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Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022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

College of Alameda

Three candidates vie to lead CoA instruction

Three candidates vie to lead CoA instruction

As college faces budget challenges, candidates share strategies to boost enrollment
Stephon Autery, Staff Writer • November 26, 2024
The selected candidate will be tasked with overseeing the college’s instructional programming and managing faculty tenure review processes.
Basketball legend Gary Payton, who left a coaching gig at Lincoln University earlier this year, has been tapped to lead the College of Alameda's men's basketball team. (Photo: Faiza Ali/PCCD via Peralta Colleges Smugmug)

Lights flash at Payton press conference

CoA's new men’s basketball coach gears up for the season
Ivan Saravia, Staff Writer • September 20, 2024
“I’m coming here to give back,” Payton said, recalling his Bay Area roots.
NBA legend Gary Payton, who recently wrapped up a tumultuous coaching stint at Lincoln University, is set to make a splash at the College of Alameda this fall. (Photo: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons)

Exclusive: NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton lands coaching gig at the College of Alameda

Ivan Saravia, Staff Writer • September 7, 2024
The basketball legend is hopping across the estuary after tumultuous stint at a private nonprofit university in Oakland.
Melanie Dixon appointed CoA President

Melanie Dixon appointed CoA President

After two years of acting appointments, the College of Alameda will finally fill the presidency with a permanent hire this summer
Ivan Saravia, Staff Writer • May 23, 2024
A former Sacramento college president will soon take the helm at the College of Alameda.
CoA's next president is one of these three college leaders

CoA’s next president is one of these three college leaders

Community feedback on the candidates is due midnight tonight
Desmond Meagley and Ivan Saravia • May 21, 2024
A former college president from Sacramento, a longtime community college administrator from Connecticut, and PCCD's own Rebecca Opsata are in the running for permanent College President of the College of Alameda.
The search for a permanent president of the College of Alameda is down to three candidates. William “Terry” Brown (left), Melanie Dixon (middle), and Rebecca “Becky” Opsata will respond to community questions at public forums on Thursday. (Photo courtesy: PCCD)

Finalists for CoA President unveiled

Community questions accepted until midnight tonight
Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • May 13, 2024

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) has named three finalists in the search for a permanent College of Alameda (CoA) President. Public forums for the candidates are set for Thursday; the deadline...

As College of Alameda searches for a new president, The Citizen searched for one of the college's former presidents. The late Jeanette Poore was the first woman to lead a community college in California.

CoA’s mystery woman: The forgotten legacy of the first female community college president in California

Romi Bales, Staff Writer • May 13, 2024
As College of Alameda searches for a new president, The Citizen searched for one of the college’s former presidents.
(Illustration: Eliot Faine/The Citizen)

CoA to host blood drive

College health coordinator says blood donations fell during pandemic
Eliot Faine, Staff Writer • April 13, 2024
Someone in the United States needs blood or platelets every two seconds on average, according to the American Red Cross.
A PCCD board meeting held during spring break included 'really good news' for the funding of retiree benefits, as well as the approval of $1.36 million for the new Laney Tower elevators. Pictured: New designs for CoA's revamped aviation facility, which were approved by the board. (Source: AE3 Partners)

‘Really good news’ for retiree benefits, Laney Tower elevators set for replacement, and more at 3/26 meeting for PCCD trustees

Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • April 7, 2024

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees held a regular meeting March 26, during the district’s spring break. The meeting focused heavily on retiree benefits, while also touching...

CoA community members think carefully about issues facing the college they hope to see the next college leader address. (Photo: Marcus Creel/PCCD)

Some laughs and some big questions at CoA president search listening session

Romi Bales, Staff Writer • March 21, 2024

The College of Alameda (CoA) kicked off its search for a permanent president at a listening session March 11. Faculty, classified employees, administrators, and students alike came together to speak up...

Breaking: Acting CoA President Diana Bajrami to step down, return to faculty

Breaking: Acting CoA President Diana Bajrami to step down, return to faculty

Li Khan, Editor in Chief • March 6, 2024
Diana Bajrami announced today her decision to step down as Acting CoA President and return to a faculty position effective March 13.
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...

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