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

The Citizen
A graffitied sign at the Oakland entrance of the Coast Guard Island near Alameda, CA on October 23, 2025.
District warns of anticipated federal immigration enforcement “surge” in East Bay
October 23, 2025
Left to right: Gavin Piedra, Arctomy Padilla, and Mariah Pon, organizers of the Student Arts Guild, prepare for a Club Rush event.
Submissions now open for Berkeley City College student-run art show
October 21, 2025
Peralta will join in international “Great Shakeout” earthquake drill
Peralta will join in international “Great Shakeout” earthquake drill
October 14, 2025
Chancellor Tammeil Gilkerson speaking to a crowd of Peralta employees during the fall 2025 District FLEX Day at Merritt College in Oakland, CA on Aug. 15, 2025.
Big changes may be coming to Peralta. Here’s the plan so far
October 8, 2025
Merritt College to host "Peralta Pumpkin Pursuit" district fundraiser marathon
Merritt College to host “Peralta Pumpkin Pursuit” district fundraiser marathon
October 7, 2025
A pair competes in the Potato Dance contest, where two people hold a potato between their foreheads and dance around the arena at the NAHC Powwow at Merritt College in Oakland, CA., on September 27, 2025.
‘Laughter is Medicine’, Annual Powwow highlights Native American healthcare
October 13, 2025
Trellis and sign stand at the entrance to the Urban Community Gardening class plot at the Lakeside Park Garden Center in Oakland, CA., on September 23, 2025. 
Merritt College urban garden class sows “practical skills”
October 6, 2025
Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff performs with her band at Etcetera Wine Bar in San Francisco, CA., on April 15, 2025.
Alumnus reflects on decades-long performing career: “it really started in Laney College”
September 26, 2025
Yunomi by Ian Bassett is one of the featured works at the new exhibition. STOKED highlights the unique texture and color of wood-fired ceramics.
National art exhibition ‘STOKED’ showcases wood-fired possibilities for Laney ceramics program
September 24, 2025
Mina Spasely, peer mentor for SALAAM learning community and nursing major at College of Alameda, poses in front of the sign for the college. SALAAM aims to uplift CoA students from Arab, Southwest Asian and North African diasporic communities.
SALAAM program helps immigrant women find confidence and careers at CoA
September 19, 2025
Left to right: Gavin Piedra, Arctomy Padilla, and Mariah Pon, organizers of the Student Arts Guild, prepare for a Club Rush event.
Submissions now open for Berkeley City College student-run art show
October 21, 2025
Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff performs with her band at Etcetera Wine Bar in San Francisco, CA., on April 15, 2025.
Alumnus reflects on decades-long performing career: “it really started in Laney College”
September 26, 2025
Yunomi by Ian Bassett is one of the featured works at the new exhibition. STOKED highlights the unique texture and color of wood-fired ceramics.
National art exhibition ‘STOKED’ showcases wood-fired possibilities for Laney ceramics program
September 24, 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
Graphic made in Canva
Dial Tones and Disengagement: A student election marked by silence
October 16, 2025
Graphic of a student journalist, using a rolled up newspaper to break the ribbon of silence.
The Citizen will not “take down” the truth
October 4, 2025
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
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

Politics

A graffitied sign at the Oakland entrance of the Coast Guard Island near Alameda, CA on October 23, 2025.

District warns of anticipated federal immigration enforcement “surge” in East Bay

Peralta’s email affirmed “the right of all to receive a college education, including individuals lacking immigration credentials” at its colleges.
Ivan Saravia, News Editor • October 23, 2025
As federal immigration enforcement escalates to the Bay Area, Peralta asserted that all students have "the right to receive a college education, including individuals lacking immigration credentials” at its colleges.
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...

An audience in academic regalia watches a graduation ceremony. One graduation cap reads, "All that I am & hope to be, I owe to those who believed in me[.]" (Photo: Marcus Creel/PCCD)

Gilkerson quells Pell grant fears during federal freeze: “This executive order does NOT impact your financial aid”

A White House memo mandating a freeze on all federal grants left students nationwide concerned about their financial aid.
Desmond Meagley, Editor in Chief • January 29, 2025
A pause on federally funded grants would not impact student financial aid, the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) informed students Tuesday. The district’s reassurance came during an uncertain moment for the future of publicly funded institutions nationwide.
Laney community reflects on 2024 election results

Laney community reflects on 2024 election results

How is the Laney community responding to the new president-elect? (Spoiler: Mixed emotions.)
Rym-Maya Kherbache, Toni McGhee, and Gabriela Garcia • November 24, 2024
The Laney College community is reacting with mixed emotions and some strong commentary to the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Voter registration display at Laney College library entrance. Photo by Kristina Hoessl.

Worried that you missed the voter registration deadline? Same Day Registration is still an option

Kristina Hoessl, Staff Writer • November 3, 2024
U.S. citizens who are California residents can register to vote up until Election Day using Same Day Voter Registration.
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

The Citizen makes plans for public forums, endorsement
Desmond Meagley, Associate Editor • September 17, 2024
A challenger has stepped forward in the Area 2 Peralta Community College (PCCD) Board of Trustees election.
Brougham (left) and Warren (right) at the Japanese Tea Garden in SF, circa 1975. (Photo courtesy of Tom Brougham)

Former LGBTQ trustee reflects on past activism and Peralta politics, opines on chancellor search

Tom Brougham, former trustee, urges board to choose a chancellor committed to 'maximizing future educational opportunity'
Timothy Lane, Opinion Editor • October 28, 2023

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees was once the political home of a groundbreaking local gay politician, Tom Brougham. Brougham, 80, worked for the City of Berkeley until his...

CA bill would alter Brown Act requirements for elected student representatives at California Community Colleges

CA bill would alter Brown Act requirements for elected student representatives at California Community Colleges

Lylah Schmedel-Permanna, Staff Writer • May 1, 2023
A controversial bill recently passed through the California State Assembly Higher Education Committee that could change Brown Act teleconferencing requirements for student body organizations at community colleges. The bill will be heard next by the Assembly Local Government Committee on May 3. 
Former Student Trustee Accuses Trustee Nicky González Yuen of “Tactics of Intimidation”

Former Student Trustee Accuses Trustee Nicky González Yuen of “Tactics of Intimidation”

Shiloh Johnston, Editor in Chief • March 2, 2023

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY Update 2:45pm, March 3, 2023: Following the publication of this story, an anonymous submission to the Citizen Secure Leak portal pointed out a public comment made...

February 14 Board of Trustees Meeting Recap

February 14 Board of Trustees Meeting Recap

Ken Lester, Managing Editor • February 23, 2023

The Peralta Community College District’s (PCCD) Board of Trustees convened on Tuesday, Feb. 14 for their regularly scheduled meeting. Issues covered at the meeting included discussions on district...

Kevin Jenkins: From School Trustee to the Town Stump

Kevin Jenkins: From School Trustee to the Town Stump

Luke Wrin Piper, Consulting Editor • February 22, 2022

Kevin Jenkins is a dangerous kind of elected official – he is both young and experienced. He is the kind of leader that can leave a room full of students feeling heard; who is unassuming and approachable,...

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