Peralta Community College District's Only Student-Run Publication
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen
A sign reading 'No human is illegal' in the R-building at Merritt College. As of Jan. 21, ICE agents are now permitted on college campuses.
Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022
February 20, 2025
SEIU 1021 members carry protest signs decrying planned layoffs among Peralta employees. The district recently announced its intent to cut 68 positions across several departments, 44 of which are currently filled.
Proposed layoffs condemned during public comment at 2/11 Peralta trustee meeting
February 20, 2025
(Photo by Li Khan/The Citizen)
PCCD to hold hearing on proposed layoffs
February 10, 2025
Faculty, classified employees, and administrators convened Friday to share ideas for how to repair the district's financial crisis in the long term. The district needs to make at least $11.5 million in cuts next year, but officials say a significant "reimagining" of the district is necessary to sustain the district in the long run.
PCCD is in crisis. Everything is on the table
February 1, 2025
An audience in academic regalia watches a graduation ceremony. One graduation cap reads, "All that I am & hope to be, I owe to those who believed in me[.]" (Photo: Marcus Creel/PCCD)
Gilkerson quells Pell grant fears during federal freeze: “This executive order does NOT impact your financial aid”
January 29, 2025
New CoA President wants to be a role model for students
New CoA President wants to be a role model for students
December 12, 2024
Laney's student body president, Frida Veliz, wants to help connect students to the resources she didn't have access to when she first started college.
New ASLC President Builds Community
December 11, 2024
Cheryl Lew has been an instructor in the Culinary Arts department since 2012 and was tenured in 2015. Her focus is on baking and pastries.
Multi-layered, highly decorated pastry chef Cheryl Lew brings culture and chemistry to Laney’s culinary department
December 11, 2024
Laney Engineering Department Chair Mallory Barkdull tallies points as her students pit their soccer-playing robots against each other. The friendly tournament challenges contestants to learn design and coding skills through play.
Robot soccer teaches students nuts and bolts of engineering
November 26, 2024
A new space for LGBTQ+ students has popped up on the Laney College campus. The Queer Community center will host events and offer resources to LGBTQ+ members of the Peralta community.
‘We’re here, we’re in school, we have dreams’: New Laney queer center offers safe haven for LGBTQ+ students
November 20, 2024
Native American photographer Dugan Aguilar spent decades documenting the lives of Indigenous Californians through his camera lens. His collection of work is on display now at the Oakland Museum of Califoria. (Shown: “Mimi Mullen (Madiu) Grand Marshall,” 1997 Greenville Gold Digger Days Parade)
This Indigenous art exhibition is free for Laney students
January 27, 2025
A seven-year relationship ends in a tumultuous fight in Jeffrey Lo's "A Kind of Sad Love Story," performed live at the Laney Theater last month. Shown: Maya Wooten, Jesse Savoey
‘It started with an argument about bags’: Laney Theater performs A Kind of Sad Love Story
December 8, 2024
Merritt Librarian reimagines 'alebrijes' sculptor’s life in new picture book
Merritt Librarian reimagines ‘alebrijes’ sculptor’s life in new picture book
May 30, 2024
College of Alameda jazz professor Glen Pearson demonstrates his musical talent on his classroom piano. He's one of the newest members of the Count Basie Orchestra, a historic 18-piece jazz ensemble that took home a Grammy this year.
The humble Grammy-winning pianist leading CoA’s music program
March 4, 2024
In Director Chelsea Bo's first feature-length film, half-sisters Harper (left, Chelsea Bo) and Georgie (right, Ava Acres), thrown together by circumstance and a weak blood relation, must untie the knots in their relationship. The film won "Jury Prize Feature" at the Alameda International Film Festival last week. (Courtesy: Paxeros)
No Right Way, Chelsea Bo’s hard-hitting emotional rollercoaster about the complexities of sisterhood, shown at Alameda International Film Festival
February 29, 2024
Incumbent Area 2 Trustee Paulina Gonzalez-Brito, pictured here in The Citizen's newsroom, has what it takes to stay on the Peralta board for another four years.
EDITORIAL: Keep Paulina Gonzalez-Brito on the Peralta board
September 25, 2024
Staff Writer Desmond Meagley stands in the very spot where a security guard confronted him last month: the doorway of the men’s restroom in the Laney College Library. Meagley, who is transgender, tried to report the incident, but reached a dead end when an administrator told him he would need the security guard’s name.
The Catch-22 in AP 3435, Peralta’s Harassment Protocol
May 19, 2024
Social Media Editor Isabelly Sabô stands in front of the door to The Citizen's newsroom. Sabô is an international student from Brazil.
We’re not just ‘rich kids on vacation’: The journey of an international student
May 5, 2024
(Photo: Glen Carrie/Unsplash)
Student elections open today. Has voter information been ‘widespread’?
April 8, 2024
The state flag of California flies underneath the American flag on the west side of the Laney College campus. Behind, the Tribune Tower, which once housed Oakland's daily print newspaper, sits in the city skyline. Both California and the United States have open government laws that establish the public's right to information, but the Peralta Community College District consistently lags behind in comprehensively fulfilling requests for public information made by student journalists at The Citizen. (Photo: Li Khan/The Citizen)
We sued our district over public records and won. Here’s what we learned
February 22, 2024
The American Straight A Academy helped students in China receive transfer degrees from the Peralta Community College District without paying international tuition or setting foot in California. The for-profit company, registered in Dallas, Texas, has not disclosed how much students pay for the experience.
Investigation: A look at the for-profit Chinese business that sold Peralta classes overseas
October 30, 2024
Investigation: Over half of PCCD conflict of interest disclosures nowhere to be found
Investigation: Over half of PCCD conflict of interest disclosures nowhere to be found
September 17, 2024
The Citizen Investigates: International Travel
The Citizen Investigates: International Travel
July 25, 2024
Sunshine Week 2024: Spotlighting public records
Sunshine Week 2024: Spotlighting public records
March 17, 2024
The UC Berkeley chapter of End Overdose at Sproul Plaza in Berkeley on Jan. 23, 2024. The organization passes out free fentanyl test strips to students, and gives other organizations training on Narcan usage. (Photo: Juliana Yamada/CalMatters)
Narcan at California colleges: Are students getting overdose medication?
March 8, 2024
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

