You should be able to use any newsreader to access the newsgroup. When configuring your newsreader, set the news/nntp host to news.berkeley.edu

You will then need to subscribe to ucb.class.cs61a

You cannot access Berkeley's news server directly. What you can do is:

Go to www.deja.com and in the search field, type: ucb.class.cs61a

Alternatively:

ssh into a campus Unix machine. From there, you can run one of the various text-based newsreaders. I recommend using pine.

To configure pine to read news, go to Setup, and then hit C for Configure. Near the top should be an entry nntp-server. Set the value to news.berkeley.edu

You may need to quit and restart pine for the news-server setting to take effect. Afterward, when you access your folder list, you will now have an option to read news instead of mail. When you go to the news section, hit A (for Add) to add a newsgroup.

A third option: It is also possible that your ISP already carries ucb newsgroups. Check with them.