Francene Ayala left the Santa Rosa Junior College campus last March, assuming she’d be back in the classroom soon and graduating this year in-person, but on March 11 2020, the World Health Organization...

The smell of sun-warmed grass permeated the hot May afternoon on Santa Rosa Junior College’s main campus front lawn. More than a hundred people filled the pools of shade under towering oaks in physically...

Sergio Santana-Peralta, who stood tall above his mother, always wore a silver pendant around his neck. The pendant depicted La Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), a powerful spiritual symbol that...

Alexander Nordenso walks to the kitchen to get a snack after his Zoom class and finds his kitten Zuko playing in the spice cabinet. Broken bottles and flakes of seasonings litter the kitchen counter and...

In 2019, Sydney Gittins, an SRJC student, was set on transferring to UCSD in Fall to study marine biology. All her plans changed in March 2020, when the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19...

The assignments still hang on the board — “Hero’s Journey Essay” in blue marker, “Into the Wild” in purple — scrawled with verve under the date, set off eerily in black, “8 November 2018.”...

Exercising was the last thing SRJC student Autumn Antonson wanted to do.  “I struggled a lot, especially in the mornings, when I would have to wake up early,” Antonson said. “I would just be...

Open Zoom. Click. Login to Canvas. Click. Find theGoogle doc. Click. Wait, check Facebook. Click. Link to Youtube. Click.  Joseph Sapp spends another day staring at his computer screen. One moment...

The morning of Dec. 9, 2018, Seth Johansen woke up thinking it was going to be a good day.  “It was almost like I was invincible like I was superman,” he said. That night, Seth found himself high...

Megapixels, HDR, dynamic range and 4K recording; these are the must haves of digital cameras today. Imaging technology has seen leaps and bounds in the past two decades, and modern digital cameras are...

What happens when you drive up to a stop sign? You just want to drive right through it. You're human. You’re not unique. Everyone wants to disregard stop signs, because everyone has an amygdala.  The...

As if the global pandemic isn’t enough, Sonoma County residents wake up every day to the prospect of rolling blackouts, anxiety-inducing Nixle alerts and apocalyptic smoky orange skies, their well-being...

It was a normal day at work for Maiya Newsome until she was approached by two customers who were arguing about masks. The man was irritated with the woman for not wearing a mask in the store. “Hey,...

A restaurant worker, class valedictorian and a nurse all come from different worlds, but are brought together by one thing: how the reality of their lives and jobs changed during the COVID-19 health and...

As a Whole Foods Market employee for three years, Jade, 22, has seen the store through many disasters, including the wildfires in 2017 and 2019. Nothing has compared to the pandemic. “I get anxious...

Every day, Daisy fears her son might kill her. But she stays because she struggles with a lack of support from her family as well as love for him. “He abuses me every day of my life, and it’s torture,”...

Jacky, 19, an SRJC freshman, has been serving coffee for a year now as a barista in a Santa Rosa coffee shop. Working there during a pandemic has completely shifted her experience as a barista, as she...

On a normal afternoon, you would typically find Carson Pforsich at his adapted PE class at Santa Rosa Junior College or coaching high school football. You would see Kylie Johnson on her way to her sewing...

Santa Rosa Junior College student Isabella Natalini, 17, felt the pandemic shelter-in-place time was the perfect opportunity to do something drastic. She decided to dye her blonde hair blue.  “Being...

Santa Rosa resident Barbara White was scammed into purchasing a pack of toilet paper online for $70. “As the days wore on, I checked at various stores. The toilet paper shelves were constantly empty....

A self-proclaimed introvert, SRJC student Alexis Trinei loves being at home. “I have the privilege to bake sweet potato brownies at any given hour of the day,” she said. “I get to be with my 15-year-old...

Emma Ruderman sits motionless in front of her computer. Her eyes dart from the screen to the clock like a game of pingpong as she counts down the last few minutes to class. She steadies her hand, grabs...

It’s a quiet church with empty pews. Father Alvin Villaruel sets up his laptop camera and lights with the help of his aide. He logs into Facebook and starts the stream. It is time for Mass to begin....

Since the shelter-in-place started, most of us are limiting our time outside our homes to hopefully flatten the curve of the COVID-19 virus.  Whether you’re trying to stay connected with friends...

A potent smell wafts through the air, a pang of hunger strikes and the lethargic relaxation slowly kicks in.  These are a few indications that 420 is upon us, and although the day has passed, there's...

On a weekday at noon, it was harder to find a parking spot in front of the Home Depot off Bicentennial Way than in front of the Lucky’s supermarket next door. Shoppers of all kinds walked through the...

Watch this 2:30 second video for three fun, easy and economical ways to entertain your toddler during Sonoma County's shelter-in-place order.

My experience using social media has never been entirely positive. While I enjoy posting pictures of vacations and personal achievements, I’ve always compared myself to other people and their posts or...

Tired eyes. Headache. Mental fogginess.  These are only some of the things that students feel daily because of the flurry of homework and exams combined with having a social life, resulting in high...

Only one of the following stories is true. Can you pick which one?   A. Decatur man discovers bride is ‘his own granddaughter’; no plans for divorce A 68-year-old man from Decatur in Northern...

The dim light from her phone screen highlighted Solangel Rostran’s face as she scrolled through her Tinder feed. Sitting in the comfort of her living room, her face changed as she read messages from...

When Isaac Young opens Instagram, he scrolls through the daily feed perfectly tailored for him by his following list and the app’s own algorithm. He views the pages of artists he follows, stays up-to-date...

Winning was the last thing on Gina Stahl-Haven’s mind as she stepped on stage for the finals of the San Francisco Comedy Competition. In her mind, she had already won. “Once I was in, I was like,...