The Citizen

Arts

Native American photographer Dugan Aguilar spent decades documenting the lives of Indigenous Californians through his camera lens. His collection of work is on display now at the Oakland Museum of Califoria. (Shown: “Mimi Mullen (Madiu) Grand Marshall,” 1997 Greenville Gold Digger Days Parade)

This Indigenous art exhibition is free for Laney students

Dugan Aguilar’s photographs capture the contemporary lives of Indigenous Californians
Tamara Copes, Staff Writer • January 27, 2025
Get a firsthand look at the contemporary lives of Indigenous Californians through the work of Dugan Aguilar.
A seven-year relationship ends in a tumultuous fight in Jeffrey Lo's "A Kind of Sad Love Story," performed live at the Laney Theater last month. Shown: Maya Wooten, Jesse Savoey

‘It started with an argument about bags’: Laney Theater performs A Kind of Sad Love Story

Rolling river of emotion engulfs audience with a story of love, betrayal, and heartbreak
Romi Bales, Staff Writer • December 8, 2024
Two twenty-somethings struggle with their choice to end things after their seven-year relationship ends in a tumultuous fight.
Merritt Librarian reimagines 'alebrijes' sculptor’s life in new picture book

Merritt Librarian reimagines ‘alebrijes’ sculptor’s life in new picture book

Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • May 30, 2024
Pixar fans may recognize the colorful creatures from the 2017 animated movie, Coco, but alebrijes have been a popular art form across the Americas for decades
College of Alameda jazz professor Glen Pearson demonstrates his musical talent on his classroom piano. He's one of the newest members of the Count Basie Orchestra, a historic 18-piece jazz ensemble that took home a Grammy this year.

