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

The Citizen
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Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022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
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
February 20, 2025
(Photo by Li Khan/The Citizen)
PCCD to hold hearing on proposed layoffs
February 10, 2025
Faculty, classified employees, and administrators convened Friday to share ideas for how to repair the district's financial crisis in the long term. The district needs to make at least $11.5 million in cuts next year, but officials say a significant "reimagining" of the district is necessary to sustain the district in the long run.
PCCD is in crisis. Everything is on the table
February 1, 2025
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”
January 29, 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
A new space for LGBTQ+ students has popped up on the Laney College campus. The Queer Community center will host events and offer resources to LGBTQ+ members of the Peralta community.
‘We’re here, we’re in school, we have dreams’: New Laney queer center offers safe haven for LGBTQ+ students
November 20, 2024
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
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
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 19, 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 8, 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
Isis Piccillo

Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief

Isis Piccillo (they/them) was born and raised in the Bay Area. An avid reader and lover of libraries, Piccillo knows reading has been key to developing their writing voice. They are invested in covering and amplifying the voices of marginalized and underrepresented groups, especially in the areas of health and science. When not frantically copyediting or furiously writing, Isis can be found on the soccer field, or with food.

All content by Isis Piccillo
Dr. Timothy Karas

College of Alameda president leaves Peralta

Tim Karas to become superintendent/president at Mendocino College
Isis Piccillo, Co-Editor
June 19, 2020
Hate speech is free speech, whether we like it or not

Hate speech is free speech, whether we like it or not

District comments misleading, untrue
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
May 15, 2020
Students grapple with finishing semester online

Students grapple with finishing semester online

Range of stresses, access to resources
Kasper Dilmaghani and Isis Piccillo
May 7, 2020
Peralta to give refunds, questions remain

Peralta to give refunds, questions remain

Half of parking fees to be refunded, but 'enrollment fees' unclear
Isis Piccillo and Jacquelyn Opalach
April 27, 2020
State chancellor’s office 'expects' colleges to give refunds, Peralta remains undecided

State chancellor’s office ‘expects’ colleges to give refunds, Peralta remains undecided

District is 'continuing to discuss'
Jacquelyn Opalach and Isis Piccillo
April 21, 2020
Peralta employees say listserv restrictions created havoc, violate First Amendment

Peralta employees say listserv restrictions created havoc, violate First Amendment

District cites vitriol and best practices
Jacquelyn Opalach, Isis Piccillo, and Christy Price
April 17, 2020
Lock-down Diaries: Isis

Lock-down Diaries: Isis

Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
April 11, 2020
text saying peralta classes resume April 6 campsues remain clsoed

Peralta classes resume April 6, campuses remain closed

What students should know before Monday
Isis Piccillo, Jacquelyn Opalach, Ryan Barba, and Kasper Dilmaghani
April 4, 2020
Text: Board grants one-week emergenc authority to chancellor

Board grants one-week emergency authority to chancellor

Peralta trustees disagree on timeline, scope of power
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
March 18, 2020
Text saying: "Breaking: all Peralta classes suspended, including online"

All Peralta classes suspended, including online

Campus and district remain closed through April 6
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
March 16, 2020
BREAKING: Peralta District announces closure of all four campuses and district office

BREAKING: Peralta District announces closure of all four campuses and district office

Employees asked to work remotely over spring break
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
March 13, 2020
District leaders meet with trustees via phone for an emergency meeting to change the academic calendar. (Photo by Ryan Barba/The Citizen)

Peralta cancels classes, moves spring break in response to coronavirus

Campus facilities remain open as faculty encouraged to prepare for alternate instruction methods
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
March 11, 2020
Image of coronavirus COVID-19 under a microscope

Concerned about the coronavirus?

PCCD on preparation, prevention
Isis Piccillo and Menel Raach
March 5, 2020
CHRONICLING CHINESE CUISINE: R' Noodles

CHRONICLING CHINESE CUISINE: R’ Noodles

Bay Area Food Adventures
Isis Piccillo, Editor in Chief
March 4, 2020
Peralta colleges placed on probation

Peralta colleges placed on probation

Isis Piccillo and Ryan Barba
February 10, 2020
Almost three years later, Peralta campuses still not compliant with state all-gender restroom bill

Almost three years later, Peralta campuses still not compliant with state all-gender restroom bill

District navigates bureaucracy and complications from aging facilities
Isis Piccillo
December 20, 2019
On journalism: Covering the transgender community

On journalism: Covering the transgender community

Isis Piccillo, Managing Editor
November 20, 2019
California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley. (Photo courtesy of California Community Colleges)

California Community Colleges prioritize remedial class reform, financial aid, diversity

Student journalists interview Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley
James Millett and Isis Piccillo
October 24, 2019
Still image from Oakland Root SC’s release video of DeVante DuBose (second from left) sitting with young supporters. Courtesy of Oakland Roots.

Rooted in Oakland: ‘Deeper than my own story’

Professional soccer player DeVante DuBose connects with community and coaches with creativity
Isis Piccillo, Managing Editor
October 18, 2019
Trustee Nicky González Yuen speaks during open session of Peralta Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 26.

Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud selected as Peralta’s new chancellor

Isis Piccillo and Saskia Hatvany
September 26, 2019
Inflated floweresque tents from Astro Botannicals shade lounging readers at the 2019 Bay Area Festival in Berkeley. (Photo: Isis Piccillo/The Tower)

Readers converge on Bay Area Book Festival 

Annual event in downtown Berkeley hosts authors, vendors, bibliophiles
Isis Piccillo, Staff Writer
May 16, 2019
Oakland gym empowers community

Oakland gym empowers community

Queer body positive exercise space Radically Fit emphasizes movement for health, not looks
Isis Piccillo, Staff Writer
April 19, 2019
“Journalism can really take you places” Tower Co-Editor Saskia Hatvany won honorable mention for an on-the-spot cartoon competition based on journalist Kevin Fagan’s speech at the 2019 JACC state convention. Fagan likened journalism to a public service and talked about the rollercoaster of experiences he encountered throughout his journalism career, from being held at gunpoint to reviewing ice cream flavors for a story.

Everyone is biased

Isis Piccillo, Staff Writer
April 19, 2019
Tower Staff Writer Isis Piccillo

Got $$$? We got the college

 Admissions scandal: a new outrage but old news
Isis Piccillo, Staff Writer
April 8, 2019
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