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Briana Mendez-Padilla

Briana Mendez-Padilla is a bilingual journalist based in Long Beach, California, who is passionate about covering education and her community. She began her journalism career as a high school junior when she joined local youth media program, VoiceWaves, and discovered she loves listening to people’s stories and amplifying them for others to hear. She is a fourth year journalism and English education major at Cal State Long Beach where she manages DIG En Español, a bilingual magazine working to uplift stories on and for the Latinx community. She is also currently the education reporter for the Signal Tribune where she covers the Long Beach Unified School District board meetings.

Latest Stories

A man with a hat on top of an RV to check the roof while it's parked next to a street.
CalMatters en Español
Los estudiantes sin hogar pueden dormir seguros en sus autos en esta universidad de California. Otros planteles dicen que no
Se han aprobado proyectos de ley que han intentado crear programas de estacionamiento seguro para que los estudiantes duerman en sus coches en los campus de California mientras esperan alojamiento. Mientras tanto, el Long Beach City College permite a los estudiantes sin hogar estacionarse durante la noche.
By • September 18, 2024
San Diego Sheriff's deputies and University of California campus officers stand guard at a pro-Palestinian protest at UC San Diego in San Diego on May 6, 2024. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters
Higher Education
Hundreds arrested and suspended: How California colleges are disciplining faculty and students over protests
Students and faculty protesting the Israel-Hamas war at universities throughout California are facing a range of consequences from arrests to suspensions and bans from campus. Meanwhile, students and faculty have also had to endure campus closures, canceled events, and classes moving online. What are the academic and legal costs of civil disobedience for California’s college protesters?
By , , , , , , , , and • May 24, 2024
Education
Grief, fear, and hopes for peace: California college students describe campus climates during Israel-Palestine conflict
Students at university campuses throughout the state are coming together - many times at odds - in their demands for peace and justice between Israel and Palestine. Here is a look at how the divisions are impacting California college students.
By , , , , and • November 17, 2023
Elisa Arquieta at California State University Long Beach on Oct. 12, 2023. Arquieta is both a student and a parent. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters
CalMatters en Español
Las universidades de California no cumplen con la fecha límite para ofrecer inscripción prioritaria a estudiantes que son padres de familia
Read this story in English. Eran más de las 8:00 de la mañana cuando Elisa Arquieta terminó de dejar a su hija en la escuela secundaria y a sus dos hijos menores en la guardería de su universidad. Sólo después de dejarlos se dio cuenta de que ya había pasado mucho tiempo desde la apertura […]
By and • October 25, 2023
Elisa Arquieta at California State University Long Beach on Oct. 12, 2023. Arquieta is both a student and a parent. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters
College Beat
California colleges miss the deadline to offer student parents priority registration
Signed by the governor in September 2022, AB 2881 aims to identify and address the needs of student parents in California by offering them priority registration. Coordinators and advocates are optimistic the law will formalize data collection, allowing them to better serve this student population that represents 1 in 5 students nationally.
By and • October 25, 2023