<p>don't mean to sound insensitive..
but
what is it like dealing with this element when walking to/from the units to/from campus?
as a female student, is it safe, especially at night?</p>
<p>at Cal Day we were sitting in a bagel shop and a street person barged right in and started raving at my daughter, with his hands just an inch away from touching her</p>
<p>it's just unnerving</p>
<p>and I do feel for them, but I worry about safety</p>
<p>As far as I can remember, I don't recall any instance of a student having a serious issue with a street person....they tend to be pretty nice. Some of the street people are anarchist youth, which is pretty pathetic...but they tend to stop at Berkeley for only a short while before moving on back to mom's house.</p>
<p>You can thank Ronald Reagan for most of the homeless people at Berkeley....ever since he cut funding to mental institutions as California governor, many non-violent mentally-ill persons end up on the streets (and Berkeley is a popular place for the homeless to go because of all the students and charity organizations). </p>
<p>I'd say that homeless person episode you experienced was a rarity.</p>
<p>Yeah - the homeless are a nice bunch.</p>
<p>Here are some articles about the street people:
<a href="http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-21/news/street-flix/%5B/url%5D">http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-21/news/street-flix/</a>
this guy made a movie about the streets and you can link to a trailer from the article</p>
<p><a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_5727174%5B/url%5D">http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_5727174</a>
lots of the kids are timed out of the foster system</p>
<p>Don't walk after dark without the campus escort service. Don't carry cash. Travel in groups.</p>
<p>The homeless people tend to hang around Sproul plaza, near Bancroft, and on Telegraph -- I've had the experience of eating in a restaurant on Telegraph and having a homeless person enter and want the leftovers. My approach, as a Berkeley resident, is to steer clear of the aggressive homeless, heartless as it may sound. That is easy to do, though it may require crossing the street. (On the other hand, some of the best eateries, etc. have homeless folk parked in front, e.g., The Cheese Board, Zachary's.) There is a new initiative by the major to deal with this issue, but good luck in Berkeley, where there is a strong constituency determined to keep the homeless here -- People's Park is a hopeless issue, for example.<br>
It is a good idea not to walk around alone at night. There have been some pretty tragic incidents over the years.<br>
All this said, my kid went to Cal for four years without incident and I love it in Berkeley.</p>
<p>The bums are a hassle but I don't think they're dangerous. It can be dangerous at night, but I don't think its the bums you have to worry about.</p>
<p>i dont think bums at berkeley are much of an issue.. they just get.. umm annoying at times? asking for money or something. but i dont think they are dangerous.. but still i wouldnt recommend walking random places at night by oneself. i guess, just be smart about it.</p>
<p>the scary folks are berkeley high kids. but the homeless in berkeley are harmless, they provide for some interesting conversation too, the one's that aren't crazy @ least. Mama D is awesome.</p>
<p>but its just common sense in an urban setting, anywhere in the world really, just make sure you're not alone, don't be wearing fancy crap, and so on.</p>
<p>You have not visited San Francisco... Talk about aggressive bums. Come to SF and visit Market Street; Berkeley is tame in comparison.</p>