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Coordinates: 37°52′08″N 122°15′37″W 37.868764, -122.260226

Eshleman Hall

Overview

• With one side to Bancroft, and the other to Lower Sproul, Eshleman Hall houses the ASUC, the Daily Californian, and a few dozen Student Groups and Student Publications. The ASUC owns the building, and gives free space to the student groups, and leases the 6th floor to the Daily Cal, which is completely independent.^[1]
• Construction of Eshleman Hall and its neighbor Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union were paid for by the sale of present day Moses Hall and Stephens Hall to the University. Construction cost $1,000,000.^[1]
• Most people would rank that business decision up there with the ones leading up to the takeover of the ASUC Bookstore in 1998 following a years of mismanagement and stunning unprofitability.^[1]
• Today, Eshleman Hall is one of the most seismically unsound (not to mention ugliest) buildings on campus. However, since it is not an academic building, no government funds are available for retrofitting or rebuilding Eshleman, and the ASUC doesn't have the cash.^[1]
• On February 7, 1992, a student working in the Pilipino American Association student group office on the 5th floor was murdered. The case remains unsolved. Following the murder, security at Eshleman was stepped up with the addition of a security monitor during building hours, requiring ID to enter, and closed circuit cameras. In 2003 new cameras replaced the failing old ones.^[1]
• In January 2003, one of four campus emergency sirens was installed on top of Eshleman Hall. These sirens are tested at noon on the first Wednesday of every month.^[1]
• With computerization, Eshleman is becoming less and less of an office building and more of a warehouse. Cages similar to those at a dog pound are located in the basement for assignemnt to individual or paired student groups. These cages are just large enough to accomodate a table, a few chairs, and some other recruitment equipment.^[1]
• Places to Check Out:^[1]
  • 1. Senate Chamber. First floor. Senate meetings are open to the public. See www.asuc.org for schedules.
    2. ASUC Offices. Second floor. All sorts of forms to help your student group can be found here. The Student Advocate Office is also on this floor, as is the rest of the ASUC government.
    3. Student Group Offices. Third and fifth floor.
    4. Daily Californian. Sixth floor. Free Daily Cals. Sometimes other freebies also.
    5. Eshleman Library. Seventh floor. Up until the mid-1990s, the ASUC study lounge/library was housed in the top of Eshleman. Then in 1990, it was moved for dubious reasons to the 2nd floor of the MLK union at not inconsiderable expense for the ASUC, under the pretext that Eshleman was gonna get renovated or demolished due to its poor seismic rating. This moved resulted in the displacing of the student social lounge to nonexistence, and the vacated 7th floor space turned into the "Millenium Room", a big conference hall that was rarely even used to half capacity. Finally, in January 2004 the error was corrected and Eshleman Library returned to its original place.
    6. Publications Center. Basement. Missed an issue of your favorite campus publication? Chances are there might still be a few copies around here.
    7. Re-Used Stuff Emporium (Re-USE). Basement. Across the ASUC parking garage, this emporium is a palce where you can pick up or drop off old stuff for free. Maintains an impressive selection of course readers, office supplies, books, clothing, computer equipment, and more. See the Re-USE website for hours. (recycle.berkeley.edu/reuse.html)

References