UC Berkeley Dorms: Equal, Equitable, or Neither?
The prestigious public university has mostly equaled out its dorm price discrepancies, leaving a question of equity as the quality of some dorms are noticeably better than others.
By Nolan Mitruka, Grace An, Aisha Wallace, Jasmine Kirsten, Nick Chacon
June 27, 2022
When asked where he lived as a freshman, University of California, Berkeley student Evan Dooley said Unit 1, before quickly explaining that Clark Kerr was obviously the dorm he wanted.
“I felt like I was in the worst dorm out of all of them. Of course Clark Kerr was my first choice because the social scene is way better and it’s definitely the nicest,” he said.
Clark Kerr, one of eight dorms, is described on UC Berkeley’s website as a “Spanish mission-style complex with amazing courtyards and green spaces,” whereas Unit 1 is described as “part of a high-rise complex with communal bathrooms that shares academic meeting spaces and mail services.”
Located on the Southeast side of campus, Clark Kerr is a mini-neighborhood in an affluent residential neighborhood. “Clark Kerr definitely has more amenities in terms of sports facilities, outdoor space, and communal areas,” said student Paulina Calmes, who transferred from Unit 2 to Clark Kerr for safety concerns.
Clark Kerr’s campus is made up of 25 buildings–nine of which house students–all three stories or less, and has amenities like a swimming pool, a track, sand volleyball courts, a skate ramp, tennis courts, it’s own dining hall, a fitness center, spacious communal and study rooms, and access to hiking trails.
Located on the South side of campus, Units 1, 2, and 3 are high-rise complexes closer to campus, downtown Berkeley, and People’s Park, home to dozens of homeless communities. “The main reason I transferred from Unit 2 to Clark Kerr was because it was right next to People’s Park, and a lot of my friends had really bad experiences walking home at night,” said Calmes, who submitted her transfer request with a doctor’s note saying she felt unsafe.
The Units each contain 4–6 buildings, each eight floors, which surround a courtyard, and have limited amenities including a fitness center, and recreation room. For food, Units 1 and 2 share Crossroads, a dining hall equidistant from both of them, while Unit 3 has its own dining hall.
Five standard room options and five suite options are available in Clark Kerr and the Units. Standard rooms include single, double, triple, triple large (a quad with only three beds), and quadruple, and the prices range from $22,100 to $16,025, respectively. These rooms are typically on a co-ed floor with a community bathroom. Suite options include single, double, triple, and quadruple, and the prices range from $24,165 to $19,830, respectively. All of these prices include a $5,705 basic meal plan.
Because dorm assignments are chosen based on a lottery system, students must rank their preferences of location, and room type, in order from 1–5. This year, Clark Kerr and Foothill, a dorm previously similar to Clark Kerr in terms of its quality in relation to the Units, are priced equally with the Units. However, this wasn’t always the case according to anthropologist and UC Berkeley alumnus Clarence Ting.
In his anthropological analysis of the dorms, published in 2005, Ting examined dorm rate discrepancies, and found that Foothill and Clark Kerr, which had objectively higher quality buildings and living situations than the Units, were priced thousands of dollars more than the Units.
The ranking system combined with varying prices corresponding to varying quality of dorms may have created socioeconomic hierarchies and segregation among undergraduates, according to Ting.
Price equality now exists among most of the dorms, as the cost discrepancies between Clark Kerr and the Units have been eliminated. However, because UC Berkeley has the lowest bed-to-student ratio in the UC system, Chancellor Carol Christ has opened a new 752-bed Blackwell Hall, as part of a 10-year plan to double the number of student beds available, according to UC Berkeley.
Similarly, Martinez Commons opened in 2012, and is another example of newer dorms built to increase student housing availability. Martinez Commons is the only dorm open for Winter Break, and offers room rates which automatically include occupancy for the break.
