Delta College clubs gathered together on campus for the first time since Spring 2020 during an on-campus Club Rush on Oct.13. Club representatives met in the quad to showcase what each of their clubs are about and to persuade students to join. Some of the clubs present include: Puente Club, EPIC Club, Politics Law and Society Club, Stockton Delta Dance Company, Latino Medical Student Association Club, Society of Women Engineers, Black Student Union, Writer’s Guild, Christians on Campus, Delta College Psychology Club, Delta’s Pride Center and Delta Horticulture Club. These are not all of the clubs offered at Delta, though.
This on-campus event was held from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and there was a sufficient number of students that showed up to check things out and join some clubs.
“It was very nice to have some interaction with other Delta students because I don’t have any in person classes this semester,” said Raevyn Kaigler, a first-year student. Kaigler said she joined Black Student Union (BSU). “I joined BSU because I wanted to build connections with the African American student body and faculty and also be surrounded by a supportive, relatable group,” she said.
A virtual Club Rush was also held on Zoom Oct. 12, but the in-person rush had a much better outcome of people and signups for many different clubs.
“This has been a better format than the virtual rush that we had yesterday. I think Club Rush is a really important outlet to get our club name out there, especially with Covid it’s been harder to advertise that,” said Politics, Law and Society Club’s President, Will Dunn.
The Puente Club’s attractions during Club Rush included a dinosaur. “Club Rush is going really good so far. I’ve been here since 8 a.m. and it was so quiet but now there’s music everywhere and we got a dinosaur up in here and everything, ” Puente Club President, Michelle Cruz Lopez said. She was surprised with the outcome as well. “We got like two pages down already of people signing up, ” said Cruz Lopez.
Delta College’s Pride Club was also present.
“It’s going surprisingly well, we’ve had lots of people come by,” said Lio C., a student worker at the Pride Center and representative for the Pride Club. “We were worried that because of the pandemic there wouldn’t be a lot of students on campus but surprisingly we’ve had a lot of people stop by, be interested, take some brochures and ask questions so that was nice.”
A similar interest that many of the club representatives shared for their clubs was that each of them joined to be part of a community they were passionate about.
“I wanted to see if I could find other black students that were also interested and invested in the same issues that I feel are problems in the community, finding like-minded people that are willing to fix racial injustice, ” said BSU member, Cameron Rush-Griffith.
EPIC Club promoted their community relationships as well.
“Our purpose is to actively reach out to Asian and Pacific Islander communities in and around Stockton and to provide a support system to those involved,” said EPIC Club President, Cecilia Bernal. “Joining the club made me feel a part of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities and helped me academically too, ” said Bernal.
Individuals who enjoy expressing themselves through literature joined the Writer’s Guild community.
“I was in a creative writing class for Professor (Gabrielle) Myers and I was really enjoying the creativity and expressing myself through literature so I decided I wanted to join this club,” said Writer’s Guild President, Brittany Lusk.
The positive thing about the clubs at Delta is that students do not need to fit a specific criteria to join, they represent inclusivity.
One example being the Society of Women Engineers Club.
Resource director, Karla Rodriguez, said, “We are a club to support women in STEM but we are very inclusive. We allow other majors and you don’t have to be a female to join our club. It’s really just all about supporting and uplifting women in STEM.”
That is the case with other clubs as well.
“You don’t need to be Latino to join. It’s basically a club where we help people go into health related fields,” said ICC Representative of Latino Medical Student Association, Christopher Amaya.
The same goes for Stockton Delta Dance Company.
“We are open to all dancers. It doesn’t matter what style or level you’re at. We want everyone to have a good experience and fun time together,” said secretary Cheli Nunez.
For a full list of active clubs on campus, visit Deltacollege.edu and search for Clubs and Organizations.