The Daily Cal reveal a harsh irony underlying the move of the Schools for the Deaf and the Blind: according to geologists, the fault lines running beneath the new site in Fremont are active — active enough to liquefy the soil underneath the new construction — while the fault lines beneath the old location are not.

According to the newest study done on the land, the earthquake fault only runs underneath the athletic field track, with more than 50 feet of distance between the fault and the buildings.  With the distance between the fault and buildings, there is no threat posed to the school site.  According to the soil engineer, Ben Lennert, the only threat possible to the site would be “ground motion.”  Although earthquake ground motion at the school site will most likely be pose less of a threat than ground motion anywhere in the Bay Area.

One particular concern, the Fremont site sits half a mile away from an extremely active Hayward Fault line.  The Berkeley school site currently sits on compacted bedrock whereas the future site in Fremont sits on deep, loosely compacted, alluvium.  The soil on the Fremont site is far more of a threat than the site situated in Berkeley.  Although sources within the Department of Education say, the low structures on the Fremont site will pose no threat to ground liquefaction.  

One of the Blind school teachers, John Di Francesco, sites Berkeley is the most ideal option for students to continue their education with a disability.  For the blind, a large portion of their education is the ability to navigate independently through their community.  Historically, Berkeley has served this long purpose for the Blind students and educators by providing a city oriented grid system, as well as being one of the most disability friendly cities in the area.