Both Blackwell and Martinez are newer, more modern dorms, with newer, more substantial amenities than the Units. The difference in quality of amenities offered between these and Clark Kerr is subjective. However, the new dorms’ higher price likely reflects their higher quality of architecture and lower depreciation.
Clark Kerr and Foothill are now equally priced with the Units, while two new dorms have taken their spots as the more “luxurious” dorms, perpetuating the cycle of partitioning socioeconomic classes described by anthropologist Ting.
“For many residential life is as much a part of the learning experience as classes and lectures, and in fact, a person learns more about independence and adjusting to a new environment than one could learn in a classroom,” Ting writes.
Ultimately, in the dorms that are equally priced, an issue of equity still exists, in the eyes of some students. Though Clark Kerr and the Units are equally priced, some undergraduates found Clark Kerr more sociable, safer, and easier to live in during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Considering 10 different students who have lived or currently live in the dorms, many found Clark Kerr favorable, though some preferred the Units, and some preferred the newer, more expensive, Blackwell.
“I didn’t know anyone in the U.S. because I’m international, so I didn’t think I would immediately find a family in the people around me,” said Mauricio Vergara, a sophomore from Brazil. “I heard Unit 1 described as the classic American dorm experience, which appealed to me. But, I got Clark Kerr and it was by far the best thing that could’ve happened,” he said.
“Everyone else in other Units would probably argue that their unit is the best, it’s just because you click with the people you live around,” said sophomore Mohammad Al Rashid, who has lived in Unit 1 for three terms now. “I expected it to be kind of dirty, kind of musty, and not the same as home. And that’s how it turned out to be,” he said in a lighthearted tone.
Though the “best” dorm is subjective to each student, a problem of equity exists not only around amenities offered, but size of room as well. The exact dimensions of rooms in each residence hall aren’t offered by UC Berkeley’s housing website, though accounts from students who have seen both generally reflect the same sentiment. “Unit 2 had really cramped rooms and barely any social areas to escape the cramped rooms,” said student Paulina Calmes, who transferred from Unit 2 to Clark Kerr. “Clark Kerr had huge rooms and big social spaces though,” she said.”
Alex Tran, a past Unit 1 resident and current Blackwell resident described the larger size of Blackwell as a downside. “I think it’s harder to get to know the people who are living on your floor because the floor s are really big,” he said.
Even with eight dorms varying in sizes, price, and amenities offered, Berkeley still struggles to offer all incoming students a residence hall, according to UC Berkeley. The university only offers 8,700 beds for about 42,000 undergraduate and graduate students, they said in a “Parents & Families” forum. UC Berkeley has turned to both constructing and buying apartment buildings off-campus to offer more beds to students, as part of a larger plan to increase housing over the next 10 years.
“I think maybe it’s not worth it, because I know you can get an apartment and also buy a meal plan. You can kind of get the same experience living with other people but for much cheaper,” said Blackwell resident Alex Tran, when asked if the most expensive dorm was worth it to him.
UC Berkeley doesn’t require any students, including incoming freshman, to live in on-campus housing. Here’s some insight into school-affiliated versus private housing near UC Berkeley’s campus:
“You definitely have to have a backup plan,” Torres said, offering his biggest piece of advice for incoming students.
UC Berkeley is among the world’s best public institutions according to U.S. News, but it’s student housing situation doesn’t always reflect that. Incoming undergraduates are able to compare 3-D models, price discrepancies, and amenity lists from dorms they may live in, but it ultimately comes down to chance through a lottery system.
Equality and the lack of socioeconomic segregation in residence halls can be achieved when all prices are equal, according to anthropologist Clarence Ting. But, then the question of equity comes up as all amenities aren’t equal, according to most students. The choice between on-campus and off-campus housing is up to Berkeley students, but the choice between dorms is ultimately left to chance.
“I feel like there’s such a difference in prices for each residential area but none of them deserve to be that expensive for coming to pursue education,” said Resident Assistant Jasmine Lozano. “I feel like there’s not enough resources in the residential areas for what they’re charging.”
