A full house for Pam McClain's talk on racism and intersectionality

Noah Brasseur

Pam Ross McClain, who has a doctorate, gave a speech tackling the topics of racism and intersectionality, among other adjacent topics, on Feb. 15.

McClain is Delta’s first Chief Officer of Culture, Belonging and Community Building. She gave the talk to a crowded classroom filled with other staff, professors, and students. Additional chairs bad to be brought in to seat the amount of people who showed up.

She used her own life story and experiences to explore how racism and being a woman has affected her, as well as provided anecdotes and tales to bolster her theme.

The cross between these two groups is known as “intersectionality”.

“None of us are just one identity,” McClain said.

The central crux of intersectionality is that no two people have the exact same factors in their lives. McClain, a Black woman, explained she could relate to both the problems felt by white women and Black men, but that the struggles of a Black woman provided their own set of challenges.

Additionally, certain dynamics can prove relative. She said she had a middleclass upbringing, and yet when she attended the University of Michigan she was called poor.

Intersectionality tends to promote a more unified approach to exploring how minorities are treated in the United States.

“Oppression is just oppression,” said McClain.

She also explored how racism has shaped her life, referencing the works of William Cross, a psychologist who developed a framework for how a growing

Black child came to understand their identity in the world.

Cross’s work, McClain said, relied on the concept of “double consciousness”, as established by W. E. B. DuBois. That term essentially describes the disconnect between an individual who knows their own self worth and the messaging of the wider world that is calling minorities second-class or inferior to the majority.

Cross expanded on this, highlighting five stages of development where a Black individual learns to grapple with these conflicting messages. McClain went through each stage and told a story to go along with it.

For example, the first stage is about first absorbing a dominant majority message.

She shared a story from her childhood in Spain. When she started attending a school, the other children were not used to seeing such a dark-skinned individual. As a result, they started calling her “chocolate.”

“I like chocolate,” said McClain.” “But somehow when people are calling you chocolate, it becomes this weapon.”

She shared she would go home crying, and it affected her performance in school.

“Before then, I had never really thought about myself as being Black,” she said. “That was the first time I really recognized I was different from other people.”

After, she discussed the ten lenses through which people viewed life, some more harmful than others, and some more problematic than others.

For example, some people believe the world to be a meritocracy, meaning those who are best suited for a job, or the most skilled, will rise the highest in society.

However, McClain explained, certain groups tend to underperform if they aren’t in a majority, meaning the current society is not a true meritocracy.

She provided an example of this by sharing an experiment. Two groups were asked to rank a professor’s speech. The professor gave the same speech to both, with one exception-to the first group, he mentioned having a wife. To the second, he mentioned having a partner.

The second group ranked the professor lower than the first.

McClain’s speech was met with applause from all those who attended.

For those interested in learning more about Black history, consider listening to Delta College’s Historia podcast.

Want to join a club or organization on campus?

Courtney Elisech

Delta College hosted Clubs and Organizations Day on Feb. 15 at the main campus. While the turnout was small, the clubs and organizations were represented strongly. Since the pandemic it has been a slow restart for schools’ clubs and orgs. The following clubs and organizations were present:

• The Astronomy Club represented by Cat Wittke and Kayla Lugo

• The Society of Hispanic Leaders represented by Gabriella Olivarez

• The Cheerleading Club represented by Karizma Figgures, Ranisha Sheppard, and Nia Jackson

• The Geology Club represented by Emmalynn Boulton

• The Environmental Club represented by Jillian Cadena

• The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship represented by Mike Petersen

• The Delta Collegiate represented by Noah Brasseur and Vincent Kahn

If you are interested in learning more about the Clubs and Organizations that Delta has to offer and how to join or get involved, contact alisonginter@delta.edu.

Delta offers free motivational workshops

La’Niya Jones

Looking to do some self-improvement or growth this year, or just needing an extra hand? Delta has got you covered with a series of motivational workshops.

The first four workshops have already happened, “The Value of Mentors,” “Time Management,” “Embracing Failure,” and “G.R.O.W. Goal Setting.”

The fifth in this series is “I Didn’t Know” - Student Resources is coming up next. This free session will take place at Delta’s Downtown Saginaw Center on Monday, Mar. 20, from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. Students will learn about and find the resources that are available to them at Delta’s Downtown Saginaw Center.

The sixth in this series is “How to Prepare for Finals STRESS FREE.” This free session will take place at Delta’s Downtown Saginaw Center on Apr. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or on Apr. 6, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Finals time is always a stressful time, and this workshop is set up to make finals time a lot easier. Students will learn to organize their time and create study plans that will help them in the long run.

Michael Gavin wins Paragon Award for New Presidents

Courtney Elisech

Delta College’s current president, Michael Gavin, won the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Paragon Award for New Presidents. He will be among 28 others recognized for the award at the PTK Catalyst 2023 in Ohio from April 20 to 22.

Gavin became Delta College’s fifth president in 2021 with a set of goals that included focusing on student completion and equity, as well as preventing opportunity gaps. According to writer Ashley Terrell from Delta College, Gavin was nominated for this award by Delta College student Brittani Thornton, who is the Vice President of the Hallmark Awards for Phi Theta Kappa.

This award is for new college presidents and CEOs in their first three years in their role who have shown support of students' success initiatives and leadership. A student must nominate winners of this award, making it clear that Gavin has excelled in supporting Delta’s students.

BAY CITY – Are you a Pink Floyd fan or just love the songs from their album “The Dark Side of the Moon?” Delta has the perfect event for you. The Delta College Planetarium will be putting on a music dome show filled with colorful and vibrant lights.

This event will be held at the planetarium (100 Center Avenue, Bay City) every Saturday from March 18 to April 29. The show will have two separate showtimes each Saturday, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and from 7 to 8 p.m.

Tickets are priced at $7 and can be purchased from the Delta Planetarium ticket website.

Step into another dimension and be amazed at how the world around you is enhanced. This popular and memorable music will come to life and take you on a journey you’ll never forget.

This event will include flashing lights and loud noises and is inappropriate for children under the age of 10. The planetarium has the right to deny entry to all children under the age of 10. All ticket sales are final; there are no refunds or exchanges available.

For more information, visit the planetarium website or call (989) 667-2260.