Berkeley closes campus to students over winter break but tells them not to go home either

UC Berkeley students were sent an email telling them that they can't go home for winter break, and they also can't stay on campus. These directives were given in the same email.

This nonsensical directive contradicts California's stay-at-home order, which naturally affects Berkeley along with the rest of the state, specifically prohibits these students from traveling until at least January 4.

The email states that students who can't go home and can't stay in the dorms, per the state of California and UC Berkeley respectively, can appeal to the basic needs office "on an emergency basis."

However, it's hard to see how this emergency need for housing wouldn't apply to literally everyone on campus.

In the email, the school also provides guidelines for how those who are going to travel should go about it, with regard to quarantine times, but declines to provide further resources for students who will be shut out of housing at home or on campus.

The email from the Division of Student Affairs reads "with many people planning holiday season travel, we wish to remind all students to be mindful of public health guidance and restrictions now in effect."

It references Regional Stay at Home Order, the prohibition against private gatherings either in or out of doors, as well as the rules for face masks and social distancing.

For those students who intend to follow the stay at home orders in place for Alameda County, where Berkeley is located, the email notes that they will not be permitted to stay in the dorms, as those facilities will be closed.

Those who are already in quarantine on campus will be permitted to stay in those emergency accommodations. It's unclear as to where students who cannot go home, cannot stay on campus, and are unable to obtain emergency lodging should live over winter break.