The University of California is financed through taxes allotted to it by the Legislature in Sacramento. This money finances 10 very different campuses. Berkeley is the oldest, founded in 1866, and Merced the newest, opened in 2005. While the rationale or need for so many campuses is a contested and interesting issue, it is also interesting to reflect on how these differences may impact on the student experience. During a recent trip to UC Irvine I witnessed how profound the physical differences are. While Berkeley feels like ‘spontaneous order’ (to borrow Hayek’s phrase), Irvine is carefully planned. Berkeley is full...