students to apply.
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"You have to take these rankings with a certain grain of salt," Black said. "Is this really something that should affect a student's actions?"
Conor Moore, executive vice president of Berkeley's student government, said students at his school have major contempt for U.S. News - and just about anything else that could be considered part of the "establishment."
"Most people here think it's a joke," Moore said. "It's insignificant."
The school, known for its liberal, activist student body, is about as different from the University as a wahoo is from a San Francisco Bay sea lion.
For starters, they are the Bears; we are the Cavaliers. They have "student shared governance"; we have "student self-governance." They are less than 30 miles from Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose; we are less than 30 miles from Ruckersville, Standardsville and Short Pump. They identify with the bourgeoisie; we are the sons and daughters of the Southern aristocracy.
In fact, in a full day visiting the campus, the only noticeable similarities between the two universities are that both have emergency blue phones, nowhere to park during business hours and rather vibrant squirrel populations.
The University's Grounds and Berkeley's campus look nothing like each other. They have freshmen and sophomores; we have first and second years. Our tents are big and white; they have no tents to speak of.
Strolling through Berkeley's campus on a chilly March afternoon several weeks ago, I noticed that I was the only one wearing khakis, a University mainstay, and that none of the girls were wearing black, stretchy pants. Could this be?
Then, as I passed in front of their student center, I was greeted by hundreds of students protesting the end of affirmative action in the University of California system.
Surely, I wondered, this could not happen every day. I was wrong.
"This is Berkeley, dawg," said the student working at the information desk. "This kind of s- happens all the time. In a few minutes, you'll have people protesting the protests."
About 30 minutes later, an even louder group congregated in their main quad and began protesting a California ballot initiative that would make gay and lesbian marriage illegal.
At the University of Virginia, it is quite atypical to see students protest anything, much less to see hundreds advocating tolerance of homosexuals. University students instead scream "Not Gay" during the Good Ol' Song at home football games.
While the University has many traditions - from the honor system to eating a Gusburger to the Corner Crawl - Berkeley proudly boasts none.
In fact, Berkeley students detest tradition, though some said they wished their school would mimic the University's practice of streaking the Lawn and engage in more displays of public nudity.
"We're not that cool," Moore said.
But, "we did have the Naked Guy, though that was many years ago," Black said.
Almost 10 years ago, one Berkeley student, known affectionately as the Naked Guy, would walk around campus sans wardrobe.
It may be true that Berkeley students are short on traditions, but their student government is by no means short on cash. Their $3.5 million budget dwarfs our Student Council's budget by about $3.45 million. They own their bookstore, lease the campus vending machines and own two campus buildings.
This revenue provides the dollars necessary to pay each of their executive committee members $3,000 per year. University of Virginia Student Council executive committee members each make $0 annually.
At Berkeley, there are no honor or judiciary committees. Instead, the Student Conduct Committee handles all cases of inappropriate behavior, from assault to cheating to alcohol violations. The committee - which is composed of two students, one faculty member, one administrator and one staff member - only handles cases that could not be settled beforehand.
Students essentially try to plea bargain, and only if a suitable agreement could not be reached does the case go to trial. Sanctions, just like the University of Virginia's Judiciary Committee, range from nothing to expulsion.
Instead of having their own governing board, like the University's Board of Visitors, Berkeley shares the University of California Regents with the other schools in the UC system. The UC Regents has one student member, like the University's Board, though unlike at the University, the UC student member has a vote.
Despite all the differences between Berkeley and the University, funding has been blamed the top reason for our slip from No. 1 to No. 2.
A letter sent to all graduating fourth-year College students by the Fourth-Year Trustees Feb. 25 pleaded for donations to help lift the University back to its top-ranked golden throne.
"Never has our support been needed more. In the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings, U. Va. lost its five-year hold as the best public institution in the country to UC-Berkeley, an institution with greater financial resources," the letter stated. "We need your help to regain that top spot!"
Perhaps money isn't the answer. Maybe the University should just ask the good people at Berkeley for the No. 1 spot back. They don't seem to care much anyway.
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