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

The Citizen
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
Andrea Epps speaks to the Peralta Board of Trustees about an independent analysis into the district's equity as an employer. Despite finding Latinx-identified individuals to be underrepresented among district employees, the analysis did not show "persistent patterns of adverse impact” on hiring “by race, ethnicity, or gender.”
Laney-Merritt merger “concerns” and EEO presentation at Sept. 9 Board of Trustees meeting
September 29, 2025
SEIU members pack the Board of Trustees regular meeting at the Peralta District Offices, Aug. 26, 2025.
Board hears union opposition during public comment and more at Aug. 26 Board meeting
September 9, 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
Graphic by Ivan Saravia, Sept. 1 2025.
Peralta in the roots of Oakland labor history
September 1, 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 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
(Photo: Glen Carrie/Unsplash)
Student elections open today. Has voter information been ‘widespread’?
April 9, 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
“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

Isis Piccillo won first place for participation in the on-the-spot opinion writing competition at the 2019 JACC State convention. Piccillo wrote about award winning journalist Kevin Fagan’s keynote speech...

Melting guns to plant trees: Reclaiming MLK Day

admin • February 5, 2019

Local non-profit ‘Lead to Life’ melt guns in front of city hall in a symbolic act of defiance. By Michelle Snider. Attendees for a “People’s March” carry banners through downtown Oakland...

It’s been a good run…

admin • May 28, 2018

by Sarah Carpenter & Brian Howey Brian Howey & Sarah Carpenter are finishing their tenure as co-editors-in-chief of the Laney Tower.For four tumultuous and exciting semesters, we’ve kept...

Archive of Print Editions

admin • February 22, 2018

[To load PDF, click caption or image] May 17, 2018In this issue … News: How safe are we?News: Teachers union concerned about class cutsOpinion: Is being a Black woman on the internet worth it?Opinion:...

Laney Tower wins high marks at conference

admin • April 20, 2017

Journalism Association of Community Colleges gives Tower 11 awards for writing, design By Bonnie Oviatt The Laney Tower earned 11 awards at the 2017 Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC)...

Letter to the editor — Tower Watch draws response from district official

admin • March 30, 2017

Sarah Carpenter/TowerA letter to the editor By Sadiq B. Ikharo I am writing to let you and your editorial staff know that the District and College Administration are working very hard to fix and...

Letters to the Editor — Tower gave reader the run-around

admin • May 19, 2016

The story “Ripped off” (May 5) begins with an engaging aesthetic framing the issue on hand, yet the way the story is broken up and positioned all over the Tower is a bit of a nuisance, especially...

You’re already a journalist

admin • May 19, 2016

There’s a tradition at the Laney Tower: on their way out, editors-in-chief write farewell op-eds in which they offer advice or words of wisdom to their readers. I’m deviating from this tradition...

The Laney Tower is your newspaper

admin • April 7, 2016

Here at the Laney Tower, we do our best to reflect the comings and goings of not only the Peralta Colleges, but also the East Bay community at large. Our audience isn’t the tech-bros gentrifying the...

Laney Tower attends JACC

admin • November 20, 2014

Six representatives from Laney College attended the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) 2014 NorCal Conference at California State University, Sacramento on November 8, 2014. Vying for...

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