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The Culture of Oakland Community College
EDLD 622/Professor Barott
Eastern Michigan University
Johnnetta Bell
March 27, 2012
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Personal Background
My Paternal Side
For the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with distant relatives
about my family history. After talking with 10 family members who were quite candid, I
understood why they did not readily talk about my family history. Family reunions always
seemed odd because they were full of rituals, traditions and “mini” ceremonies that I never
understood or knew how they originated. I only knew that it was important for the families in
the lineage to attend. During a “mini” ceremony family members attend a memorial service
to remember loved ones that have passed on. This often takes place in a small church in
Watertown, Tennessee the birthplace of my father. Religion is a substantial portion of my
family heritage. The church was treated like a second home and where fellowship
continued after Sunday worship to various members homes in the evening. The entire
experience sounded like an African American history class. It was interesting to hear the
senior members speak of their experiences as a sharecropper and “harvesting the land”.
As I listened I tried to understand how one family member was related to another but quickly
learned that many of the family dysfunction began with my ancestors. There were so many
children born out of wedlock that their offspring may have married a cousin. The family tree
was not written and there was no record of births documented within the family. Recently, I
received a request for information regarding my immediate family and children born so that
family members can begin contributing to the family tree documents.
The family members I spoke with finally began to open up and tell me more about
my father’s side. My father was the fifth child born out of eleven children. He was the only
one out of his siblings that did not share the same father. His stepfather was abusive
mentally and physically. I listened intently to my distant relatives as they spoke of my
father’s upbringing. My father was forced to buy his own bed at the age of ten and received
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nothing for Christmas or fruit. He had such a natural gift for baseball however no one
encouraged him to pursue it. Without a relationship with his biological father, my dad
eventually left Watertown, to go to California to visit with family and work, and then he
moved to Detroit, Michigan as the auto industry was hiring factory workers to build
automobiles.
My father met my mother in Detroit through close family members. My mother’s dad
was a next door neighbor to my father’s uncle. They dated for a year and my dad continued
to work at General Motors while my mom was hired to work at Michigan Bell. The following
year they married and attempted to have six children. Three survived and two were stillborn
and the final child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Due to strong ties with the
church my mom grew more together than apart as such a tragedy was known to separate
couples.
My Maternal Side
My mother always claimed to be adopted, she always joked with her mother. My
mom did not know much about her grandparents. She was told that her grandfather was on
the run for assaulting a man; he was captured and sentenced to life in prison. However, he
was released early due to a life-threatening illness. He was abusive towards his wife and
his children were frightened of both parents. My mother was the fourth born of five children.
Her dad was an alcoholic and her mom was a devoted church member. The two eventually
separated and my mother left home at the age of fifteen to live with her father and stepmother. She completed school and graduated from high school. She moved to the YWCA
and met my father two years later.
Education
Education is valued in high regard to my dad. He never completed high school,
however, he was adamant that all his children would receive their high school diploma. My
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mother graduated from high school and went as far as receiving her Master of Arts degree
in Teaching in which she majored in Reading. Taking my cue from my mother, I decided to
take my education as far as I can. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mortuary
Science from Wayne State University. Then I went on after a two year break to attend
Eastern Michigan University for a Master of Liberal Studies degree in Women Studies. Now
I am currently working on a Master of Arts in Higher Education Student Affairs and two
Graduate Certificates in the following discipline: Academic Advising and Community
College Leadership. In December of this year I will participate in Eastern Michigan’s
biannual graduation ceremony.
Oakland Community College (OCC) Southfield Campus
The Campus
Oakland Community College will celebrate a $25.3 million, 69,350 square foot
expansion of its Southfield Campus, the home to many of OCC’s health sciences programs
with a ribbon cutting ceremony and, tours of the new facility in late March of 2012. Students
and student learning are the center of Oakland Community College. Therefore, the goal of
providing quality instruction, technology, and a wide range of educational opportunities for
students shapes decision-making for the college. Administrators and staff work together
with faculty to develop classes, services and experiences that create a supportive and
stimulating learning environment. On a recent campus visit, staff members were working
with students in the Placement and Enrollment offices. OCC welcomes all individuals and
according to written campus policies they do not discriminate against students on the basis
of race, religion, color, national origin or ancestry, gender, age, height, weight, marital
status, sexual orientation, Vietnam-era veteran status or disability. I find that statement to
be false. As I was sitting in the student common area, two staff members walked pass
discussing a student’s gender transformation and how they just wanted them out of their
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office. They agreed that if they let one in then they will have to allow access to additional
students. I could not believe what I was hearing and most importantly, the workers were not
discreet.
Placement Exams and Access
According to the student handbook, “Placement tests are administered to all new
students who plan to enroll in credit classes, except those exempted. Those students for
whom English is not the native language must take MTELP (Michigan Test of English
Language Proficiency).” These tests measure students’ skills in English or ESL (English as
a Second Language) and mathematics. Counselors supposedly to use the results along
with other information to help students make their educational plans. Unfortunately, many of
the students enrolling in classes are assigned developmental (non-credit) classes. The
Placement Center is almost situated like a barrier to the rest of the offices on campus. As
you enter the main entrance, there is an influx of students mostly in their late teens to early
twenties waiting to take the placement test for a given subject area. This area was
overcrowded and difficult to maneuver my way past the placement area. I will agree that
the campus is strategically designed to keep students out. For example, by having the
placement office as the first location a student sees after entering the building, they are
either encouraged or discouraged to pursue their education at OCC. After taking the tests,
students can exit the campus without ever seeing what the campus has to offer.
