College Beat

Covering higher education from the ground up

A man with a hat on top of an RV to check the roof while it's parked next to a street.

Homeless students can sleep safely in their cars at this California college. Other campuses say no

Failed legislative bills have attempted to create safe parking programs for students to sleep in their cars on California campuses while awaiting housing. Meanwhile, Long Beach City College allows homeless students to park overnight.

By Briana Mendez-Padilla

A student writing on a white board under a banner for the AI club in a classroom.

California students want careers in AI. Here’s how colleges are meeting that demand

The governor’s recent deal with Nvidia will boost AI education at community colleges and open the door to similar deals for public four-year universities in California. Meanwhile, computer science programs are adding AI concentrations and majors to prepare students for a range of "blue collar" and technical AI jobs.

By Delilah Brumer and Jeremy Garza

Illustration of a young female basketball player hanging on a basketball hoop, surrounded by two crowds of people protesting; the left crowd is holding signs that have red unequal symbols and circles with a slash through it; the right crowd is holding signs with the trans and pride flags

How California keeps transgender student athletes on the court as bans unfold across the country

California is becoming increasingly tangled in the nationwide fight over whether transgender college athletes should be allowed to compete on teams of their gender identity. Just how much can state laws and policies protect its players?

By Desmond Meagley and Amy Elisabeth Moore

A person is seated in a wheelchair-accessible voting booth with a blue privacy screen, their legs and hands visible as they hold a pen. In the foreground, another individual, wearing a mask and blurred in motion, walks by, partially obscuring the booth. The setup includes a touchscreen ballot marking device for accessibility, and a storage room door is visible in the background.

We talked to California college students about today’s election. Here’s what’s on their minds

California’s college students represent a wide array of ages, ethnicities, lived experiences and political beliefs. Eight voters who attend a California college shared their perspectives with CalMatters on the issues that matter to them as some vote in local, state and national elections for the first time.

By Camelia Heins, Amy Elisabeth Moore, Delilah Brumer, Victoria Mejicanos, Khadeejah Khan, June Hsu and Lauren Bui