This piece is part of a series that members of the Citizen staff wrote to share our stories and in response to comments that Trustee Linda Handy recently made about our newsroom.

~~~

As the oldest journalism student at Laney College (I just turned 68), I suppose I am most entitled to take offense at Trustee Handy’s remark about participation by “older adults” at our recent candidates forum. I had the honor of interviewing Dyana Delfín Polk, the candidate for the Area 6 seat on the Peralta Board of Trustees.

I honestly believe, however, that Trustee Handy was just misinformed both about the format of the event (which was open to the wider Peralta community) and the demographics of the students in our class. 

I am one of several “older” Laney journalism students who decided to go back to school after pursuing a career in another field (in my case, advertising). Rather than feeling out of place, my participation in these classes provides an opportunity to sharpen my writing skills, to think objectively, and to learn about journalism from an outstanding professor. It also has been a lot of fun to work alongside other highly committed journalism students of all ages and backgrounds. 

During my interview with Ms. Polk, we discussed the best way to reverse declining enrollment. I offered my own story as an example of how seniors represent an untapped segment of potential new students. Facing a double-digit drop in enrollment, it is imperative the Peralta district and its trustees expand their view of what represents a “typical” community college student.