Enrollment
The next phase a student experiences is the enrollment office which is next door to
the placement office providing they made the conscious decision to enroll at OCC. The
enrollment office had a modest line of six students. Enrollment counselors were assigned
to students seeking enrollment. While on campus I noticed that there were more females in
the placement testing area than males. The same was true for students seeking
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enrollment. There was only one male awaiting to see an enrollment counselor. According
to the OCC Office of Institutional Research there are 68.9% female students, 26.6% male
students, and 4.5% unreported. Of this percentage 62.8% were part-time students and
37.2% were full-time students. There is a large population of students from Detroit (25.9%),
Southfield (17.4%), and Oak Park (8.4%).
Financial Aid
Oakland Community College offers a wide range of financial assistance programs
consisting of grants, loans, part-time employment, and scholarships. Information and
application materials are obtained by inquiring with the Office of Financial Assistance and
Scholarships on campus. The Financial Aid Office is located next to the Enrollment Office.
The setup of the campus resembles a factory assembly line. The location of each office is
strategically placed so that students are able to receive service in a “one-stop” facility. The
design is similar to a high school with offices located towards the front of the building,
classes towards the back and lower levels, and student assembly or common areas on the
lower level (auditorium, vending machines, lounge and etc.) This office was congested with
student traffic. The main question students presented to staff members working in the
office, “when will my aid be disbursed?” Financial Aid policy on OCC’s campus has lost its
popularity with many students. As I sat in the midst of the students just to observe and hear
various conversations, they were all related to future purchases when they receive their
funds. I did not hear one conversation about a class, whether it was good, bad, interesting,
or boring. The conversations were about the latest technology gadget, android phones,
clothing, accessories and hairstyles. I laughed to myself because I student was actually
planning on “selling clothes, shoes, cd’s, dvd’s, accessories, and perfume” from the trunk of
his new car. Amazingly, students borrow the money but have no reason to attend classes.
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Even with the stipulated 30 attendance policy students are still not intimidated or
discouraged of the “waiting” period until their federal funds are disbursed.
Student Support Services
The Academic Support Center (ASC) offers instructional support for all registered
OCC students. This office is designated for students who wish to expand learning
opportunities in regular classes as well as those experiencing difficulty in their course work
may receive assistance in the ASC. This office is more of an institutional symbol because it
does not operate to the capacity in which it was intended for. Instructional support is not
provided for diverse learners in reading, writing, math, in search of study and critical
thinking skills. It actually discourages students to be successful in achieving their academic
goals, because the staff are not readily accessible and provide unclear instructions.
Students are practically interrogated to determine if they really need assistance. Before the
center offers any help they ask the student if the first had a chance to talk with the professor
and explain that they are having a hard time, then they are asked about their use of the
library and study habits. This alone would leave a student discouraged as I was just sitting
at a nearby table confused about the services which are suppose to be available to current
students.
Campus Culture: The Faculty
As I began a self-walking tour of the Southfield Campus, I did not like what I
observed. The faculty did not engage the students in the lesson. Some classes were full to
the capacity and students sitting in the back were disengaged in the lesson and were seen
texting, surfing the internet on their tablet, or doodling on paper. I did not see faculty
members walk around the classroom, they most sat at the computer and taught a two hour
class sitting. I asked a student leaving a class for a restroom break and I inquired about his
class the program, and her overall experience of the campus. Just as he was about to
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answer his friend appeared and he asked her the same question. Well I wanted both of their
input. Both agreed that it was a “glamorized high school”. I did not understand their
statement. The male student commenced to say that his high school in Detroit was “ran
down”, dirty and in a bad neighborhood with “dummy” police cars to serve as a deterrent.
OCC campus is in a better neighborhood, the building is remodeled but the same friends he
had in high school are there as well. Security is only present on campus when there is a
disturbance, other than that two “dummy” police cars are stationed out front.
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Personal Response
I was angered at the fluff OCC portrays on its website. The campus is not at all
inviting. The school is surrounded by a large vacant lot and an abandoned high rise hotel.
The students were right about security. There were two cars parked outside but there were
no security officers in sight. When a security officer did arrive to campus in another vehicle
he was morbidly obese. Security apparently is not an issue at this campus, however if there
were a need for security to attend to a situation on campus, he would be slow to the scene.
He slowly moved around the passenger side of the security vehicle to retrieve flyers
advertising the campus redevelopment.
In my opinion the Placement Center was placed as students arrive to serve as a
subliminal boundary to access. Basically, without passing the placement exams above the
set score, the students were placed on a developmental education track in which none of
their classes would earn them a single college credit. Detroit is the main feeder city to the
OCC Southfield campus. This campus has a headcount of 4,730 students. The majority
race/ethnicity of the campus is black/African American at 2, 662 students, which makes up
more than half of the student population.
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I had to face the hard truth that many of the black students look at OCC as a means
to an end, however achieving a better education is not one of their goals. For example, the
Financial Aid disbursement is viewed as a lottery winning. They do not understand they
borrowed the funds until years later when they have defaulted and want to make a major
purchase but cannot due to damaged credit. Within the black community money is talked
about repeatedly and how to get it and unfortunately black students have figured a way to
“cheat” the educational system and buy all their unnecessary wants now and however later
realized they cheated themselves.
Photos of OCC Southfield Campus
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The photos are taken from the OCC Web site. The images that the institution projects to future
students, parents, and the community.