On Thursday, November 17, seniors got the opportunity to take a tour of the University of California Santa Barbara and California State University Channel Islands. 

This opportunity was presented by Mrs. Laura Cuneo, the new college and career advisor for our school. The bus departed at 7:45 a.m. and went straight to UCSB. Students broke into two groups and took a 75 minute tour of the campus. On the tour, students got to see the bus loop, dining halls, dorms, and most excitingly the bell tower, which happens to be the tallest building in Santa Barbara County. On the tour, students asked their tour leader what made the school appealing, and they responded, “The environment and culture at UCSB made me really choose this school. There is a good balance between social life and academics which made it easier to assimilate to the culture.” In the duration of the tour, students got to see democracy at play, with the ongoing UAW strike through all ten UC campuses. Written on the floor in chalk was “Power” and on a building “Let’s get this bread Cola.”

The second stop of the day was CSUCI. This school is located only one hour away from Santa Barbara and is a mainly commuter school. On the tour, students got to explore the various halls and came across the multicultural room the school holds. The school is known for its diversity and its study abroad programs. Among the schools in California, CSUCI is the only one to have won an award for its outstanding diversity aspect. CSUCI is a non-impacted campus, meaning that as long as you meet the minimum requirements you are a shoo-in for the university, making it even more appealing. Also worth mentioning is that CSUCI was made by the same person who built San Diego State University.