A psychedelic retreat. A 75-milligram dose of ketamine. Intramuscular injections. Eve laid on her mat with her trip-sitter beside her. She felt it coming on. Then, whoosh. “I don’t know if there...

What’s the biggest single change you have seen at the JC? Chong: More students of color, more diversity in the workforce. I’m the first non-white male president in the history of the college. I’m...

While many students come to college expecting to explore their interests and find a fulfilling way of combining those interests with a career, their world is no longer so simple.  In light of recent...

The last time Santa Rosa Junior College international student Anetra McCartney visited her family on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas was May 29. The three precious days she spent with her mother, Hepzibah...

Silence blankets a packed Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Backstage, a nervous Rhiannon Jones prepares to recite her platform statement for the Miss Sonoma County competition. She stands,...

Trust, stability and high expectations: Dori Elder plans to bring all three to the Santa Rosa Junior College cheerleading team. Elder is the new Bear Cubs cheer coach. She has 19 years’ coaching experience,...

It’s hard to imagine Laure Reichek, now a little old lady, weaving down the winding roads of Chateaumeillant, through the idyllic French countryside with a bicycle and a revolver. It’s harder to imagine...

A fractured identity. Unable to travel freely. Feeling unwelcome in the place they’ve made home. Such are the circumstances for millions of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. in search of a...

Life as a Santa Rosa Junior College student lends itself to sleepless nights. Lacking enough time to fulfill daily obligations at school and work can leave you feeling like you have no other option...

Cross international waters. Stroll down cobblestone pathways at dusk. Clink wine glasses as your eyes wander onto the Ponte Vecchio while the sun takes its final bow. Many college students see international...

Santa Rosa Junior College recently overhauled its financial aid website, complete with the new Financial Aid Television (FATV) video library and Rosco the chatbot. From checklists to application preparation...

Anxiety. Insomnia. Depression. Headaches. As the pressures of survival in present day Sonoma County mount for local students, so, too, do the health consequences. For some students, the negative effects...

Mark Wilson, an adjunct art history instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College, recently published the novel “South Side Story,” his sixth work and first foray into fiction. The novel, available...

John Smith, a Santa Rosa Junior College mathematics instructor, is a “Freeway Flyer.” He is an adjunct professor who teaches at not one, but three colleges each semester — SRJC, Diablo Valley College...

For Santa Rosa Junior College students, walking down Elliott Avenue isn’t exactly a scenic path. Overgrown weeds, invasive shrubbery and brittle blades of yellow grass grimace at students meandering...

The Miss America and Miss Sonoma County competitions are Scholarship Programs first-- and in a decision that has pleased some and disappointed others, they have just gotten rid of their swimsuit contest...

Watching Sonoma County residents come together during the fires inspired Santa Rosa Junior College third-year student Daniela Rodas to run for Miss Sonoma County and advocate for volunteering locally.   Originally...

Lyndsey Burcina celebrated her 19th birthday the day before she competes in this year’s Miss Sonoma County competition. The young politician hopes to bring awareness to creating a safe school climate...

Santa Rosa Junior College sophomore Elita Damron believes she has what it takes to become Miss Sonoma County. She’s personally invested in her platform and is a successful student despite any adversity...

A student will spend most of their college career studying outside of class, and the best place to study without distraction is the library. Of course Santa Rosa Junior College’s libraries offer...

Ozzy Jimenez and Christian Sullberg started their first business in 2011 when they were in their early 20s and have since opened three more Sonoma County-based establishments. Their first was Moustache...

International students come from all over the world to further their education at Santa Rosa Junior College, but the learning curve isn’t limited to the classroom; customs and culture vary greatly between...

It was the early ‘80s when Santa Rosa Junior College opened up to the international community, but it wasn’t until 2014 that outreach efforts gained momentum. When SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong took...

Jane Saldaña-Talley begins every morning with meditation. Using a phone app, she dedicates part of her morning routine to collecting her thoughts and finding peace. Meditation allows her to be more...

He flips down his welding helmet and focuses on the task at hand. The air around him feels thick, the heat in the classroom oppressive from his latest assignment. He lights his torch and watches a flame...

Student success is paramount at Santa Rosa Junior College Children’s Center — and not just for the infants toddling around the center’s play area. SRJC students partially staff the center, caring...

Tanya Sierra’s day starts much earlier than the beginning of the three digital media classes in which she serves as Peer Assisted Learning Specialist for Santa Rosa Junior College Film and Journalism...

Jacob Beal will wake early along the Mexican border and make his way to the Pacific Crest Trail, staring down 2,650 miles of wilderness linking the trailhead with its final destination at the Canadian...

Dakota McGranahan Daisy Garnica turned on the faucet of her aunt’s glass-doored shower and stepped inside. Adjusting the temperature, she sat under the showerhead, letting the water beat against her...

Photographs captured the fires’ unsparing destruction: suburban homes reduced to dust, cars twisted into metal frames teetering on broken axles, smoke still rising from the ash heaps. Readers from...

Life in sunny Sonoma County might be golden, but it’s expensive, especially if you’re a student. Nothing beats a really good deal, particularly when it’s a perk you can use as often as you want....

Santa Rosa Junior College student Joshua Torres saw a tractor-trailer arrive and start to unload passengers. The container had been modified to hold a second deck of people, and he counted around 75...

For Kiet Tran, 19, computers and web design were always a subject of interest. Now he finds himself at Santa Rosa Junior College majoring in web and multimedia with a focus on web design. “I enjoy the...

Jasmine Benigno-Hall Being a single mom in college is like being Wonder Woman: when the odds are stacked against them, they still prevail. College life isn’t easy; it’s a constant balancing act between...

Like many who have large families, Paul Moosman began taking care of kids at 13, when he became an uncle for the first time. Babysitting started him down a path that led to a career in early childhood...

