Category: Featured

Campus, Featured

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, come swap any pink item

Gabriella DeSequeira

DMC is hosting its first Pink Swap this October to raise awareness for breast cancer. Students, faculty, and staff can participate at the dining areas of each campus simply by bringing anything pink. Whether it is pink shirts, pink candy, or even pink pencils, get ready to think pink so you can show out for this special month! Behind this event is Odalys Rojo, an officer of Del Mar’s Student Government Association. She came up with the Pink Swap as a unique and engaging way to promote recognition for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Rojo hopes to leave a lasting impact…

Campus, Featured

Del Mar Culinary students practice skills at weekly lunch at Oso Creek campus 

Samantha Bentancourt

Del MarDel Mar’s Culinary program doesn’t just involve knife skills and how to deglaze a pan. There’s also a lot of paperwork. The program teaches students how to manage a commercial kitchen, with a focus on food production and quantity cooking, where students practice large-scale cooking to serve 100 guests. The program hosts a weekly lunch every  Thursday led by a new student manager each week. Del Mar College is the only college in South Texas that prepares students to run their own restaurant. The student-led, student-curated lunch serves a complete meal for $12. For this price diners get a…

Community, Featured

Del Mar Dental Hygiene Clinic Serves Community While Training Future Professionals

Miranda Stewart

Free dental services at Del Mar College have supported Corpus Christi residents for more than 50 years while preparing students for careers in dental hygiene. The program provides free preventative dental care to about 2,500 people each year at the Windward campus, combining education with service. Supervised by licensed instructors, students perform services such as cleanings, X-rays, fluoride treatments, sealants, oral cancer screenings, and even blood pressure checks. Each appointment is part of the clinical training, with visits typically lasting three hours. New patients must first receive a qualifying exam before being assigned to a student hygienist. “These services are…

Featured

Degrees and certificates removed as part of regular curriculum management

Evie Lopez

CORRECTION: A graphic originally published with this article inaccurately reported a deactivated certification. The Certification in Computer Programming: Interactive Game Technology was deactivated. The AAS degree in Computer Programming is NOT deactivated. Del Mar has deactivated four degrees and four certificate programs due to low enrollment. At the Sep. 9 Board of Regents meeting, Del Mar College Vice President And Chief Academic Officer Jonda Halcomb gave a report on the deactivated programs to the board. The deactivated programs were approved by the department chairs, academic teams, and curriculum communities.  The degrees and certificates deactivated include associate degrees in auto body…

Featured

History professor discusses gender roles in space program

Mia Ortiz

A presentation about gender roles’ impact on the first women astronauts in America was held by Del Mar History Professor Erinn McComb, the author of “Gender and the Race for Space: Masculinity and the American Astronaut (1957-1983)”, her debut book published by Anthem Press. In her Sept. 24 presentation in Wolfe Recital Hall, “What Made it Possible for Sally to Ride? The Integration of NASA’s Astronaut Corps,” McComb traversed through the extensive timeline of American space travel and how the first women astronauts fought their way through a male-dominated field, leading to Sally K. Ride being the first American woman…

Community, Featured

Bringing home the gold for Del Mar College

Chandler Carroll

“I was expecting a bum rush, I was just thinking that this is gonna be a dogfight in the beginning.” Boxing is a sport of toughness, determination and endurance. To become the best, you must be willing to continuously trade fierce blows and outlast the strongest of competitors. Through years of training and dedication, 28-year-old Kennedy Contreras did just that as she turned dreams into reality on March 29 in Macon, Georgia, becoming the first woman in Texas to win a championship title at the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association’s National Tournament. Originally from Midland, Texas, Contreras’ boxing journey began…

Campus, Education, Featured

DEI ban causes rising concerns for the future of Texas higher education

Haylie Godoy

Higher educational institutions all over Texas have seen losses of personnel and student resources as a result of Texas Senate Bill 17. While Del Mar College has not been affected on a wide scale, the bill has sparked fear in some professors as to what legislators could go after next in the upcoming legislative session. SB17, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, bans colleges who receive state funding from having diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices as well as engaging in DEI training and hiring policies. The bills effect was felt on campuses across the state, but Del Mar…

Community, Featured

Desal plant faces challenges from detractors

Lola Ponce

On March 28, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a water rights permit for a desalination plant in Corpus Christi. This will provide the city with an extra 40 million gallons of water a day that, unlike reservoirs, is resistant to drought. However, there are still challenges before construction can start. As the city moves forward, many residents and environmental groups continue to voice their concerns. This debate highlights the challenge of balancing development with protecting the environment in a growing coastal community. With opposition to this plan, climate change mitigation advocate and co-founder of Gulf of Mexico (GOM)…

Campus, Featured

On Air Quality

Bill Eaves

Leaks and subsequent mold growth in rooms in the Fine Arts Center has for months gone untreated and led to the closure of areas meant to serve the students.In addition, the heating and air conditioning system meant to prevent such problems is nearly four decades old. John Strybos, Del Mar College vice president of facilities, said plans are in the works to replace the unit but doesn’t have a timeframe yet.“We have $2 million for deferred maintenance,” Strybos said. “I already have meetings with consultants to develop the plans to address these issues.”In recent years, the college has continued to…

Campus, Featured

City’s strays are a problem on campus

Bill Eaves

Del Mar College has logged seven reported dog attacks so far in 2024. Four dog attacks were reported directly to the DMC Police while the other three were reported to Corpus Christi Animal Care Services. Of the four attacks reported to campus police, three injuries were reported including one DMC student, one Collegiate High School student and one community member on campus looking to file his taxes on campus. The fourth attack was on a DMC staff member, but the dogs snagged the staff’s pant leg with no injury.  Even though there hasn’t been an attack since February, Del Mar…