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

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Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022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

Front Page

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

The college president began a sudden "mutual" administrative leave today, days after Peralta trustees voted unanimously for his non-renewal.
Desmond Meagley, Editor in Chief • March 19, 2025
Today, Laney College President Rudy Besikof began a permanent leave of absence “by mutual agreement” with the Peralta Community College District, pending the end of his contract on June 30. Besikof announced his departure from Peralta in an email addressed to the “Laney Community” on Tuesday.
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

District Chancellor Gilkerson called the reductions in force a “survival strategy.”
Rachel Venable, Staff Writer • February 20, 2025
Peralta’s classified employee union protested a recent budget proposal during the public comment portion of the Feb. 11 Board of Trustees meeting. Armed with purple signs and heartfelt comments, a small crowd of classified employees filled the Peralta Community College District boardroom to oppose the elimination of 33 classified positions.
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

American Straight A Academy advertised an asynchronous online pathway to California university admissions
Lylah Schmedel-Permanna, Managing Editor • October 30, 2024
A private company sold access to California public education for an undisclosed price.
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

Lack of state-mandated forms 'raises some ethical questions about transparency,' expert says
Li Khan, Editor in Chief • September 17, 2024
We asked PCCD for five years of conflict of interest disclosures, but only got half. Here's why an ethics expert is concerned.
The Citizen Investigates: International Travel

The Citizen Investigates: International Travel

PCCD spends $87k on overseas trips yet F-1 student population declines
Lylah Schmedel-Permanna, Managing Editor • July 25, 2024
Peralta has yet to establish a process to evaluate the costs and benefits of funding international travel. We combed through travel receipts, international student data, and district policy to find out.
They conquered gloom and Zoom: 2024 college grads on what comes next

They conquered gloom and Zoom: 2024 college grads on what comes next

Li Khan and The CalMatters College Journalism Network • June 29, 2024
Five college graduates reflect on their unique college experience and look forward to their early career plans.
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.
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

Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • May 20, 2024
In light of recent news about the Nex Benedict case, Staff Writer Desmond Meagley decided to hold his school accountable for an incident of discriminatory harassment by campus security.
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.
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

Isabelly Sabô Barbosa, Social Media Editor • May 5, 2024
Do you have around $40,000 to spare? That’s how much you need to start your journey as an international student at a community college in California.
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.
Plants grow in plastic pots next to Merritt College's Landscape Horticulture greenhouses. Merritt is set to launch a new Certificate of Achievement in Cannabis Horticulture this fall.

Merritt’s new Cannabis Horticulture Certificate is about ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’

Desmond Meagley, Staff Writer • April 20, 2024
The new certificate aims to facilitate pathways into the legal cannabis industry, but until the department’s new Horticulture Complex is completed, the curriculum will be taught using “analogs” like tomato plants.
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