In honor of the one-year anniversary of their in-person office, we reviewed the journey of the Black Student Success Centre, from their launch to some of their current initiatives and services.
As of this February, the Black Student Success Centre has been open in-person for one year. In this time, they have organized numerous events, administered mental health services and worked to foster an open community gathering space for Black students.
The BSSC is an MSU service that launched in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening virtually at first, the BSSC transitioned to in-person services on Feb. 7, 2022. The one-year anniversary of their in-person office, located in PGCLL, occurred during this past Black History Month.
The centre was first created in response to discussions surrounding Black student experiences, as well as a notable review released in 2020 discussing anti-Black racism within McMaster University’s student athlete community.
Some of the services and resources offered by the BSSC include mental health and wellness support, financial literacy workshops and community building initiatives.
In a conversation with The Silhouette, BSSC Program Support Assistant Toluwalase Dayo-Olaide explained that the centre fulfills an important need for a community hub, which Black students at McMaster were previously missing.
“There was never any central hub for [Black students] to meet other Black students. I didn't even know Mac really had any Black students. So, coming in and seeing people, connecting with people, having this space, I think it's something that incoming students are really going to benefit from,” said Dayo-Olaide.
“There was never any central hub for [Black students] to meet other Black students. I didn't even know Mac really had any Black students. So, coming in and seeing people, connecting with people, having this space, I think it's something that incoming students are really going to benefit from,”
Toluwalase Dayo-Olaide, BSSC Program Support Assistant
Dayo-Olaide explained that the transition into an in-person space for the BSSC has been a catalyst for fostering community among Black students. Dayo-Olaide explained how the barriers of online services make it difficult for students to build trust and become comfortable to openly share experiences.
“You wouldn't be able to have those long, nice conversations, those spontaneous conversations online … I feel like the in-person space just makes people feel more connected to something tangible. I want to walk in there, sit down and feel like I'm part of a community,” said Dayo-Olaide
Dayo-Olaide has been with the BSSC since October 2022 and has watched the centre grow and continue to reach more students. Dayo-Olaide explained that one of the most notable points of growth he has noticed is the increased presence of Black men, where the centre had previously mostly seen female students utilize their services.
Dayo-Olaide explained that the BSSC’s 2022 Empowered program aimed to bring together Black men on campus, including undergraduate students, graduate students, professors and staff, to provide a secure space and to foster open conversations regarding stigma, stereotypes and wellness.
“There's this stigma or stereotype about Black men and sometimes stereotypes will force you to conform to them. [The Empowered program] was a wellness support for people to be able to come in and be open about themselves, the things they face and get advice from people that are above you … We were creating a safe space for the guys on campus,” said Dayo-Olaide
Toluwalase Dayo-Olaide, BSSC Program Support Assistant
“There's this stigma or stereotype about Black men and sometimes stereotypes will force you to conform to them. [The Empowered program] was a wellness support for people to be able to come in and be open about themselves, the things they face and get advice from people that are above you … We were creating a safe space for the guys on campus,”
The BSSC is located in PGCLL room M07, and they continue to provide virtual and in-person services. More information for accessing these services is available on the BSSC website.
C/O Black Student Success Centre
Officially open as of September 27, the BSSC offers resources, support and a sense of community to Black students at McMaster
On Sept. 27, the Black Student Success Centre officially opened at McMaster University with the goal of supporting Black students and fostering their success.
“Black students across Canadian universities sometimes feel isolated on campuses and are less likely to access student support services. The BSSC exists to connect Black students to the programs, people and resources that will nurture their academic and personal growth,” states the BSSC website.
The BSSC currently offers most of its services online, given that its physical space is under construction. However, it will eventually be housed on the main floor of the Peter George Centre for Living and Learning.
Faith Ogunkoya, manager of the BSSC, explained that the centre was created in response to discussions of racism at McMaster that occurred in 2020. Notably, a review of Black student athlete experiences was published last year, which called attention to anti-Black racism at McMaster. In response to this review, a five-point action plan was released with the creation of the BSSC as a part of the university’s plan to have targeted supports for Black students.
Although the review played a crucial role in the development of the BSSC, the centre’s emergence also builds on years of activism and advocacy work done by Black students, faculty, and staff.
Along with the review, Ogunkoya explained that students and alumni became increasingly vocal on social media about the racism they had experienced while at McMaster. These factors together prompted the university to create a safe space for Black students on campus.
