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

The Citizen
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Merritt College updates its online resources for undocumented students after The Citizen finds outdated information from 2022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
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
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 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
Smoke from the Keller Fire rises into the air above the Oakland hills. Residents near Merritt College and the Oakland Zoo were evacuated from the area Friday.

Oakland “Keller Fire” sparks Merritt College evacuation

Desmond Meagley, Associate Editor • October 19, 2024
A fire broke out Friday in the Oakland Hills, causing Merritt College to temporarily shut down and evacuate students and staff.
The melted three-phase switch that powers the Student Center and the F building was compromised when a rodent touched two poles and caused a 1200 volt ‘arc flash’ that compromised the power distribution to the buildings on March 28, causing students, faculty and personnel to evacuate.

Rodent ‘sets off’ electrical failure

Trustees take quick action, hire firm to effect ‘emergency electrical repairs’
Saskia Hatvany, Co-Editor • April 19, 2019

In an emergency meeting on April 15, the Peralta Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $220,108 contract for Rosendin Electrics to effect “emergency electrical repairs” to the Laney College Student...

“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...

Convention center renovations set to begin-Construction on the Henry J.

admin • March 16, 2019

by Michelle Snider/Co-Editor The Henry Kaiser Convention Center near Laney College has lain dormant for over 15 years. Orton Development presented plans at Laney College on Mar. 2 for the...

Rousing welcome for ‘Year of the Boar’

admin • February 14, 2019

by Isis Piccillo/Tower Staff Writer Cover image by Toni Cervantes/ Tower Staff Photographer Taiko drummers perform at the Oakland Museum of California on Feb. 10 as part of the museums Lunar...

Word on the Quad — Who do you think should run against Trump in 2020?

admin • February 5, 2019

Laura Byrne, Major: ArchitectureBernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortz would be a very progressive ticket. It’s a white man but also a woman of color who’s young, so I feel like they balance each...

Oakland homeless encampment scores victory in court

admin • December 21, 2018

The Village residents force City to halt plan to evict them, remove structures by Robert Hinton A tiny home sits in The Village, a homeless encampment in North Oakland, behind a sign advocating for...

Laney to compete in NorCal Championship

admin • December 21, 2018

Eagles shut out SMC 14–0 to advance to final for the first time ever by Eva Hannan Tight end El-Joshua Allen jogs off the field in Laney’s victory against Chabot College on Nov. 9. The Eagles...

Laney Takes the Cake — Laney’s culinary students show off exceptional skills

admin • December 21, 2018

Photos and article by Michelle Snider Photo used for cover artThe smell of herbs, roasting meats, and freshly cut vegetables mingle in the air as students can be heard shuffling around the kitchen...

I’m a Shaky Catholic.

admin • December 21, 2018

I need evidence the church is going to stand up to evil it preaches against. By Alice Robinson Robinson’s Oakland based church, Our Lady of Lourdes Church has been located at northeast side Lake...

“Mommy, what’s a Tuff Shed?”

admin • November 9, 2018

Peter Brown is a Laney sculpture student and retired instructor. Here he is speaking at the Poor People’s Campaign Teach-in held at the Laney Student Center on Oct. 31.by Peter Brown With over...

BPP marks 52nd anniversary in Oakland

admin • October 27, 2018

Powerful voices pay tribute to the Black Panther party in Frank Ogawa Plaza By Geremy D. Lowe (Right to Left) Oakland District 2 candidate Kenzie Smith and original Black Panther Saturu Ned. Ned...

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