Nia Coats

Dec 5, 2024 | alumni.berkeley.edu | Nia Coats

2024 was an exciting year for many people. In some ways it felt like we were advancing into the future, and in other ways it felt like we took some steps back. With shifting and historic world events occurring everyday, and the constant challenge of deciding where you stood, Cal remained a site of learning and connection. Amid the hardships that came with the year, the Cal community has been busy.

Nov 26, 2024 | oaklandnorth.net | Ellie Prickett-Morgan |Nia Coats

The East Bay newspaper Street Spirit did something this year that few, if any, papers have been able to accomplish  — it staged a comeback after going out of print. For eight months, Street Spirit — which featured articles by and about those who have experienced homelessness and the economic policies that perpetuate poverty — did not print issues, while its director, Alastair Boone, and its editor, Bradley Penner, tirelessly fundraised to get the paper up and running again.

Nov 18, 2024 | oaklandnorth.net | Nia Coats

Sporting a pair of gray, paint-splattered, vintage jeans, a teal thermal shirt, two gold chains and a brown beanie, rapper and producer Ovrkast is dancing atop an old pick-up truck on Oakland’s Lakeshore Avenue as a sea of fans swirls around him. It’s a warm, early October night, just past 9 p.m., an hour when this snazzy strip of restaurants and vintage clothing stores is usually quiet.