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

The Citizen
An athlete looks down the dark stairwell towards the locker rooms. Illustration by Eliot Faine
The Locker Room Stall: 47 years of Title IX allegations at Laney College
March 31, 2025
A neon sign on the Laney College Tower building lights up at dusk. The Tower houses the offices of administrators, counselors, and other Laney employees.
Besikof Leaves Laney
March 19, 2025
The Board of Trustees listens intently as public comments are under way.
Peralta’s Board of Trustees vote to lay off 68 positions at 02/25 trustee meeting
March 15, 2025
On Jan. 30, 2025, the Trump Administration issued two executive orders focusing on restricting trans and non-binary people from accessing gender affirming care and spaces. These executive actions have raised questions within the LGBTQ+ community at Peralta about what the colleges are doing to protect their students.
LGBTQ+ students are feeling “fear and hesitation” under Trump. What’s Peralta doing about it?
March 14, 2025
Abdul Pridgen sits down for a chat with The Citizen regarding public safety, how Peralta's security model currently works, and his plans for a new model.
Interview and security updates with Peralta’s Interim Executive Director of Public Safety Abdul Pridgen
March 1, 2025
Laney College Machine Technology students construct this high-powered reflector telescope as they progress through their training. The project teaches students how to create complex parts out of various materials using precise tools.
(VIDEO) Laney’s student-built telescope launches machining careers
April 16, 2025
Berkeley City College Multimedia Arts student Yunha Kim created the new owl mascot in collaboration with Marcus Creel, the district's graphic design specialist. (Owl and banner design via Yunha Kim and Marcus Creel. Used with permission.)
Berkeley City College arts student helps new mascot take flight
April 16, 2025
The pieces shown in Clay, Paper, Wood are crafted by advanced Laney students across many mediums. The gallery offers a tranquil space in the center of Laney College’s campus.
Laney Art students get crafty in new gallery show
March 10, 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
Berkeley City College Multimedia Arts student Yunha Kim created the new owl mascot in collaboration with Marcus Creel, the district's graphic design specialist. (Owl and banner design via Yunha Kim and Marcus Creel. Used with permission.)
Berkeley City College arts student helps new mascot take flight
April 16, 2025
The pieces shown in Clay, Paper, Wood are crafted by advanced Laney students across many mediums. The gallery offers a tranquil space in the center of Laney College’s campus.
Laney Art students get crafty in new gallery show
March 10, 2025
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
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 20, 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 9, 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
An athlete looks down the dark stairwell towards the locker rooms. Illustration by Eliot Faine
The Locker Room Stall: 47 years of Title IX allegations at Laney College
March 31, 2025
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
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

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

The Citizen

Profile

New CoA President wants to be a role model for students

New CoA President wants to be a role model for students

Melanie Dixon recounts her childhood in Portland and her transformation through community college
Ivan Saravia, Staff Writer • December 12, 2024
“The experience and the opportunities that the two year [college] can provide ... allowed me to overcome poverty,” Dixon said.
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

Frida Veliz wants campus and students to thrive
Gabriela Garcia, Staff Writer • December 11, 2024
Veliz hopes that her legacy at Laney College will culminate in a cleaner, safer and more welcoming campus that encourages leadership from students.
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

Rym-Maya Kherbache, Staff Writer • December 11, 2024
Lew, a Culinary Arts instructor at Laney College, believes that being a successful baker requires plenty of practice.
Who are Peralta’s student trustees?

Who are Peralta’s student trustees?

BCC students Sophia Parmigiani and Pierce Byrne want to bridge gaps between Peralta colleges
Sam O’Neil, Staff Writer • October 31, 2024
Though they come from different backgrounds, Parmigiani and Byrne have both dedicated themselves to representing the large pool of voices and diverse needs of the student body.
Q&A with Trustee Dyana Delfín Polk

Q&A with Trustee Dyana Delfín Polk

Berkeley rep wants Peralta to 'explore additional revenue sources' to avoid cuts
The Citizen Staff • October 17, 2024
Polk, a political organizer and campaign consultant, represents the Berkeley and Oakland hills and parts of North Oakland.
Q&A with Trustee Nicky González Yuen

Q&A with Trustee Nicky González Yuen

Longtime board member is hopeful about new administration: 'Things are actually just getting fun'
The Citizen Staff • October 17, 2024
Yuen, a political science instructor at De Anza College, is running uncontested for his sixth term on the Peralta Community College District’s governing board.
Armando Franco, BCC's new MESA Program Director, sits at his desk in a corner of the MESA center at BCC. The new program will offer support for low-income, first-generation students in STEM.

BCC’s new MESA director instills confidence in students

Armando Franco reflects on journey from first-generation college student to experienced mentor
Ivan Saravia, Staff Writer • May 21, 2024
Armando Franco leads BCC's program for first-generation, low-income students in STEM. Like the students he guides, Franco is a first generation college graduate who once dreamed of a career in a STEM-related field.
Carpentry instructor spruces up department

Carpentry instructor spruces up department

Matthew Wolpe found his passion for building in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Now he wants to inspire students
Rym-Maya Kherbache, Staff Writer • April 24, 2024
Newly tenured instructor Matthew Wolpe’s path brought him to Laney College, where he has whittled his creative passion into teaching students about building and carpentry.
Student Trustee Natasha Masand believes her voice has the power to impact the PCCD community.

Student Trustee Natasha Masand finds her voice

Isabelly Sabô Barbosa, Social Media Editor • March 19, 2024

Natasha Masand used to be shy in high school, and didn't always feel like she “fit in.” But at Peralta Community College District (PCCD), Masand found her voice. “Being a student trustee changed...

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...

Student Trustee Naomi Vasquez, who was sworn onto the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on Dec. 12, 2023, sees her role as an opportunity to uplift her fellow students and advocate for the value of a community college education.

Student Trustee Naomi Vasquez aims to lift voices and empower students at PCCD

Isabelly Sabô Barbosa, Social Media Editor • February 28, 2024

Between studying full time, working part time, volunteering, and spending time with her family, Naomi Vasquez has many commitments to balance. Last year, Vasquez’s passion for uplifting student voices...

Childhood photo of Burgess

Tea with Tamara: Drew Burgess, art faculty at College of Alameda

Tamara Copes, Columnist • February 21, 2024

Drew Burgess has been in love with art since the wee days of drawing at his parents’ kitchen table in San Jose, California. To Burgess, art is the lens through which he views life, and he explores...

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