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California colleges spend millions on faulty AI systems: ‘The chatbot is outdated’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

Members of law enforcement close the entrance of Palo Alto High School after it went into lockdown due to a phone threat in 2017. LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group

College Beat

Private colleges want more power to police trespassers. Here’s what you need to know.

Private colleges want to change rules for how police respond to trespassing on campus. Students worry the proposal could lead to racial profiling.

Elina Lingappa

• May 31, 2022

The pandemic taught Omar Zintan Mwinila-Yuori, a senior at Pomona College in Claremont, the value of friendships.

College Beat

California’s new grads share lessons learned from college in a pandemic

Eight months into my first year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in May 2021, I visited the university campus for the first time. Because of the pandemic, I was taking class virtually from 200 miles away, and repeated COVID-19 spikes pushed a campus visit down on my list of priorities. Seeing San Luis Obispo […]

and

• May 19, 2022

College Beat

In California for years, but still can’t qualify for in-state tuition

California exempts many undocumented students from paying non-resident tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities. But gaps in the law mean that some undocumented students and visa holders still don’t get exemptions — even if they’ve lived in the state for more than a decade. Two bills pending in the state Legislature would make it easier to qualify.

Zaeem Shaikh

• May 18, 2022

The location of a proposed UC Santa Cruz student housing project. Photo by Ryan Loyola for CalMatters

College Beat

Students lobby for bill to ease university housing crunch — but would it work?

Student activists say SB 886 would fast-track campus housing projects, which can get tangled in lawsuits. But critics say the bill doesn't solve the core problem: a lack of funding for affordable student housing.

Ryan Loyola

• May 13, 2022

MW Kaplan on campus at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo on April 25, 2022. Photo by Shae Ashamalla for CalMatters

College Beat

‘If I get something from you I could die’: Some immunocompromised Cal State students worry as COVID safeguards loosen

They can’t afford to take off their masks: Immunocompromised students and campus staff are highly susceptible to COVID-19, and with mask mandates dropping, some believe their schools don’t value their safety.

Julian Mendoza

• May 6, 2022

Jesse Driskill is photographed outside his home in San Francisco on Apr. 7, 2022. Driskill left City College of San Francisco and is now attending a for-profit coding academy. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

College Beat

Who’s missing from California’s community colleges?

California’s community college enrollment plummeted during the pandemic. Here are the stories of some of the students who left.

and

• April 29, 2022

College Beat

Cal State sexual harassment scandal: Your questions answered

In the wake of Cal State Chancellor Joseph Castro's resignation, here's what you need to know about Title IX and what's next for the university.

and

• April 11, 2022

College Beat

Lawmakers consider boosting financial aid for private college students

A Senate bill would alter the Cal Grant program, opening up additional funds to students attending private colleges and changing transfer-student targets.

Carolyn Kuimelis

• March 25, 2022

Fresno State equestrian Yasmin Roman attaches a bridle onto Ivan, one of several horses she loves to train and compete with, at the Student Horse Center on Feb. 28, 2022. Photo by Zaeem Shaikh for CalMatters

College Beat

With NIL deals on the rise, California student athletes call for financial training

NCAA rules and state law now allow student athletes to earn money from sponsorship deals, and a few are cashing in big time. But how will players make sense of the contracts companies are offering them?

Zaeem Shaikh

• March 23, 2022

Jaqueline Ruvalcaba, a first-generation college student at American River College in Sacramento, has had to balance school and work for several years

College Beat

What people get wrong about first-generation college students

The CalMatters College Journalism Network spoke with first-generation college students across the state about the challenges they face on campus.

Itzel Luna

• March 4, 2022

College Beat

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