It was the early ‘80s when Santa Rosa Junior College opened up to the international community, but it wasn’t until 2014 that outreach efforts gained momentum. When SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong took...

When your true profession calls, you must go. So says a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former mechanical engineer who felt the call of the written word so strongly he quit a lucrative, well-defined...

A year ago, Chelsea Connors, 22, escaped the Nuns Fire with little more than her pets and her life.  The Santa Rosa Junior College student, like many Glen Ellen residents, lost her home and her belongings...

Four students sit slouched on a pair of reddish-brown leather couches parked to the side of the Petaluma campus cafeteria, their eyes squinted in focus on two flat-panel TVs. The delicate jingles of two...

Santa Rosa Junior College business major Jason Do has worked at his parents’ restaurant since the age of 10. Nine years later he has transformed into a successful manager, well-versed in his parents’...

As a kid, Robert Brownlee used to roam his neighborhood to arrange pick-up basketball and baseball games. Forty years later, Brownlee still roams his neighborhood, but now he's on a mission to help the...

Waste Diversion Technician and self-proclaimed janitor Guy Tillotson spends his whole day thinking about Santa Rosa Junior College’s garbage. In addition to processing all campus waste after it...

A childhood marked by abuse and poverty. A lonely teenage passage from Puerto Rico to Northern California. An early adulthood devoid of relationships with blood relatives, marked by the struggle of a stressful...

  Working three jobs at 15. Watching five-hour shifts morph into nine-hours in the blink of an eye. Bussing tables instead of busting out research papers. For 21-year-old Alexis Morgan, this story...

Movies, such as recent Academy Award winners “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” and “Moonlight,” have the ability to tell stories of the under-represented and marginalized, conveying powerful...

For Ally Deal, volleyball and Sonoma County continue to go hand-in-hand. A local high school standout who crushed records at the college level, Deal is entering her first season as head coach of the...

While running through the grassy knolls of Greasy Grove with my rare pump shotgun, I realized something: Fortnite is a way of life. Yes, technically it’s a video game. But people aren’t playing...

Santa Rosa Junior College student and Black Student Union Vice President Tyler Avery Mary Mowana Lewis, won the 2018 Miss Sonoma County pageant, and now has her sights on winning the upcoming Miss America...

Brewing beer sounds like a dream job. There’s so much room for creativity, like experimenting with flavors and ingredients, tweaking the fermentation process, tasting your creations and perfecting the...

Upward and onward, whether sticking to its roots or chopped like weeds, the valley oaks will form many more rings and take on many new forms. The evergreen backdrop of the campus branches out onto plush,...

Aimless scrolling on social media pages isn’t always a waste of time. Catfishers and cyber stalkers aren’t the only ones lurking on the internet. Sometimes you can find someone truly inspiring or follow...

She recovered from drugs. She wanted to recover from being average. She is still recovering from herself. At 24, Nicolette Gottuso, a speaker at Santa Rosa Junior College’s Recovery Night, is nine years...

Para los estudiantes de primera generación como Cristal López, de 21 años, estudiante de sociología en Santa Rosa Junior College, completar una carrera universitaria es una experiencia desafiante. "Mis...

Historically, financial limitations prevented most people from outside the United States from pursuing an education in the country. The range of international students who attend Santa Rosa Junior College...

For the past 31 years, Renata Breth passed on her passion for photography to Santa Rosa Junior College students. Breth now bids adieu to her position as the only full-time photography instructor at...

For first-generation students like Cristal Lopez, 21, a sociology major at Santa Rosa Junior College, completing a college career is a challenging experience. “Both my parents were unable to complete...

Dr. Frank Chong is the first person of color to become president of Santa Rosa Junior College. He is a proud Chinese-American who broke the mold with his social influence. Chong sat down with The Oak Leaf,...

In journalism, ethical lines can blur when deciding what is suitable to publish under the guise of free speech. In spring of 2003 an extremely controversial article ran in the Santa Rosa Junior College...

The Santa Rosa Junior College Black Student Union (BSU) has been in existence since the late 1960s. Throughout the years its mission has been to unite the African-American student body. According to an...

Of all Santa Rosa Junior College alumni, Brande Roderick’s story is one of the most extraordinary. But trying to reduce her career into a single title is a lost cause. She is an actress with numerous...

We believe that people have the power to transform, an SRJC advisor told the audience after a powerful film screening of the award-winning documentary “The IF Project” at the Bertolini Student Activity...

Editor’s note: To receive updates on stories like this, please download the Oak Leaf mobile app for Apple or Android. Pot, dope, weed. Ganja, chronic, herb. All words used to describe a plant that...

On the outskirts of Santa Rosa, the Santa Rosa Junior College Southwest Center campus serves a student population that exists on the outskirts of the traditional college experience. Erika Moreno-Pratt,...

Forty years ago on March 8, Molly MacGregor held the first Women’s History Day in Sonoma County. On Monday morning, MacGregor shared with SRJC students how her idea grew into the presidentially endorsed...

Engin Yesilyemis spent most of his time alone in hotel rooms. Rather than waste away with what he referred to as “terrifying garbage in and garbage out” cable television, the 43-year-old turkish immigrant...

In the digital media age, we have access to virtually every song ever published and store thousands of pictures in a phone, yet a small and growing culture is going back in time. With high-profile artists...

The Petaluma campus isn’t the cultural epicenter of the Santa Rosa Junior College experience. The Santa Rosa campus boasts the brick buildings, the sports, the art and theater productions. And while...

The Roseland Community Village shopping center is a flurry of activity on a Saturday morning. The heart of this culturally diverse yet civically insulated neighborhood awakens with its residents. Eritrean,...

Brittany Barlett stares through her cell phone, almost as if it is invisible. She’s recounting major milestones as her fingers frantically swipe photographs on the screen.  They range from the positive,...