Since the BSSC was created in response to students’ needs, Ogunkoya emphasized the centre’s commitment to representing students and meeting their needs. Thus, one of the centre’s main focuses is to provide general advising services to Black students and to connect them to other services on campus that they might need.
Along with providing individual advising, the BSSC has also partnered with the Student Wellness Centre. The BSSC’s partnership with SWC has allowed them to connect students with Black counsellors and run group sessions that promote good mental health for Black students.
The first of these sessions, called You Belong in the Room, explores feeling inadequate in the context of racism and belonging. Starting on Oct. 13, the session is projected to run for five weeks every Wednesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
“[You Belong in the Room] is basically going to be a space where [students] can talk about anything and everything, being open about racism and its impact on them academically, personally or professionally, discussing impostorship and how sometimes, in white-dominated spaces, we almost feel like we shouldn’t be here or that we don’t belong,”
Faith Ogunkoya
Along with providing services and support to Black students, Ogunkoya explained that the BSSC also strives to educate other members of the university.
“We often feel like we've got two sides to our service, where it's working with Black students and getting them to where they need to be [and to the] services and programs that they need to access, but also that it needs to be culturally informed. So, we will also be providing training, providing some guidance and providing leadership to units and departments so that [McMaster] is an environment that makes Black students know that they belong,” said Ogunkoya.
Overall, Ogunkoya said the goal of the centre is to create a safe space and a strong sense of community for Black students at McMaster.
Ogunkoya noted that many Black students at McMaster are not surrounded by a lot of other Black students in their programs which can lead to feeling a lack of belonging.
“There’s something that follows you around sometimes when there’s only a few of you,” explained Ogunkoya.
According to Ogunkoya, this is what makes the existence of the BSSC so important.
“When you see yourself and you see representation, it can empower you; it can make you feel less alone,” said Ogunkoya.
The past few years have been transformative for society and the fight for social justice. Here’s hoping the development of this much-needed service both empowers Black students at McMaster and helps address the injustices faced by the Black community at large.
C/O Chana/Unsplash
McMaster has more supports in place for Black students than I expected
By: Bianca Perreault, Contributor
Countless people think that being a Black student has always been the same as being a "regular" student. Obviously, many students can relate to being a minority visibly: not looking like everyone else, having different types of hair, skin tones and culture. Especially when coming from a small village or town, that receptivity can be even more dominant. But how is it at McMaster? What does it feel like to be a Black student in 2021 at McMaster University?
Perhaps before 2021, the experience was different or even the same in its own way, but I believe that McMaster has improved its role in the Black community since last year. The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 truly impacted the whole world. It was a beautiful and poignant reunion of a community fighting for its rights and Mac did not let these circumstances leave in a mist. As a matter of fact, McMaster put in place many different initiatives in support of our Black student community. As a Haitian student myself, I was more than pleased to discover all the opportunities and programs awaiting me and I can confidently say that I feel welcomed in my own skin.
First and foremost, McMaster’s Student Success Centre was a forum established to direct students towards the resources they may need. Perhaps the most marvelous thing about the organization is that they have specifically created a division for students of Black/African descent: the Black Student Success Centre. It is entirely dedicated to supporting and championing the success and well-being of Black students. Through fostering a positive student and athlete experience, they intend to value us at any level, whether that be academic, professional or personal. As a Black student myself, feeling like you have access to resources as much as any student is of the utmost priority. I believe that this division is a safe space for us to connect with people who feel comfortable nurturing our academic and personal growth at university. BSSC is guided by Unbuntu, an ancient African philosophy which means, "I am because you are.” Connection, community and collective success are emphasized by this word.
BSSC is not the only support we have at McMaster. In fact, the department of communication studies & multimedia and the department of history have created bursaries for up to $2,500 per year for many Black students based on their financial needs. It’s amazing to not only see the impact of these two initiatives on the Black community at McMaster, but also to recognize the true impact of the two programs supporting such bursaries. Through communication arises our ability to share milestones and recognition of one another. Through history, arguably the most critical part of our African-descendant story is shared and valued towards achieving shared, common knowledge. Even the fact that the bursary was put in place is in itself a form of thoughtful acknowledgement.
Besides BSSC and Black Student Excellence scholarships, McMaster has established postdoctoral fellowships for Black graduates, a coaching program for Black scholars called Thrive, and launched employee resources for staff who identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of colour. While there are some that I haven't even mentioned yet, Mac is committed to amplifying voices that can share our concerns and elevate their attention to an institutional level. Being a Black student at McMaster, I can fully expect to be supported and heard.
