Matthew Reagan

Assistant Editor at CalMatters

Matthew Reagan is a journalist and the assistant editor for the CalMatters College Journalism Network — a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across the state to produce high quality, student-centered coverage of higher education in California. Reagan previously served as a program manager, fellow and intern with CJN beginning Sept. 2020 where he covered the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on students, state higher education policy and the 2021 California recall election.

Reagan is a graduate of Occidental college. At Occidental he served as Editor-in-Chief and Community News editor at The Occidental, the school's independent student newspaper since 1893. He is the founding editor of the NELA Neighborhood Reporting Partnership, a co-publishing partnership with the Boulevard Sentinel to provide essential local news to the neighborhoods of Northeast Los Angeles while investing in and providing a career path for student journalists from communities underrepresented in the industry.

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CalMatters

CalMatters
06/22/2022
For student parents, graduating in the midst of a pandemic means beating the odds

When Charity Machado had her first child, Cali, at the age of 15, she expected many of the sacrifices that came with being a young mother, but was determined not to let her education be one of them. Machado completed her general education requirements at Sacramento State before transferring to the nursing program at CSU Stanislaus in 2020.

CalMatters
09/02/2021
That student in your community college class could be a bot

On the first day of spring term this year, an aeronautics professor came to administrator Laura Hope to share something suspicious: Most of the students in his virtual class weren't participating at all. Hope, the head of instruction at Chaffey College, a community college in Southern California's Inland Empire, dove into the college's records to find out why.

CalMatters
08/30/2021
Are young voters the key to Gavin Newsom surviving the recall?

Alex Valdivia began paying more attention to politics over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a homebound 17-year-old, Valdivia started logging into Kern County Board of Supervisors meetings to understand how his community became one of California's largest hubs for oil drilling.

CalMatters
05/11/2021
First-generation students push for in-person graduations

Marie Manipud didn't expect that her college graduation would be much of an event. The UC San Diego public health major had immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines at 14, becoming the first in her family to navigate the American education system.

CalMatters
02/26/2021
California colleges slowly begin vaccinating faculty, students - but likely won't require...

In mid-January, science education professor Al Schademan received one of around 2,000 emails sent to faculty, student employees and essential staff at California State University, Chico. The email contained a surprise for Schademan: He would be among the first higher education employees in California to gain coveted access to the coronavirus vaccine.

CalMatters
12/10/2020
To spring break or not? California colleges weigh options as pandemic worsens

Carlos Acosta's fall semester at the University of Southern California was a lot more grueling than he expected - and it wasn't just because of the Zoom classes. In an effort to minimize travel during the coronavirus pandemic, the university shortened the semester so it ended before Thanksgiving, and didn't include any multi-day breaks.

CalMatters
12/04/2020
As cases rise, college students take COVID-19 prevention into their own hands

Earlier this fall, Occidental College junior Luigi Maruani laid in bed anxious and angry, swiping through his phone. His 75-year-old father had just contracted the coronavirus, and Maruani felt the federal government wasn't responding to the pandemic with enough urgency. A post in a Facebook group for students living off-campus caught his eye.

Boulevard Sentinel

Boulevard Sentinel
02/12/2021
Meet the Team: The NELA Neighborhood Reporting Partnership signs up new members

In October, the Boulevard Sentinel and The Occidental, the campus newspaper of Occidental College, announced the NELA Neighborhood Reporting Partnership (NELA NRP) - a professional collaboration between the two papers to bolster coverage of Northeast Los Angeles while offering Oxy's reporters valuable local news experience.

Boulevard Sentinel
01/18/2021
Jimmy Gomez talks about the path forward after the Capitol siege

In a recent conversation with the Boulevard Sentinel, Jimmy Gomez, NELA's Congressmember, described his experiences during the attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 - and his hope for the future. For Gomez, the way forward starts with accountability.

