Evacuating Healdsburg: My experience fleeing home during the Kincade Fire
Jose Gonzalez, Staff Writer
December 12, 2019
I had tears streaming down my face and my hands were shaking — I feared what would come next. Healdsburg was under mandatory evacuation. I wondered if it would burst into flames and if I would return to a pile of ash instead of my hometown. The Kincade Fire started at 9:27 p.m. Oct. 23 near Geyservi...
The digital detox diary: My 24-hour device-free diet
Mark Fernquest, Co-Magazine Editor
December 12, 2019
The rules: my digital diet will last 24 hours, during which time I will forgo cell phone, laptop, internet, debit/credit card and electronic key-fob usage. I will, however, use analog technology as usual, including clocks, my truck and a pay phone — if I happen to come across one that works. Prefa...
Carceral state: The prison industrial complex wasn’t the solution for my mom
Jesse Kapukui, Co-Features Editor
December 12, 2019
The first time my mom was incarcerated — for vandalizing public property — I counted the approximately 730 days until she’d get out. Every weekend I got used to the dehumanizing routine. I checked my pockets for contraband, made sure my clothes followed the dress code, walked into the crowded...
Climate Changed: Time to change our habits
Oak Leaf Editorial Board
September 29, 2019
It’s in the back of our brains, omnipresent as we walk from building to building, the unusually torrid October breeze slapping against our skin. Climate change is real. It’s happening all around us and Sonoma County is one of the first places to get a full picture of its desolation. It’s unden...
Better to burn out than to fade away: A right and proper response to the climate crisis
Zane Zinkl, News Editor
September 20, 2019
Note: This story contains vulgarity Nothing we do in this college, in this society, with the approval of old and evil people will save the world. But they were never going to save the world. They were the ones sick enough to wreck it in the first place. All their paths have led to the destruction of ...
Learn while you can, party when convenient
Riley Palmer, Co-Editor-in-Chief
September 20, 2019
I did not want to jump, yet I wanted more than ever to feel the crisp Oregon water swallow me whole. The rocks were uneven, my feet’s grip on the perforated cliff shaky and apprehensive. My heart raced and clawed its way up to my throat. I don’t usually let myself feel fear over something that c...
Top 10 cigarettes I smoked in Europe
Zane Zinkl, News Editor
September 4, 2019
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS CHEMICALS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER OR BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM. SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE IS A SMOKE-FREE CAMPUS ...
Lessons I learned from my autistic brother
Riley Palmer, Staff Writer
May 14, 2019
My brother Julian and I have completely different minds. He is fascinated by the world of 1980s VHS tapes and has shelves upon shelves of colorful cardboard boxes, while I am more of a Netflix person. He has a mysterious fear of dogs, but I welcome any that show up on our porch. He has no concept of an...
In favor of secession
Mark Fernquest, News Editor
March 7, 2019
I may not surf, smoke pot, be transgender or ride a skateboard, but by Goddess I’m as Californian as you can get. I spent my privileged and misguided youth hiking the open, Oak-studded coastal foothills bordering Silicon Valley, in the shadows of Koko the sign language-speaking gorilla and the atom...
How to do Valentine’s Day on a budget
Edgar Soria Garcia, Illustrations Editor
February 14, 2019
Just because you’re broke doesn't mean your heart has to be. Valentine's Day is here, along with the opportunity to have a great day with your sweetheart. There’s just one issue: Your brain says Cheesecake Factory, but your bank account says Taco Bell. There’s no need to worry. Here are f...
Single people rejoice, you are alone this Valentine’s Day—and that’s a good thing.
Staff writer, Raul Ojeda
February 13, 2019
Valentine’s Day is fast-approaching. With so much love in the air you may ask yourself, “Why am I still single?” But honestly: it’s not that bad. Every year I hear the same complaints from friends. They complain about how stressful Valentine’s Day is and how, in the end, they didn’t ...
Back in the saddle again
Lenita Marie Johnson, Staff Writer
December 13, 2018
Abraham Fuentes Returning to college after several decades in the work world can be tumultuous and often a little crazy-making, to put it mildly, especially after earning a Bachelor of Science in media during the wild and crazy mid-70s. Now I spend hours in a classroom and even more in the newsroom at The Oak Leaf, Santa Rosa Junior College’s student news media. I’m taking c...
Courtesy of Noe Naranjo
James Domizio, Staff Writer
December 12, 2019 • No Comments
In the 2010s, we saw many new classics by directors ranging from old masters to emerging talent. From...
Photo by City of Healdsburg
Firefighters, police officers and Healdsburg city staff gather Friday, Nov. 8 at the Healdsburg Plaza on the night of "Coming Together in Gratitude," days after the Kincade Fire.
Jose Gonzalez, Staff Writer
December 12, 2019 • No Comments
I had tears streaming down my face and my hands were shaking — I feared what would come next. Healdsburg...
Photo by Abraham Fuentes
The challenge is to go 24 hours without digital devices and internet access to test capacity for a disconnected life.
Mark Fernquest, Co-Magazine Editor
December 12, 2019 • No Comments
The rules: my digital diet will last 24 hours, during which time I will forgo cell phone, laptop, internet,...
December 12, 2019
Fake reality: SRJC students unprepared for a fake news world
December 12, 2019
“That’s just how it is”: Trials and tribulations of modern day dating
December 12, 2019