Hard And Soft

Taversia Maddalena hasn’t always considered herself an artist. In this in-depth interview, we took a look at how she got to where she is today — director of legislation in the office of ASUC senator Hani Hussein, aspiring pre-law student and creator of a popular online video uploaded onto the UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens Facebook page. If you remember the psychedelic and chaotic video — titled “Cal is fucking expensive & sometimes I think about killing myself but at least I have adderall” — then you’ll understand what we talk about when we say this woman understands the mental, emotional and financial hell of logistical issues that can accompany being a student at Berserkeley. Maddalena opened up about facing homelessness and her struggle with obtaining medication for her attention deficit disorder, and she offers her perspective on coming to UC Berkeley from the Midwest as a transfer student. Leaving her support system behind, in her first semester at UC Berkeley, she watched her life as a student esse