Boulevard Sentinel
03/26/2021
Seven Covid-19 cases at Oxy within the past week

Five additional students at Occidental College in Eagle Rock have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to seven within the past week. The five new cases were reported to students, faculty and staff of Oxy via email on March 25 from Sara Semal, special adviser to the Oxy president on health and safety and the college's senior director of student wellness.

Boulevard Sentinel
08/25/2020
How a Biden-Harris Win Could Impact Politics in Northeast L.A.

If the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket wins the White House in November, the victory could change the course of politics in Northeast Los Angeles. That's because Gov. Gavin Newsom would appoint a replacement for Senator Harris in the United States Senate - and at present, at least five of the names...

Boulevard Sentinel
07/31/2020
Local Businesses Struggle to Hang On As Occidental College Closes for the Fall

Businesses in Northeast Los Angeles, already battered by the pandemic and recession, took another one-two punch in July. The blows have called their survival into question. The first hit was on July 13, when the state of California largely reimposed the shutdown orders that had been in place in the spring.

Boulevard Sentinel
06/01/2020
Census Response Rate Lags in NELA, Putting Federal Funds at Risk

Tens of millions of dollars in federal funding are at risk of being lost unless many more residents of Northeast Los Angeles participate in the 2020 Census. The census has been underway for more than two months, but the recent self-response rate for NELA has averaged only 51.9% ...

Boulevard Sentinel
06/29/2019
New Pool at Oxy to Open in the Fall Despite Setbacks

Rain delays in 2019 have pushed the completion of the stunning new pool at Occidental College to October, according to Jim Tranquada, the college's director of communications and community relations. In the meantime, Oxy still has to come up with a name for the pool and is trying to raise $1.5 million to cover an unexpected shortfall related to the pool.

Boulevard Sentinel
07/26/2019
Making It Easier to Attend and Finish Community College

At seven local high schools, half of the nearly 1,200 college-bound students in the Class of 2019 are headed for community college in the fall, according to a recent survey by the Boulevard Sentinel. There's good news for these students.

Boulevard Sentinel
06/29/2019
State Assembly Caps Rent Hikes, but Relief Weakened

The state Assembly continues to struggle to come up with strong tenant protections. Assembly Bill (AB) 1481, which sought to protect tenants from being evicted without "just cause" was recently allowed to die without being put to a vote.

Boulevard Sentinel
06/29/2019
Another Attempt to Keep Bars Open Until 4 a.m.

Legislation to let bars in Los Angeles and nine other California cities extend closing time from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. has cleared the state Senate and moved to the Assembly where it is expected to pass.

Boulevard Sentinel
07/26/2019
Helping the Homeless: An Update

The Problem Grows Worse Despite Efforts Under pressure to show progress in the face of worsening homelessness, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a report in July on how Los Angeles is responding to the crisis.

Boulevard Sentinel
11/30/2019
Controversy Over Metro Route in Eagle Rock Continues

A recent series of workshops on Metro's plan for bus rapid transit (BRT) in Eagle Rock advanced ideas for a BRT route on Colorado Boulevard, with several participants submitting ideas on how to reconfigure the boulevard to accommodate dedicated bus lanes.

The Occidental

The Occidental
09/17/2020
Pandemic president: Meet President Elam as he talks about Oxy's future

Harry J. Elam Jr. became Occidental's 16th president July 1. The Occidental's Editor-in-Chief Jackie Dall (senior), Managing Editor Charlie Finnerty (junior), Community News Editor and former Editor-in-Chief Matthew Reagan (senior) and Opinions Editor DJ Prakash (sophomore) met with Elam for a question-and-answer period via Zoom Sept. 4.

The Occidental
03/24/2021
Juvenal Cortes, professor named in LA Times Qatari Sheikh reporting, resigned at end of fall...

Occidental Diplomacy & World Affairs (DWA) professor Juvenal Cortes resigned from his teaching position at the end of Fall 2020, according to Jim Tranquada, director of communications and community relations. In July 2020, Cortes was named in a Los Angeles Times article on the undergraduate experience of USC student and Qatar's Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad ...

The Occidental
02/04/2020
The Kobe Dilemma: How should we remember the Mamba?