Two months. For most of us, our lives remain the same over the course of two months. For victims of the North Bay Wildfires, their lives are forever changed from what they resembled two months ago, prior...

Angelica root. Sweet grass. Pepperwood leaves. White mountain sage. Thanksgiving morning smells different for Rose Hammock, 21, a SRJC student studying early childhood education and behavioral sciences. At...

As she drove home, she saw the fires of hell rage in the distance. Meliza Bustos, a Santa Rosa Junior College nursing student who works at a health clinic, did not know how to process the whole scene....

Imagine you’re studying for a test and need to find information online. You go to Google, enter the search terms, and suddenly the Internet slows to a crawl. As you wait for the page to load, you see...

One of Ellen Valazquez’s maternal ancestors was raped by a Spaniard. The scars have been passed on for generations. “I am Latina,” Velazquez said without hesitating. “But I don’t like...

After the wildfires that burned through Sonoma County in October, SRJC Communications Studies instructor Karen Cornwell realized she had to make changes to keep students engaged and moving forward. For...

When the Trader Joe’s on Cleveland Avenue was damaged by the Tubbs Fire and consequently closed, a majority of the store’s employees were transferred to the Santa Rosa Avenue location. Santa Rosa...

Parents often tell their children that too much screen time will fry their brains, but new research suggests consequences may be more severe than burning eyes and lack of sleep. They could face increased...

Sarah Lesson, Philosophy   Q: What do you hope to accomplish here? A: More than anything, I hope to be a small part of the story my students tell about how they fulfilled their dreams. It's hard...

There is a common misconception that successful Santa Rosa Junior College students follow a linear academic path straight from high school. Student president Evelyn Navarro, 24, seeks to challenge more...

There’s a neighborhood in Santa Rosa that once existed within a bureaucratic purgatory realm. The neighborhood is part of a 715 acre, concrete chain of five islands, situated inside Sonoma County yet...

Anamaria Morales is a busy woman. The 19-year-old, full-time SRJC student is a math tutor to seventh and eighth graders and an assistant women's soccer coach for Healdsburg High school. And she somehow...

Santa Rosa Junior College running back John Mumphrey’s week isn’t easy. Mumphrey moved to Santa Rosa from Anaheim to play football for the Bear Cubs last summer and he commits at least 30 hours each...

As fall continues, you’re bound to see more hitchhikers waiting with outstretched thumbs at freeway entrances headed north in search of harvest work. Many are young adults with a lust for green...

With the expansion of legalized marijuana throughout the nation comes the challenge of making cannabis more acceptable in a society that has long been against drugs. In the 2016 election, seven...

John Stover, Sociology:   Q: What do you hope to accomplish here? A: In these early days of my new career here at SRJC Petaluma, I am focused on developing my students' newfound...

It’s Friday at Canevari’s Deli, which means it’s Italian cheesesteak day. Canevari’s cheesesteak is a construction of gooey cheese, finely sliced beef and fresh peppers. It’s one of the best...

A day of celebration turned into a nightmare for a Santa Rosa Junior College communications major. Alex Simms, 21, lived in the Upper Brush Creek neighborhood of Santa Rosa. On Sunday night, Oct....

Santa Rosa Junior College student Kiani Bush’s next-door neighbor pounded on her aunt’s door at 1 a.m. on Oct. 9. Moments later her aunt burst into her room, telling her to pack a bag; they had to...

Metal, ceramic and ash are all that remain at the site of a Coffey Park lot someone once called home. For Michelle Poggi, Santa Rosa Junior College director of student outreach, the memory of times...

While the community rallied in support of SRJC, its students gave back as well. Numerous volunteers, including SRJC students, set out to work at the 15 local shelters that opened to house thousands of...

Fire Prevention Officer Cyndi Foreman woke early Monday morning in her Windsor home to radio calls of structure fires on Mark West Springs Road, and a Sheriff’s Deputy trapped by a wall of flames. Upon...

Nathan Lauterbach smelled smoke as he was getting ready for bed around 10 p.m. on Oct. 8. He was at his family’s home on Heights Road east of Larkfield. He checked CAL FIRE, but its map showed the fire...

Daisy Garnica, de 19 años, estudiante de Santa Rosa Junior College, regresó a su vecindario de Coffey Park a las 10 a.m. el pasado 10 de octubre, después de evacuar un día antes y encontró su casa...

Two SRJC students and soccer players describe their experience returning to sift through the ashes of their lost homes in Coffey Park after the Tubbs Fire destroyed 1300 homes in the subdivision....

Mikayla Butchart was tired of living in New York City. She wanted a quieter life, one where she could have more space and “refill her creative well.” After spending 15 years in the Big Apple, where...

When Ethan De Seife moved his family from Burlington, Vermont to Santa Rosa in July of last year, he didn’t know anyone. All he knew was that he had a job opportunity teaching Media 4, an introduction...

When you tune into the news coverage of the North Bay Wildfire briefings you are bound to see her. She’s the one in the glasses not wearing a uniform, yet her presence at the briefings is just as important...

What some Sonoma County locals lovingly refer to as “God’s country” now resembles a Devil’s playground; a hellish wasteland of ash, smoke and persisting flames. The North Bay wildfires’ scope...

On stage, DJ Dustin Everill is a superstar behind the one’s and two’s, off stage Dustin Engel, 20, is just another Santa Rosa Junior College student. He is one of the most requested DJs at local school...

If you ever need some fashion tips or someone to shop with, you’ll want Santa Rosa Junior College student and economics major Claire Ernst. Ernst, 19, is a student whose fashion style will impress...

This summer Latin songs landed in the billboard list. While you were dancing or singing to the lyrics did you pay attention to what they were saying? Well, if you didn’t, below are the top nine songs,...

In a sea of talented and successful professors, one has taken a stand to benefit STEM students. Biology instructor Abigail Zoger is curating a program that she hopes will help students who enter the...

