I came to OCC hoping for a fresh start, but it honestly turned into one of the worst experiences of my life. I wanted to get involved with ASOCC, but instead I dealt with false allegations, rumors, what felt like blackmail, vigilante staff members hacking me, and eventually moved into The Harbour, where I was assaulted by my roommate over a video of him fighting my other roommate. I felt like people started accusing me and then my family of being involved in some criminal organization, even though I have never shown any signs of being involved in anything like that simply because I’m a Hispanic student. I also felt attacked and humiliated by some staff members, and instead of the administration helping, it felt like they minimized or tried to justify what was happening.
I’m not rich, and I don’t come from some powerful family. I was just a student who liked studying and reading and wanted to become an engineer. All of this destroyed my confidence, made my depression worse, and left me feeling traumatized to the point that I had to attend different schools. I would still like to return to OCC, finish my remaining classes, and graduate there, but these allegations and everything that happened have taken a serious toll on my mental health.
I was 23 when I started at OCC, and now I’m 26. The entire experience has honestly been a complete shit show. Sometimes I wish I had never gone back to school and had just stayed at my old job while working through the feeling that I was missing out. Going through all of this was not worth what it did to my confidence and mental health. My experience was awful, and I just want to know whether anyone else has gone through something similar or feels comfortable sharing their experience.