What stood out to you about the summer in Oakland?

I spent my whole summer at the Math Lab. I was here every day. Things were nice. I don’t really have an idea of what went on outside of the Math Lab. They moved the math lab [for the construction] all the way over there. It was a stretch. But now we’re back here so everybody’s happy.—Lavorizia Vaughn

One thing I noticed in the summer was after the incidence of what happened about barbecuing around the lake is that folks started to do it a lot, especially black and brown communities, which is great, but I don’t like [to be around] a lot of people. It’s hot outside, people are hot bodies and I just don’t want to be near a crowd all the time. I live by the lake and I try to stay away until it calms down, cools down.—Naudika Williams

I’m just concerned about how Laney in particular and the Peralta Colleges in general move forward in the new year and attract and keep students who are trying to fulfill their career desires, and make it a more compelling experience for them so they feel like they’re launching off into the big bad world as best they can. There’s some thought that the money isn’t being used too effectively here at the colleges, and that caught my attention. I don’t necessarily believe that to be the case, but it peaked my interest. I know in the past there have been some issues, but I thought most of those had been resolved.—Alex Esparza

The nice big picnic when a lot of people went over to Lake Merritt and had a lot of barbecues [stood out to me], and First Fridays have been good. I think overall they’re starting to put back into our community in Oakland now and the cleanup around the lake looks nice, and they’re starting to do the street lights better. They’re starting to put back into the city, and it’s about time.—Reneé Strong