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault In 2003, Kobe Bryant was charged with one count of felony sexual assault following an alleged rape of a 19-year-old hotel employee in Edwards, Colorado. As a journalist, I've learned that what you choose to write about is as important as what you don't.

The Occidental
01/27/2020
Losing the Mamba, LA's most complex and prolific hero

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter Gianna Bryant were among nine killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas Jan. 26. - - - Since the age of 5, I've played soccer in Southern California. I started out playing AYSO and eventually moved to the club level; soccer was a near constant staple ...

The Occidental
07/15/2020
Occidental College announces online instruction for Fall 2020

In a campus-wide email, President Harry J. Elam Jr. announced Occidental will abandon its plans for any in-person classes in the fall, opting instead for exclusively remote instruction. Occidental is the latest college to pivot from a hybrid model of instruction that would include both an in-person and online course load.

The Occidental
09/27/2017
Anatomy of the Occidental power outage

On Saturday, Sept. 2, Occidental students were forced to brave the night without electricity. As most students fled their non-airconditioned rooms to search for friends, charging outlets and food, the facilities department worked alongside the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to solve the mystery of what exactly caused the outage in the first ...

The Occidental
11/07/2018
Democrats "fix the damn road" to the White House: takeaways from the midterms

Looking to the not-too-distant future to 2020, Democrats have yet to answer the major questions over the party’s identity. The success of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary bred a wave of young progressives — highlighted by O’Rourke and Ocasio-Cortez — who enjoyed variable levels of success...

The Occidental
11/02/2020
Jimmy Gomez: CA-34th candidate Q&A

Since winning a special election in June 2017, Jimmy Gomez, 45, has represented California's 34th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to legislating in D.C., Gomez represented NELA in the California State Assembly from 2012-2017. Gomez sat down for a Zoom Q&A with our Community News editors Oct.

The Occidental
11/01/2020
David Kim: CA-34th candidate Q&A

David Kim, 36, is an immigration attorney and former president of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council. Kim is challenging incumbent Jimmy Gomez to represent California's 34th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kim sat down for a Zoom Q&A with our Community News editors Oct. 29.

The Occidental
11/01/2017
Food Systems Working Group report sets sights on sustainable future

Occidental's Food Systems Working Group (FSWG) published a food policy document Oct. 16 which outlines the current state of and future plans for sustainable food practices within campus food systems, such as the Marketplace and the Tiger Cooler. The document is the culmination of efforts from Campus Dining, the Food Studies Cluster, Urban and Environmental ...

The Occidental
11/29/2017
How Oxy Confessions contributes to a culture of sexual assault

Having an anonymous crush on someone is a common thing most people can admit to — anonymously posting explicit commentary about your crush, however, should neither be commonplace nor acceptable behavior. Oxy Confessions has become a space for anonymous online cat-calling.

The Occidental
12/06/2017
USC's Lockdown edges Detox on a windy December night

The men's ultimate frisbee team, Detox, took on the University of Southern California's (USC) Lockdown Monday, Dec. 4, on Patterson Field, ultimately falling 13-15 in a first-to-15 contest. While Detox held the lead at the half, Lockdown was able to rally early in the second half to pull away for the victory.

The Occidental
12/06/2017
Women's basketball opens season 4-1 with Redlands thriller

The Occidental women's basketball team won a double-overtime thriller against the University of Redlands in Rush Gymnasium Saturday, Dec. 2, with a score of 71-69. This win brings the Tiger's record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Southern California Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Tala Ismail (sophomore), Alyssa Ramlochan (first year) and Shariah Green (sophomore) led ...

The Occidental
11/08/2017
Texans owner's comments are as American as NFL, unfortunately

ESPN reported Oct. 27 that Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said, "We can't have the inmates running the prison," at an all National Football League (NFL) owners meeting in reference to the recent player protests of police brutality and racial inequality in the U.S. The comments received swift condemnation across the sports world with Golden ...