You’ve heard the phrase: “School isn’t for everyone.” Usually this is uttered by someone who is no longer earning an education. However, even students who are in school--especially those who...

Conflict, mystery, love and suicide; all prominent themes in “Romeo and Juliet.” But what once reigned as the greatest love story has been dethroned to a story that has reached the hearts of a generation. No...

Learning in a dirty environment is an unlikely choice for most students. But when it comes to growing nutritious food, the fields are the best place to learn. Before becoming interested in farming, Donald...

If “Dungeons and Dragons” is too slow and predictable, maybe you would like to get out of the basement for a bit and see what this sunlight and socializing thing is all about. Enter LARP, which...

New student services director inspires first generation students Pedro Avila, Santa Rosa Junior College’s newly appointed assistant superintendent and vice president of student services, is proof...

The best 3-point shooter. The best quarterback. The best defender. The fastest sprinter. No matter the sport, most athletes want to be remembered for their raw ability. A great athlete isn’t measured...

The debate team does not perform highlight dunks on a hardwood floor. They do not smack home runs in front of fans blinded by the screaming sun. Nor do they watch blood bounce on the ice in a rink after...

The path that led Elizabeth Quiroz, 32, to prison was paved with abuse and pain. But through her work with the Santa Rosa Junior College Second Chance club,  story has provides others with inspiration...

Donald Laird, chair of Santa Rosa Junior College’s computer studies department, specializes in teaching what he likes to call “the fun stuff”—3D printing, social media, photoshop, and soon, a new...

It’s easy to forget that we live on a planet spinning in outer space. A glance into the evening sky reminds us how small we are, and how much we don’t know about the universe. If you want to learn...

Fitness apparel is not just for the gym. Women have been on the yoga pants train for quite some time and the trend continues to grow. Fashion icons Kylie Jenner and Kayne West glamorize sportswear. Shoppers...

These days, almost everybody owns a device capable of accessing the internet. People are constantly interacting with one another, sharing sensitive information 24/7. Many users download apps and simply...

Spring break is the glorified week every college student yearns for. Students with a travel budget head to exotic places with white sandy beaches or jet off to some place that still has snow. Other students...

Take a second glance by The Oak Leaf News on Exposure The year is starting off in a way that’s keeping the people of America on their toes. In our current divisive political climate, Maria de Los...

Long lines of spectators crammed inside the small gym. News vans with reporters scattered throughout the high school parking lot. Sports commentators that I had recognized from TV sat beside me and watched...

In this issues center spread we laid out for you a number of craft projects to make your holidays all the more magical. Check out our digital issue at  https://www.theoakleafnews.com/digital-copy/2016/12/13/issue-6-december-12-2016/ ...

  Gleaming eyes, a bright smile and a contagious laugh. Sam Perilla, an international student from Cali, Colombia, sits comfortably on his living room couch. He came to the U.S. five months...

A single farm’s food waste can range from 40 to 60 percent, according to founder of Preserve Farm Kitchens, Merrilee Olson, in her opening statements. Olson facilitated a workshop on applesauce canning...

Starting a business is no small feat, and it’s tough to break into business regardless of your education. Some of the world’s most successful business owners never went to college, including Bill Gates,...

On Oct. 8, 2016, Bill Mitchell turned 90 years old. In his near century of living, Mitchell has been many things: a soldier, an accountant, a postal worker and an ice delivery man. But for more than half...

With the smell of BBQ wafting through the air, Shone Farm’s Fall Festival kicked off Saturday, Oct 8.     Shone Farm, Santa Rosa Junior College’s 365-acre agricultural laboratory, sits in the heart...

One of the most exciting technologies being developed today is 3D printing. This fall, SRJC introduced a new computer studies class titled CS 78.1 for students interested in exploring this new field....

You get to school an hour before your class starts, circle around for what seems like decades, manage to piss a couple people off only to give up and park off-campus. It’s a month into the semester;...

We all start life by leaving home. Whether that is physically leaving our home country, ending a long-term abusive relationship or taking ownership of our own ideas and philosophies, leaving home is a...

Students face many challenges: expensive books, long commutes, balancing a healthy diet on a tight budget, and keeping grades up. For parents who attend school there’s another layer of concern to add...

Santa Rosa Junior College is home not only to an exuberant student body but a surprisingly vast art collection.  Roaming the campus, you may have already spotted a cleverly placed art piece here or a...

Here at Santa Rosa Junior College, home of the Bear Cubs, we’re a community. When a student is hurt, sad or just needs help, fellow students, faculty and alumni rise to the occasion to help a fellow...

The parking lots are full. The coffee bars have long lines of tired patrons. The quad is  bustling with students. Yup, school is in session. This year doesn’t have to be just about passing a class...

Being a college student is expensive whether you’re fresh out of high school or a re-entry student. Just buying books is enough to make your wallet cry. While community college is cheaper than a university,...

Dr. Brenda Flyswithhawks identifies as Tsalagi – an eastern band of the Cherokee nation – of the bird clan. She’s driven by lessons her mother and grandmother taught her about always helping others. She...

Some may call it a music festival, an event, or even a rave, but Santa Rosa Junior College alumnus Nate Danos refers to it in a more personal sense. “It may be strange to you, but it’s home to us.”...

In a neighborhood of predominately Asian immigrants in the 1980s, he found himself mesmerized by classic Kung Fu films. Justin Eggert, 33, Santa Rosa Junior College’s Tai Chi instructor and founder...

On April 22, 2015, Spencer’s life changed forever. “You know what? If you're going to do your own thing, you can do it by yourself,” his mother told him. Spencer never thought his mother would...

Headphones on, cell phone by her side. As she works on her essay, she has several tabs open, including Facebook. Not a minute goes by after she starts writing before she picks up her cell phone. It beeps...

