Imagine you are dropping your child off for the first day of college, and when you get to his dorm it is surrounded by mountains of garbage and homeless people living in sidewalk tents.
That’s exactly what happened to one woman who also happens to work in journalism and decided to break out her phone to document the experience.
If you’re from out of state, tuition at UC-Berkeley can run up to around $50,000 per year with room and board. Who would expect to see homeless encampments and garbage on the streets at those prices?
The New York Post reports:
Mom rages after disgusting homeless camp greets son on arrival to elite California college
A California mother has blasted Berkeley officials over a massive homeless encampment near her son’s UC Berkeley housing unit — filled with rows of tents, piles of trash and debris.
“I just dropped my son off at @UCBerkeley housing and as we were approaching we saw this behind his apartments. Shame on @CityofBerkeley @CityofAlbanyCA @UCBerkeleyNews,” TV reporter and mom Lyanne Melendez wrote on X.
Melendez shared video of the sprawling encampment along the 1150 block of Harrison Street, near student housing and businesses frequented by students, less than three miles from the university’s main campus.
The California Post visited the area Wednesday and observed numerous tents and makeshift shelters packed closely together near a Tesla service facility, along with significant amounts of belongings and debris surrounding the structures.
Some areas appeared to have limited space for pedestrians, while tarps, personal belongings and other materials were spread throughout the encampment.
The scene comes as Berkeley faces mounting pressure over its handling of homeless encampments, including a long-running legal battle over the camp at the intersection of Harrison St. and Eighth St.
Check out the video below:
I just dropped my son off at @UCBerkeley housing and as we were approaching we saw this behind his apartments. Shame on @CityofBerkeley @CityofAlbanyCA @UCBerkeleyNews pic.twitter.com/sxyhkez5l4
— Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) August 19, 2026
Higher education in the United States is in need of a serious overhaul.
Enrollment is going down at many schools because people just can’t justify the return on investment. If schools want to change that, they might start by cleaning up the garbage in places like Berkeley.
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