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

The Citizen
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
Leslie Blackie speaks during public comment at the Sept. 23 Board of Trustees study session at Merritt College. (via PCCD livestream)
Student support programs highlighted at Sept. 23 Board of Trustees study session
October 5, 2025
Peralta set to launch campus shuttle service in December
Peralta set to launch campus shuttle service in December
September 29, 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
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
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
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
Graphic by Ivan Saravia, Sept. 1 2025.

Peralta in the roots of Oakland labor history

Courses about the American labor movement are few in number at the Peralta Community College District – across all four schools, the district currently offers just one eight-week class about labor history through Laney College.
Eliot Faine, Multimedia Editor • September 1, 2025

Monday marks 131 years of Labor Day, as observed in the United States and Canada. Courses about the American labor movement are few in number at the Peralta Community College District – across all four...

An unexpected path

An unexpected path

Community college made my dream possible
Sydney Toth, Staff Writer • May 10, 2019

Growing up, I was told that to fit the mold for a “perfect” life I must attend a four year college straight after high school. I was told work hard, get good grades and graduate with an acceptance...

Tower Staff Writer Isis Piccillo

Got $$$? We got the college

 Admissions scandal: a new outrage but old news
Isis Piccillo, Staff Writer • April 9, 2019

The overwhelming response I’ve observed from the recent college admissions scandal is that many are appalled, but few are surprised. Of course rich people are bribing and cheating the system. This...

Coral reefs lead to Laney classroom-Engineering instructor Barkdull works on Ph.D.

admin • March 16, 2019

Isis Piccillo/Tower Staff Writer Mallory Barkdull swims with massive fish in Palau for her environmental fluid mechanics research on coral reefs. Barkdull plans to continue her position as instructor...

In loving memory of KeithWelch, Laney Hero-Students, administrators and friends mourn the loss of…

admin • March 16, 2019

by Michelle Snider/Co-editor Keith Welch graduated from Laney with the class of 2018 and worked tirelessly to help others succeed in their educational goals.Mourning the loss of Laney College alumni...

Teachers’ Strike comes to Oakland

Wen Li • March 1, 2019

Oakland Education Assn. president Keith Brown leads a march to the OUSD district office in downtown Oakland on Feb. 21. The purpose of the teachers’ strike is for higher teacher wages, more...

Broke on purpose — Clash between charter and public school proponents deepens as strike continues

Wen Li • March 1, 2019

President of Oakland Education Association Keith Brown stresses the importance of bringing back the kinds of resources and services that students used to have in Oakland schools.by Michelle Snider A...

Failing our students — The American public school system still has a long way to go; what can be…

Tamia Lane, Column Writer • February 28, 2019

By Tamia Lane We all believe that school systems could do a lot more to improve kids’ learning experiences, whether they are in grade school, middle school or high school. African Americans...

Some students are lost — Navigators Club at Laney can help

admin • February 14, 2019

by Eva Hannan, Co-Editor Laney College Navigators Club President Evetta Williams (right) and Greg Lowerie discuss the nuances of the organization’s goals during a recent Welcome Week event. Photo...

Repair of broken elevator is huge releif for culinary arts students and instructors

admin • December 21, 2018

by Michelle Snider Culinary Arts Department instructor Lawrence Jackson measures the distance to a working elevator. (photo by Michelle Snider)Culinary Arts students and staff had cause for elation...

Facebook to offer tuition-free course

admin • November 9, 2018

Peralta’s ‘historical’ partnership with tech giant set for spring at Merritt campus Saskia Hatvany, Laney Tower Staff Writer Facebook’s Chief Diversity Officer Maxine Williams addressed the...

‘Decision Peralta’ lacks main ingredients

‘Decision Peralta’ lacks main ingredients

admin • October 26, 2018

(Left to Right) Trustee Linda Handy, Peggy Morre (Trustee Riley rep), and Cleavon Smith (representing Cindi Reiss), held forth in ‘Decision Peralta’ in the Laney College Forum on Oct. 17. (Photo...

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