Her eyes slowly open. She realizes her alarm hasn’t gone off. She flies out of bed with her study guides sliding off her. No time to brush her teeth or eat breakfast as she trips down the stairs and...

A new relationship form has emerged quite prevalently. While monogamy is a lifestyle choice, so is polyamory. Healthy relationships aren’t only monogamous relationships. “I’ve been with my partner...

After quitting his part-time job at a kitchen retail store, Santa Rosa Junior College student Mark Malouf, 20, made the decision to take part in Bernie Sanders’ campaign. “My boss had accused me...

Retired Santa Rosa Junior College mass communications instructor Ed LaFrance reflected on 34 years of teaching and dished out dirt on SRJC’s administration. LaFrance retired in 2010. Mass communications...

Balancing a career as a philosophy instructor and maintaining her sanity in a world that’s caught up in rapid progression is what Carla Grady handles gracefully throughout her life. Born and raised...

It took five years for Santa Rosa Junior College English instructor Jean Hegland to write her novel “Into the Forest,” several more years for the novel to be published and 19 years for it to make it...

Buttons, bustles and bustier. Clothing construction can seem impossible when looking at something off the rack. Instructors at Santa Rosa Junior College show that making clothes isn’t as hard as it “seams.” The...

Devon Delzell walks toward the cafe wearing nothing but black; her long black hair trails behind her and her cat eye sunglasses brings the look together. Delzell, 20, is attending her second year at...

As the momentous 2016 presidential elections rapidly approach, Santa Rosa Junior College students can start exercising their constitutional rights to vote in the college’s spring student elections April...

Wake up sick. Find money. Find drugs. Use until you vomit or pass out. Sarah Magnani, 27, shared dark memories of days consisting of nothing more than the chase to find her next fix. She recalled years...

At his lowest point, Tom Beland was saved by the Amazing Spider-Man. “Spider-Man books got me out of depression as a child,” he said. “I lost my parents – they died when I was young – and...

A chocolate frosting painting of the Mona Lisa? A marshmallow lightbulb? Bailey Farren, a sophomore fine arts major at Santa Rosa Junior College, is well-known for painting with unorthodox mediums. She’s...

Working hard to save money for a home while supporting her husband and two children, Santa Rosa Junior College student Stephanie Elrod, 27, saw a possibility of climbing her way out of debt. Then, like...

Temperatures are heating up, and to accommodate the warm weather, Santa Rosa Junior College students have spring fever. Students are starting to shed those winter layers and expose more skin. This clothes...

Santa Rosa Junior College student activism inspires equity that blooms through the college’s learning communities and spurs change. When Damion Square came to SRJC in 2013 from Albany Technical College...

Nudists walking around in broad daylight, Jersey Shore cast members getting their spray tan on and spirits lurking in the distance. What do they all have in common? They were all filmed by cinematographer...

Even before 19-year-old Hannah Cagle became active in social issues, her underlying basis in life was to help others. “My philosophy is do things that are going to ultimately help people, not harm...

Al Maggini roars up in his shiny ink-black Porsche, 15 minutes early. He’s got places to go and he wants the journey to be fun.  Stick-to-it-ive-ness is his middle name. Sixty-five years as an industrious...

 Full of social dancing, workshops and competitions, Capital Swing, the annual West Coast Swing convention in Sacramento, drew many smiling faces on President’s Day weekend 2016. For pro dancers it’s...

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. Tired, Gigi “Muscles” Disidoro got up and grabbed her bag to head to the gym for her early morning workout before sunrise. Waking up in the morning to go to the gym may...

Santa Rosa Junior College student Lena Ballard wakes up between 4 and 6 a.m. She starts her day with yoga or art before heading to her 7:30 a.m. class. She leaves the campus at noon and heads straight...

Dear Malala, Your book made me ask myself how big is my world? Do I live in a small town where I see everybody at the local church and grocery store and ask about how they are doing? Or do I live in...

Qatar isn’t typically on most students’ top vacation destination lists, but for Santa Rosa Junior College student Taylor Fatherree, who stayed in the country from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, it was an exciting...

What do protozoa, copper pot scrubbers and gnarled tree roots have in common? They are all inspirations for the sculpture of 94-year-old Catherine Atkinson, a Santa Rosa Junior College student. Two afternoons...

Alejandra Garcia sleeps at an overnight shelter in Santa Rosa. When she’s not there, she’ll take her daughter to a long brown and white building on Cherry Street to an organization called The Living...

Love at first swipe. Meeting in plain sight. With an abundance of phone applications, dating websites and social stigma about commitment, Santa Rosa Junior College students are swiping away during class...

Sean Cornell’s mother’s death caused her to miss many precious stepping stones in her son’s life when she died. She wouldn’t witness her son graduate from high school, nor would she see him attend...

The music is so loud you can’t hear yourself think. Not that it matters because the room is a blur and the sounds aren’t arranged in chronological order. Dozens of people surround you, constantly bumping...

Merry Christmas! I mean, merry X-Mas? OK, happy holidays! Er… I noticed it’s cold outside? Since when did sharing ‘Season’s Greetings’ require a diplomat’s public speaking skills? When...

It is a rare night for 40-year-old Crystal Roy. She has the house to herself. Her daughter is at a sleepover and her husband, Jerry, is out with their son. Besides the occasional bark of her Chihuahua,...

Every Wednesday and Thursday, barring holidays, a small booth can be seen on the grounds of Santa Rosa Junior College. It’s packed high with vegetables, which people stop by to pick up. The booth...

Bryan Workman, a Santa Rosa Junior College student, prepares for finals by going over his notes and studying weeks in advance. He even adds classical music to the mix, to help him concentrate on his course...

