life ==
Approximately 2,100 students currently live on campus in the Valley and Sierra Terraces and the Summits, which includes Tenaya and Cathedral Halls, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) away from the city of Merced. The most recent addition is Half Dome Hall which completed the UC Merced's first residential square. Many students choose to live in new housing subdivisions off campus.
Student publications include the newspaper The Prodigy, Bobcat Radio, The Undergraduate Research Journal, The Undergraduate Historical Journal, and literary journals The Kumquat and Imagination Dead Imagine. The Vernal Pool is a student publication for writing and visual art.
=== CatTracks public transportation system ===
The university operates its own public transportation system, CatTracks. The system has several routes serving off-campus housing developments and locations in central Merced, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from campus.
=== Student government ===
Associated Students of the University of California Merced (ASUCM) is the student …
