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

The Citizen
Abdul Pridgen. (Source: 9/24 PCCD Board of Trustees Meeting livestream)
New hybrid safety model proposed for Peralta Community College District
October 3, 2024
New Student Trustee Pierce Byrne takes the oath of office at the Sep. 10 meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees.
New student trustee, $325m budget and more at 9/10 meeting for PCCD trustees
September 24, 2024
(Photo: Citizen Staff)
Peralta board approves budget
September 21, 2024
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
September 20, 2024
The Peralta boardroom. Photo was taken before current Board President Paulina Gonzalez-Brito stepped onto the board. (Photo: Peralta Colleges SmugMug)
Sinead Geneva Anderson runs for Peralta board against Area 2 Trustee Paulina Gonzalez-Brito
September 17, 2024
The newly reopened Laney Cafeteria, packed with students, faculty, and staff, now offers burgers, salads, sandwiches and more.
Four years later, Laney Cafeteria reopens without free meals
September 20, 2024
Students walk through the Laney Quad.
Engaging a diverse student body: A stroll on the Laney College Quad
September 19, 2024
They conquered gloom and Zoom: 2024 college grads on what comes next
They conquered gloom and Zoom: 2024 college grads on what comes next
June 29, 2024
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
May 21, 2024
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
May 13, 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
©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’
February 28, 2024
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
November 6, 2023
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
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
(Graphic by Li Khan/The Citizen)
Laney’s Tower of Terror
December 28, 2023
Peralta Community College District's only student-run publication.

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

The Citizen

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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.
(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.
Finalists for Laney VP of Student Services share plans for student success

Finalists for Laney VP of Student Services share plans for student success

Deadline for community feedback shortened to Thursday at noon
Romi Bales, Desmond Meagley, and Lylah Schmedel-Permanna • April 10, 2024
The new VP will oversee a number of departments underneath the Student Services umbrella, including the Counseling and Student Accessibility Services.
Sunshine Week 2024: Spotlighting public records

Sunshine Week 2024: Spotlighting public records

A multi-year investigation into public records related to campus security, public funds, and more
Li Khan, Editor in Chief • March 17, 2024
As the news cycle churns on and current events beg for our attention, some public records that we obtain inevitably end up collecting dust in the corner. In honor of Sunshine Week, we’ve decided to dust off some of those records, and shed light on public information.
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