The Occidental
11/27/2018
Hindsight is 2020: Hillary Clinton shouldn't run again

Hillary Clinton has been in public office for the better part of 30 years. As a first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate, she served with a level of efficiency and strength that is all too rare in the nation's capital. In 2016, Clinton became the first female nominee for president of a major U.S.

The Occidental
03/28/2018
Occidental announces speakers, theme for 2018 commencement

Occidental College announced four commencement speakers March 16 for the 2018 May 20 Commencement ceremony in Remsen Bird Hillside Theater. The speakers include Sara El-Amine '07, Ann (Zwicker) Kerr '56, Maya Soetoro-Ng and Cathie (Young) Selleck '55. Occidental invited these four women in the spirit of the year's commencement theme - women in leadership.

The Occidental
10/18/2017
College values veterans, vows to fill void in veteran volume

At the end of the 2017-18 academic year, all three of Occidental's student veterans will graduate. Administrators are hoping that the newly announced Obama Scholars Program - created to recruit veterans, among other underrepresented groups - will help to fill this void as the Ahmanson Veteran Scholarship Initiative has in the past, according to James Herr, veteran's coordinator and interim registrar.

Contributed reporting

The Occidental
09/24/2020
As NELA response rate lags, census organizers share challenges faced

With a week left to respond to the 2020 U.S. Census, local and national census organizers point to the coronavirus pandemic and political interference with census operations as explanations for low response rates in areas like NELA. For every uncounted NELA resident, the state loses thousands in federal money for the area's publicly-funded programs, resources ...

DCReport.org
01/01/2020
Congress to Look Inside Bank That GaveTrump 2 Billion | DCReport.org

Just try phoning Trump's private banker Rosemary T. Vrablic at Deutsche Bank's U.S. headquarters in Manhattan. Before too many bankers started turning up dead, Trump dared reporters. Call her, he said, she is"the head" of the bank, "the boss." The good news is that Vrablic, 58, is alive.

Boulevardsentinel
08/30/2019
Metro Debate In Eagle Rock Enters New Phase

By: T. A. Hendrickson With controversy still swirling around Metro's proposed route for a bus rapid transit (BRT) line through Eagle Rock, top Los Angeles county officials for the first time dove into the fray during an August 7 community gathering-an indication of the issue's rising political stakes.

The Occidental
02/13/2019
Veitch reflects on his tenure as college president

President Jonathan Veitch announced Jan. 27 via campus-wide email that he would not renew his tenure as Occidental College’s president and will step down at the end of 2019. The Occidental’s Editor-in-Chief Emily Jo Wharry (junior), Managing Editor Matthew Reagan (sophomore) and Senior Editor and former Editor-in-Chief Chris Peel (senior) met with Veitch and Jim Tranquada, director of communications, for a question-and-answer period in his office.

The Occidental
12/15/2017
Fire flares on Fiji, burning two acres before LAFD containment

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responded to and contained a two-acre brush fire on Mount Fiji Thursday, Dec. 14. The department issued its first report on the incident at 9:45 p.m. According to the latest update that LAFD Public Service and Information Officer Margaret Stewart posted on the LAFD website, 75 firefighters extinguished the fire by ...

The Occidental
04/25/2018
Tal Becker speaks as Jack Kemp Distinguished Lecturer, students protest

Tal Becker, peace negotiator for Israel and senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, spoke at Occidental College in Choi Auditorium at 2:30 p.m. April 24 as the college's 2018 Jack Kemp '57 Distinguished Lecturer. Following President Jonathan Veitch's introduction, Becker spoke on identity, justice and religion in relation to Jewish discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian ...

Digital Design

The Occidental
01/27/2020
RIP Mamba

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter Gianna Bryant were among nine killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas Jan. 26.

Occidental College
RAF Logo

Logo created using Adobe Illustrator for MAC 110 Intro to Digital Design Course at Occidental College

Occidental College
THEM — Movie Poster

Made using Adobe Photoshop for MAC 110 Intro to Digital Design at Occidental College

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