Features - The Oak Leaf

In 2019, when I moved down the street from Melanie (left), we often found ourselves at Harlem Nights, a bar in Harlem, New York, known for its music and fun crowd.

Memorializing Melanie: From pain to purpose

Leilany Sosa, Reporter • May 17, 2024

Home is far from a safe haven. According to a press release in November 2023 from UN Women, roughly 55% of all female homicides have been committed by someone they knew. This depicts...

Kenny Hotchkiss, SRJC student and member of the Second Chance Club, a student-run club for formerly incarcerated students, compares his life to a caterpillar’s. Since he’s become sober after almost a lifetime of struggling with addiction, he now can break free from his cocoon and show the world he is a butterfly.

Growing New Wings

Michael Combs, Editor • May 12, 2024

Seven years ago, Santa Rosa Junior College student Kenny Hotchkiss had only one wish: to die. He was 11 years into living unhoused with constant stints in and out of jail and nearly...

The Oak Leaf reporter Sal Sandoval-Garduño and the manifestation of his inner Bigfoot confront each other after Sandoval-Garduño realized that Bigfoot was in his heart all along.

I Went Searching for Bigfoot and Found Myself

Sal Sandoval-Garduño, Reporter • May 12, 2024

Morning traffic. Tax season. Las Vegas Raiders fans. This is the price we pay to live in “modern” society. Well, I’d had enough. My girlfriend...

Genaveve Clendenen, a student worker, poses in the entrance to Doyle Library, where she works to loan students laptops, chargers, books and chargers, among other resources.

The Perks of Being a Bear Cub

Max Millan, Editor • May 10, 2024

Hungry? Need therapy? Does your vehicle need repairs? Need affordable childcare, dental care, reproductive healthcare and more? You may resort...

The exterior of the SRJC planetarium dome with Maggini Hall and the soccer fields in the background. The planetarium entered service in 1980 and closed in 2018.

(please) Save the Planetarium

Rosemary Cromwell, Reporter • May 9, 2024

Did you know there was a time when Santa Rosa Junior College students could smooch with their crushes under the stars in comfy recliners while...

SRJC student employees start with an hourly wage of $16.50 an hour, and can be raised to $17.50 after an evaluation and 600 hours of work. International students start even lower, at $15 an hour.

Students battle for living wages

Amy Moore, Reporter • May 9, 2024

The irony was not lost on Santa Rosa Junior College student-employee Alonso Rodríguez Villalobos that he had to quit his job as a student success...