The humble Grammy-winning pianist leading CoA’s music program

Jazz professor Glen Pearson performs with legendary Count Basie Orchestra, which took home a Grammy this year
Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • March 4, 2024

Seated at his piano in room G-119, between stacks of papers and cardboard boxes, Glen Pearson effortlessly hammers out snappy blues melodies with the flick of a wrist for his jazz ensemble students. His...

In Director Chelsea Bo's first feature-length film, half-sisters Harper (left, Chelsea Bo) and Georgie (right, Ava Acres), thrown together by circumstance and a weak blood relation, must untie the knots in their relationship. The film won "Jury Prize Feature" at the Alameda International Film Festival last week. (Courtesy: Paxeros)

No Right Way, Chelsea Bo’s hard-hitting emotional rollercoaster about the complexities of sisterhood, shown at Alameda International Film Festival

Festival showcases local and foreign filmmaking
Ian Waters, News Editor • February 29, 2024

Los Angeles-based filmmaker and director Chelsea Bo brought her 2023 film No Right Way to the Alameda International Film Festival on Feb. 22. The hard-hitting emotional rollercoaster, which invokes snarky...

©Netflix 2023. Fair Use Disclaimer: This image has been used in good faith for the purpose of review and critique under the terms of "fair use". Under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" of copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.

Queer Black History: A review of ‘Rustin’

'On the same day I was born Black, I was born homosexual,' declares titular character in Netflix historical drama
Timothy Lane, Arts Editor • February 28, 2024
On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and told nearly a quarter of a million people tightly-packed around the Washington Monument’s reflecting pool, “I have a dream….” Rustin is the story about how the March’s success was anything but inevitable.
Muffler’s first headlining performance at the Golden Bull in Oakland, CA on May 24, 2023. From left to right: Wes Allerd, TJ Gardea Jr., Gaby Aravjo (Photo by Lylah Schmedel-Permanna/The Citizen)

Your next favorite post-punk band includes two Peralta students — an interview with Muffler

Lylah Schmedel-Permanna, Investigations Editor • November 6, 2023

On stage, Muffler has the timeless energy that all great punk artists possess -- a fantastic, effortless dark harmony that tells the audience they are not here for the crowds, but for their own...

From The Ground Up inside of the Berkeley City College Atrium. (Photo by Emily Tenorio Molina/The Citizen)

BCC Art instructor Juana Alicia honored by the San Francisco Art Commission

Emily Tenorio Molina, Staff Writer • September 21, 2023

Berkeley City College Art instructor and Bay Area muralist Juana Alicia Araiza was celebrated for her decades-long contribution to the arts by the San Francisco Art Commission (SFAC) “Dreaming in Color”'...

Mythical goddesses fight for change in comedy “Deirdre the Queer Queen”

Mythical goddesses fight for change in comedy “Deirdre the Queer Queen”

Randi Cross, Arts Editor • May 1, 2023

The two-week run of “Deirdre the Queer Queen,” directed by Theater Arts Department Chair Michael Torres, came to a close on April 14 at Laney College’s Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center. In...

Vietnamese art and history show honors motherhood at Legion of Honor

Vietnamese art and history show honors motherhood at Legion of Honor

College of Alameda students perform with Nguyen Dance Company
Emily Tenorio Molina, Staff Writer • April 26, 2023

The Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center presented its 10th annual performance of "Thi Ca & Sử Việt," or "Vietnamese Art and History Show," at the San Francisco Legion of Honor on March 19. Several...

Art in solidarity with Iran: Hair

Art in solidarity with Iran: Hair

Timothy Lane and Randi Cross • April 19, 2023

Correction 4/20/2023: The original version of this article misattributed an art piece by Farnaz Zabetian to Nazanin Parviz. The error has since been rectified. Hair, an art exhibit curated by Iranian-American...

Civic Design Studio Projects connect student artwork and community

Civic Design Studio Projects connect student artwork and community

April 15 Youth Creative Expo will showcase artwork by students from OUSD and Peralta Colleges
Jindi Zhang, Staff Writer • April 11, 2023

Whether it’s an art exhibition in Brooklyn Basin, a sprawling mural on 9th street, a three-story dragon mural in Chinatown, or one of the metal cutouts from 14th St to Fruitvale Ave – those who...

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