Ahsan Ali Thaheem has only been in the United States for four months, but has learned a lot in that time. He learned Americans are friendly, welcoming people who are open to diversity, especially in...

A glass pendant with an intricate flower design sits beside the highway. A piece of upcyled art made out of used mason jar lids hangs out in an alleyway. A brightly colored graffiti painting waits in the...

Conspiracy theories say The Illuminati are mysterious hidden members of society pulling the puppet strings to control world affairs. The band The Illumignarly took on the persona of being a faceless powerhouse...

Remembering to take a pill every day wasn’t easy for Santa Rosa Junior College biology major Jeannie LeGallee. The 21-year-old tried taking oral contraceptives as a form of birth control but found she...

Grace Ingland made a career out of a pipe dream. She receives income from a job that also happens to be her passion, and no, it’s not something she just does on the side. So what does Ingland do?...

A cloud comforts you as you float blissfully with your beloved companion, Chuck Norris, through a candy-coated landscape, indulging in the sugary commodities materializing around you. “This has to...

Named after Hillel the Elder, the scholar whose teachings founded much of Modern Judaism, Hillel International establishes Jewish communities in college campuses across the globe. Reaching out to Jewish...

Lumafest came to life as a colorful celebration, which for many, stirred the unquenchable thirst of curiosity. Students, faculty and the surrounding community ventured to the grounds of Santa Rosa Junior...

On a Sunday morning in his kitchen, Jack Alhambra strenuously cleaned the floors. His father walked in with a disapproving look. “Work faster, you twit.” Alhambra, now 27, still remembers unfortunate...

Daniel Weir stood in the hall of Burbank Auditorium in 2003 staring at a note on the door which said administration canceled the radio class he was taking at Santa Rosa Junior College. “I was thinking,...

Artists began occupying A Street in 1997 and spurred its much-needed transformation from what  peope could only describe as “a ghetto” into an artist’s utopia with small gardens dotting front yards...

Victoria Sheber accomplished more in her freshman year at Santa Rosa Junior College than most students by their graduation. An English/history double major, Sheber is already a member of the speech and...

Santa Rosa Junior College student Nick Sterba’s attitude toward food reflects many college student’s nutritional prerogatives. “I just eat whatever’s around me or cheapest,” Sterba said. Nothing...

Take a casual stroll around  campus and one thing becomes abundantly clear: Santa Rosa Junior College is saturated with trees. So if there were some hypothetical way for us to benefit from having so...

After a 24-hour bus ride from Mexico City, the 12-year-old boy climbed a hill with his mother, two cousins and his aunt for three hours avoiding Border Patrol agents. Down the hill, another landscape,...

Dealing with life and love is complicated enough; recreating it on stage is a whole other feat. Santa Rosa Junior College’s rehearsals for the first fall theater production, “Almost Maine,” had...

by Catherine Ramirez Her heart raced and her breaths cut short as she heard her sister’s screams over the phone: “Fire, fire!” Ashley Hart panicked. The Valley Fire drew closer to her family...

  You’ve heard of college orientation. What about college disorientation? It’s easy to get lost on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus. Classically beautiful, it is also serpentine, byzantine,...

Enticement all over, you pull the throttle in harder, knowingly feeding your unquenchable urge. Looking ahead, the path falls clear before you; to your side, a cosmic blur of visual intangibleness. The...

Kenneth Chase, 26, loves SRJC and believes it is a great school to transfer from and attend if you're just looking for a vocational degree or certificate. He says that students should go and see a counselor...

Humans are peculiar creatures of habit, often boxing themselves into the idea that ultimately, they are alone in their chosen skills and fascinations. But more often than not your isolated love is not...

https://soundcloud.com/the-oak-leaf-news/srjc-dream-center-and-immigration

SRJC student Theresa Kremer works in the Doyle Library and has an artistic side to her most can only dream of. She’s bright and witty, but she’s facing a problem a lot of people her age are facing....

Gizmos, gadgets, conductors, circuit boards, and a flux capacitor for all is known are bolted against the interior walls of Professor Byrne’s SRJC’s Solar PV bungalow at its Southwest Center location...

Sarai Acosta, a third year student at SRJC, prepares for a new chapter in her life when she transfers to UC Davis next fall. Acosta is one of several SRJC students who continuing their education by...

Hunger is not simply discomfort in the bellies of students. The effects of hunger ripple through many aspects of a student’s life. Jora Methvin is a humanities student at Santa Rosa Junior College. ...

No living descendants. Over 120,000 heirs.  A Sonoma County legend.  Frank P. Doyle is more than a library’s namesake.  He was the most generous man to ever be associated with Santa Rosa Junior College. Why...

Brothers who rock climb together stay together Santa Rosa Junior College student Nathan Johnson who has found himself in risky situations. Johnson recently took a trip to the coast where he decided to...

Just across the street from campus and convenient for your morning stroll to class, the Santa Rosa Junior College bakery offers blended coffee drinks and fresh, student-baked pastries, all organic. Many...

You can see professor Eric Thompson around campus riding his bike to or from school every day, or find him in his Emeritus Hall office, but make sure not to come in without knocking as he might be changing...

Santa Rosa Junior College alumni Jesus Guzman, lead organizer at the Graton Day Labor Center, has spent his whole life in the United States. He speaks English, works full time and goes to school at Sonoma...

Santa Rosa Junior College student Josie Leonard, 18, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a month after graduating from Analy High School. “My mom actually doesn’t even know I have a mental illness....

For Nora Ekberg, fame was not something she was aiming for when her brother asked her to sing vocals for his new song “I’m an Albatraoz.” Ekberg currently attends the Santa Rosa Junior College...

His manner is calm. He tightly pulls over his North Face fleece jacket that helps him withstand a chilly Tuesday morning, ready to discuss how much he has changed since attending school in America. Huy...

