College Beat

People walk past an “End Overdose” outreach table with informational materials and QR codes set up in a public plaza.

This new California law will offer college students rehab before discipline for overdosing

College students who seek help for substance use after an overdose face disciplinary action by their campus. A new California law, written in part by students themselves, will require public universities to offer rehabilitation services to students rather than discipline.

Alina Ta

Small bottles of a product labeled “feel free,” advertised for mood lift, energy, and focus, are displayed for sale inside a convenience store. A sign indicates the product costs $8.99 and must be purchased by customers age 21 or older.

Once given out at USC, this banned, opioid-like product is still cropping up in California

A drinkable product called Feel Free was once marketed to USC students as a wellness tonic. It contains an addictive, opioid-like ingredient called kratom leaf, now banned for sale by the California Department of Public Health but still available in many stores. A new bill in the Legislature would make the ban permanent in California.

Phoebe Huss

A person wearing a white sweater with blue stripes on the arm and a blue UCLA shirt underneath stands in a field near an apartment building, with tree branches poking into the background.

How college students can earn $10,000 for making a difference in CA communities

The popular College Corps program pays students up to $10,000 for community service work including tutoring incarcerated youth, assisting at food banks and more. The program is expanding from 45 to 52 campuses, adding hundreds of more students.

Brittany Oceguera

An illustration in green, red, blue and yellow tones that shows a desktop computer screen with an open window tab that resembles a Pokemon battle scene. At one end of the screen is a pixelated student and at the other is a wolf that represents a chatbot. The illustration includes a bubble text that reads "where can students get free food on campus?" alongside other bubbles of text with red exclamation points.

California colleges spend millions on faulty AI systems: ‘The chatbot is outdated’

Community colleges are spending millions on AI-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.

Martin Romero

Menstrual activist and first year UCSC student Amanda Safi holds a menstrual cup from The Honey Pot Company. The Black-owned business is dedicated to menstrual health and hygiene. Photo by Lluvia Moreno for CalMatters College Journalism Network

College Beat

Latest ‘menstrual equity’ bill would require California’s public colleges to provide period products

A bill pending in the Legislature would require California’s public universities, community colleges and secondary schools to provide free menstrual products on campus. Students pushing for the bill say they are trying to break through taboos surrounding a matter of basic hygiene, and that many low-income students suffer from “period poverty,” in which they are unable to afford the pads and tampons they need.

Emily Forschen

• July 13, 2021

College Beat

Supreme Court, NCAA decisions embolden advocates for college athlete compensation in California

California’s landmark law allowing college athletes to sign paid endorsement deals started a national movement. With the NCAA no longer banning athlete compensation, advocates are pushing to speed up the law’s implementation and expand it to cover community college players.

Matthew Reagan

• July 2, 2021

College Beat

Photo Essay: Graduation, At Last

From car caravans to stadium ceremonies with socially distanced seating, this year’s California college graduations were unlike any before, as campuses attempted to balance safety with celebration amid a still-simmering pandemic. In some cases, commencement plans were the result of hard-fought debates between students and administrators about how much in-person contact to allow. But as […]

and

• June 23, 2021

College Beat

Graduate student researchers at University of California seek union representation

Across the University of California, teaching assistants and tutors are unionized, but graduate student researchers are not. That could soon change, after organizers filed more than 10,000 signed union authorization cards with the California Public Employment Relations Board last month.

Katherine Swartz

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Gabe Schneider

• June 21, 2021

Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, near the office of Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco Chinatown on May 7, 2021. Jeung is an Asian American Studies professor at San Francisco State University. Photo by Harika Maddala

College Beat

Inside the California organization tracking anti-Asian hate incidents

Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based coalition, has recorded nearly 7,000 hate incidents involving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s become a key source of information for the media and for advocates looking to stop the surge of racist attacks.

Mallika Seshadri

• June 7, 2021

Students play video game League of Legends during an esports bootcamp hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hils on February 29, 2020. Students from CSUDH and other colleges were able to ask game developers how they designed the game and strategize their gameplay based on the developers’ answers. Photo courtesy of

College Beat

College credit for playing video games? At some California campuses, it’s happening

At least six Cal State campuses and nearly all of the University of California campuses have created esports programs since 2015, in which students host and compete in live tournaments, sometimes funded by corporate sponsors.

Marisa Martinez

• May 20, 2021

Marie Manipud holding her COVID-19 vaccination card at Lindbergh Neighborhood Park on May 4, 2021. UC San Diego students are able to attend an in-person graduation this year with a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination. Photo by Arlene Banuelos for CalMatters.

College Beat

First-generation college students push for in-person commencements

Lea este artículo en español. Marie Manipud didn’t expect that her college graduation would be much of an event. The UC San Diego public health major had immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines at 14, becoming the first in her family to navigate the American education system. As a first generation college student, she saw […]

and

• May 11, 2021

College Beat

Watch: Students, college leaders debate the future of campus policing

The chair of the University of California board of regents said Wednesday he’s open to considering dramatic cuts in the number of armed, sworn police officers across the university system. The comments by Regent John Pérez came during a panel on the future of campus policing co-hosted by CalMatters and KQED, in which the UC […]

Katherine Swartz

• April 27, 2021

Shae Hammond wears a mask while lying on the floor in her apartment with light across her face during quarantine

College Beat

Photo Essay: When Our Roommate Got COVID

Shae Hammond, a senior at California State University Northridge, was relaxing on her front porch after returning from a weekend camping trip in September when she got an unexpected text from her roommate, Jen Martinez. Martinez’s boyfriend — who had recently been in the women’s apartment — had contracted COVID-19. The first thing to run […]

Angel Fabre

Shae Hammond

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Charlotte West

• April 15, 2021

Campus police look on as a crowd forms in the Quad over a religious demonstration at Cal State University, Fullerton on Oct. 22, 2018. Photo by Riley Mcdougall, The Daily Titan

Events

Event: The Future of Campus Policing

In the wake of nationwide protests against racism and police brutality, colleges and universities are taking a hard look at their own policing practices. University of California student activists are calling for UCs to abolish or reshape their in-house police departments, and the Peralta Community College District recently voted to end its contract with the […]

CalMatters Staff

• April 5, 2021

College Beat

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