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

The Citizen

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

The Citizen

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

The Citizen

Investigations

A look at Peralta’s crime data

A look at Peralta’s crime data

A deep dive into the crime data from the Annual Security Reports published by the district from the last 13 years.
Rachel Venable, Associate Editor June 9, 2026
Every year on October 1, the district is required to publish the previous three years worth of data on crime at the district, per the Jeanne Clery Act, in an Annual Security Report. The Citizen analyzed data from Annual Security Reports between 2011 and 2024.
A CoA counselor was told to cancel an unvetted “class” – then promoted a nearly identical one

A CoA counselor was told to cancel an unvetted “class” – then promoted a nearly identical one

The counselor distributed a flyer to students which advertises an off-campus training through a company that solicits a $50 fee and social security numbers from attendees.
Desmond Meagley, Editor in Chief October 29, 2025
The original “free class” to obtain a “security guard card” was promoted through a Sept. 22 CoA student services newsletter. An attached flyer for the event claimed attendees would receive a “certificate to become a security guard” after a one-hour training. The event was arranged by CoA counselor and Project Hope coordinator Robin “Bernard” Ward.
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

Nearly 10 years since the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights mandated their renovation, Laney's locker rooms remain in disrepair.
Eliot Faine and Romi Bales March 31, 2025

Laney sophomore and shooting guard Adrienne Blackwell says she never uses her college’s locker rooms to change or shower. Neither do her teammates on the Laney Eagles basketball team. The half-functioning...

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?

Each college acknowledged a desire to protect queer students, but institutional approaches have varied.
Romi Bales, Staff Writer March 14, 2025
On Jan. 30, 2025, the Trump Administration issued two executive orders restricting trans and non-binary people from accessing gender affirming care and spaces. This has left the trans and non-binary community feeling vulnerable, raising questions within the LGBTQ+ community at Peralta about the impact of these executive actions and what colleges are doing to protect their students.
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

Up until Feb. 10, undocumented students seeking resources via Merritt’s website were not given the proper information for the state-mandated “Dreamer Liaison” at Merritt College.
Lylah Schmedel-Permanna February 20, 2025

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now permitted on college campuses, including Peralta community college campuses, following the Trump Administration’s reversal of a federal policy...

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.
(Graphic by Li Khan/The Citizen)

Laney’s Tower of Terror

Tower elevators offline after alleged malfunctions with passengers inside
Leo Premnath-Ray, Investigations Reporter December 28, 2023
Three separate reports were made to The Citizen in November about a Laney Tower elevator malfunctioning with passengers inside. The college announced Dec. 4 that the Tower elevators would "remain offline until further notice."
(Graphic by Li Khan/The Citizen. Photo: Feng Yu/Shutterstock)

The Citizen Investigates: PCCD Vendor High Performance Learning Environments

The construction consulting firm has ties to two past controversies at school districts in Southern California surrounding allegations of bribery and fraud.
Lylah Schmedel-Permanna and Li Khan December 12, 2023
The board will vote tonight on two high-value contracts to a construction consulting firm that has ties to two past school district scandals that involved allegations of questionable bidding practices, bribery of public officials, and fraud.
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