Eric Iverson considers himself a Gue’vesa, what the Tau Empire from the tabletop game “Warhammer 40,000” call a human helper. Iverson, 22, is a Santa Rosa Junior College engineering major with a...

I crossed the rickety boardwalk to its end, then counted back the planks on the walk until I found the specified board. I knelt down, but hesitated to reach blindly into the dead weeds that tufted out...

To be able to tell their stories, students June Rader, Luigi Fabiano, Jessie Morgan and Patrick Loughlin have been working many years in the Adapted Physical Education classes (APE) at Santa Rosa Junior...

Private First Class Bruce Thompson, 10 Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, proudly received a letter around Thanksgiving 1967 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. The letter said “greetings” and informed Thompson...

Forty-six dollars a unit, $60 for a parking pass, $19 for health services; these are the regular semester costs of a Santa Rosa Junior College student. Then of course there are textbooks.  “Book prices...

February is Black History Month, an opportunity for all people to learn about the contributions black Americans have made throughout history. At Santa Rosa Junior College, the Black Student Union hopes...

It’s hard to find shoes with studs, leather fringe or stylish zippers that go in different directions at a normal store. These custom-made shoes are worn by top celebrities. The hand-made, one-of-a-kind...

A new semester may bring students high ambitions, hopes for straight A’s and the opportunity to turn past mistakes around. One week later reality can strike disguised in the form of used textbooks,...

Have you been looking for love in all the wrong places? Maybe you should try Tinder. Tinder is a free app you can download to your smart phone. It allows you to search for fellow Tinder users in the area,...

Santa Rosa Junior College art history major, Judy Leroy, is taking a sex and gender class in support of anyone who has, or is in the process of sharing that they are members of the LBGT community. “It’s...

Thoughts of not being accepted at school, home or in society were worries that current Santa Rosa Junior College student Mason Weaver, 20, had running through his head when he decided to come out to his...

With the recent mention of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights by President Obama at the 2015 State of the Union address, he became the first president to acknowledge the lesbian, bisexual and...

Shortly after telling her coworkers she was gay, Taylor Bradford, 19, a fifth semester Santa Rosa Junior College student started hearing rumors being circulated about her sexuality. One rumor was that...

Robert Bailey, 45, attended Santa Rosa Junior College as a student and employee between 1992 and 2002 at the Petaluma campus. Coming out as gay to SRJC co-workers and fellow students in 1997, Bailey recalls...

Trisha Seeyle, 24, is a Santa Rosa Junior College alumnus who grew up in Sonoma Valley, and knew she was different because of who she was attracted to. “I have always been attracted to boys and girls....

Santa Rosa Junior College English major Katie Suoja, 25, would not consider herself gay, straight, lesbian or bisexual. Instead, she prefers to say she doesn’t consider sex when choosing a partner. When...

On a Thursday morning, Chris Beebout waits at a Santa Rosa Transit stop for a bus in route to Santa Rosa Junior College. A stranger walks up to him and promptly says, “The world does not fully understand...

Sonoma State University featured the Reel Rock 9 Film Tour showing of Sender Films’ “Valley Uprising” on Nov. 6. The documentary will not be screened at any big-screen theaters but the Blu-Ray, DVD...

Former Santa Rosa Junior College student Dan Katra creates art that is difficult to categorize as he has carved out a niche easily overlooked by a generation raised in the digital age. He is both designer...

Santa Rosa is world-famous for its plant wizards and beer alchemists, but few people know its place in science-fiction history. Long before Frank Herbert published his masterpiece "Dune" in 1965, he lived...

Photo by: Jeanine-Flaton Buckley On a rooftop near downtown Santa Rosa, Benjamin “Brutus” Gruey, a former Santa Rosa Junior College student and co-editor-in-chief of The Oak Leaf, pulled a queen-sized...

A civil-litigator-turned-public-speech-instructor and forensics debate coach may sound like a daunting authority figure, yet Santa Rosa Junior College communications studies instructor Hal Sanford deviates...

A curious sea monster silently scrutinizes students who meditate on their next assignments at Santa Rosa Junior College Doyle Library. Moored to a wall on the fourth floor, “The Whale” is an impressive...

The first time Santa Rosa Junior College student Bridget Wyckoff dressed up as the character Poison Ivy at a convention the experience gave her a much needed self-esteem boost and helped her break out...

After shuffling between school expulsions, arrests and a five-year prison sentence, former Santa Rosa Junior College student Phil Parfitt’s path of self-destruction is now a 17-year-long path of self-construction. “I...

Each new generation redefines the “f-word,” a complex and controversial issue — no, not the f-word that  most people yell when they slam their finger in a car door — but feminism. Some consider...

The familiar hiss of rushing cars affirms the presence of nearby cities and towns, but the sound is faint to volunteers who have made the short commute to another landscape. Rows of mounded earth give...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: As an instructor I want students who want to be in the classroom, that don’t feel like they’re being gouged for money, and that are engaged, and that’s what I’ve found...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: It was just a great opportunity to teach nursing in a clinical setting at the hospitals that I was familiar with. Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field? A:...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: It’s a great college academically, the locations wonderful and I have a lot of family in the area. Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field? A: When I learned...

There is an app for almost anything imaginable these days, even to train for the zombie apocalypse. While there isn’t an app that can magically teleport people where they want to go, there’s Lyft,...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: There is diversity and a shared governance and faculty collaboration.   Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field? A: I am El Salvadorian and was the first...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: SRJC has the best reputation in the Bay Area and is ahead of the game in implementing new school policies.   Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field? A:...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: The SRJC campus is magical, and the students want to be here.   Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field? A: I try to help students the way I needed it...

Q: What drew you to SRJC? A: I was really drawn to the diversity  of people and culture. Probably the last thing is the outdoors, the mountain biking and the surfing.   Q: What inspired you...