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Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022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

Opinion

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

The Citizen Editorial Board • September 25, 2024
Incumbent Paulina Gonzalez-Brito has the knowledge, experience, and aptitude for accountability to serve the district for four more years.
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.
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.
(Photo: Glen Carrie/Unsplash)

Student elections open today. Has voter information been ‘widespread’?

Eliot Faine, Staff Writer • April 9, 2024

Didn’t know your student body elections are today? That’s okay. We didn’t find out until last week. On Wednesday and Friday, we reached out to the four Directors of Student Activities and Campus...

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

Li Khan, Editor in Chief • February 22, 2024
We asked our district a question in the form of multiple Public Records Act requests, but got incomplete answers. It's still happening.
(Photo: AlchemillaMollis/Pixabay)

Just call me Grinch

Why I ‘hate hate hate, double hate’ and entirely loathe the holidays
Nico Addams-Tumaneng, Staff Writer • December 14, 2023
As I’ve gotten older, the holidays have become more about endurance and survival rather than celebration...
Tammeil Gilkerson answering a question at a public forum held on Oct 25

The Citizen endorses Tammeil Gilkerson for PCCD Chancellor; Rudy Besikof strong runner up

The Citizen Editorial Board • October 28, 2023

The Citizen recommends that the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees select Evergreen Valley College President Tammeil Gilkerson to be the district’s next permanent chancellor,...

An image of lavender-colored tassels in the foreground and rainbow pins in the background.

This is Intersectionality

Reflections of an aging queer rights advocate on Peralta’s Lavender Graduation ceremony
Timothy Lane, Staff Writer • May 30, 2023

On May 5, 2023, the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) held the first-ever district-wide Lavender Graduation ceremony for LGBTQIA+ graduates from the district’s four community colleges. I am a...

Source: Ken Lester

The Citizen’s Endorsements for the 2022 Board of Trustees Elections

The Citizen Editorial Board • October 12, 2022

October 10, 2022 By The Citizen Editorial Board On Oct. 5, The Citizen held a virtual forum with candidates running for seats on the Peralta Community College District’s (PCCD) Board of Trustees...

The Citizen staff wins Society of Professional Journalists’ James Madison Freedom of Information Award

The Citizen staff wins Society of Professional Journalists’ James Madison Freedom of Information Award

Peralta Community College District’s only student-run publication was awarded for its transparency and consistency in reporting on Peralta’s security transitions
Leticia Luna, Editor in Chief • March 23, 2022

The 37th annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards were announced on Wednesday, March 16th, by the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ Norcal). The...

Why the State of the Union address matters to the Peralta community

Why the State of the Union address matters to the Peralta community

Shiloh Johnston • March 16, 2022

March 15, 2022 By Shiloh Johnston, Staff Writer President Biden addressed Congress and the nation in his first State of the Union address on March 1, 2022. The televised address, which was given...

An Old Student Opines on Belonging and Otherness

An Old Student Opines on Belonging and Otherness

Pamela Rudd, Opinion Editor • November 23, 2021

In America, old people are seen as irrelevant - It doesn’t matter your race, religion or political party. We don’t count for much. With our social security, our homes bought for the price of today's...

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