Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Computer Science Undergraduate Association
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The CSUA was first ASUC sponsored in the 1972–1973 academic year.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>The CSUA shares a great deal of history with the <a href="/facts/EXperimental_Computing_Facility/TIoeyNRF">EXperimental Computing Facility</a> (XCF). </p><p> The CSUA was instrumental for the creation of <a href="/facts/Cowsay/twBbyG1F">Cowsay</a>. In the words of author Tony Monroe, </p><blockquote><p>Cows have been a big part of the history and culture of the Computer Science University Association at the University of California at Berkeley. The cows traditionally seen there before I joined the organization were very limited in what they could say and do. I wrote cowsay in an effort to remove some of those limitations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></p></blockquote><p>The CSUA used to be located in Evans Hall, before moving into Soda Hall shortly after Soda's construction. It occupied 343 Soda, then moved to 311 Soda. </p><p>The CSUA's main <a href="/facts/RAID/IpzWWgog">RAID</a> failed sometime before Fall of 2016, causing the loss of decades of historical user data. </p> <h2 id="organizational-structure">Organizational structure</h2> <p>As of 2020, the CSUA consists of three groups, in order of ascending responsibilities: members, officers, and members of the Politburo. </p><p> The CSUA is led by a seven-member "Politburo," which has executive power over the organization. The positions are as follows:</p><blockquote><p>The organization shall have seven elected offices, named President, Vice President of Technology, Vice President of Industry Relations, Secretary/Treasurer, External Events Coordinator, Internal Events Coordinator, and Outreach Chair.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></p></blockquote><p>The CSUA has a base of officers who have access to the office and serve the community as part of their duties. Regular officers have less responsibilities than the Politburo officers, and are elected into the organization as officers by a unanimous vote of the Politburo.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>CSUA members gain membership by creating a CSUA account. This account grants access to CSUA's computing resources. Members also are able to vote at General Meeting #3. </p> <h2 id="notable-alumni">Notable alumni</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Brian_Behlendorf/82FFu0RG">Brian Behlendorf</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Jonathan_Blow/RC80oCH4">Jonathan Blow</a></li> <li>Chris Demetriou, co-founder <a href="/facts/NetBSD/PTm5HWls">NetBSD</a></li> <li>Adam Glass, co-founder <a href="/facts/NetBSD/PTm5HWls">NetBSD</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Gene_Kan/YHytUAUh">Gene Kan</a></li> <li>Tony Monroe, author of <a href="/facts/Cowsay/twBbyG1F">Cowsay</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sameer_Parekh/4e8lI4sM">Sameer Parekh</a></li></ul> <h2 id="services">Services</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Webhosting/sDHN29ve">Webhosting</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> shell access</li> <li>Computer lab</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hackathons/BqwMoH8j">Hackathons</a></li> <li>Info Sessions</li> <li>CS Workshops</li> <li><a href="/facts/LAN/edUDxJ6J">LAN</a> parties</li> <li><a href="/facts/Email_forwarding/SndQNvXA">Email forwarding</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><i><a href="http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/">CSUA Website</a></i></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>CSUA: About Our Organization <a href="http://www.csua.berkeley.edu" target="_blank">http://www.csua.berkeley.edu</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"CSUA - The Computer Science Undergraduate Association at UC Berkeley". www.csua.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-12. <a href="https://www.csua.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">https://www.csua.berkeley.edu/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>CSUA: About Our Organization <a href="http://www.csua.berkeley.edu" target="_blank">http://www.csua.berkeley.edu</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Based on ASUC records here <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dy0Cm5uThHJsVBi2buZr0HMSr8_gsnKoUOZIPJSoqZc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dy0Cm5uThHJsVBi2buZr0HMSr8_gsnKoUOZIPJSoqZc/edit?usp=sharing</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"cowsay and cowthink". 2007-10-26. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2020-08-21. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071026043648/http://www.nog.net/~tony/warez/cowsay.shtml" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20071026043648/http://www.nog.net/~tony/warez/cowsay.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"CSUA - The Computer Science Undergraduate Association at UC Berkeley". www.csua.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-12. <a href="https://www.csua.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">https://www.csua.berkeley.edu/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>CSUA's constitution has terminology that is different from the rest of this article and in general. This may be due to ASUC rules and/or legacy and/or lack of motivation to amend. The members of politburo are elected officers according to the constitution. There are CSUA officers, who aren't constitutionally "officers." Herein they will be referred to as "regular officers." These are individuals with responsibilities, and are in positions created and managed by the elected politburo. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>