Category: Featured

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…

Campus, Featured

An early look inside the renovations to White Library

Bill Eaves

The Del Mar College White Library is edging closer to completion as crews work to finish in time for its tentative opening in Spring 2025. Cody Gregg, Dean of Learning Resources, has headed up the reconstruction of the White Library, and gave a tour to show off the progress made since construction began in early 2022. Most of the construction is finished, and workers are putting together furniture and laying out each room according to posted floor plans. Each floor has had an overhaul. The fifth floor has been redesigned to provide a 360-degree panoramic view of the city. Those…

Campus, Featured, Multimedia, TV

Valdar hits the runway with three new outfits

Andrew-Pól Clements

Del Mar College revealed three new outfits for its beloved mascot, Valdar the Viking, at a fashion show-styled event Nov. 3. Valdar, previously known as “the Viking,” was first unveiled in April 2017 after about a year of development, which saw the college work with David Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic and owner of Raymond Entertainment. Starting in September 2017 and concluding in November of the same year, a contest was held to decide a new name for the Viking, replacing one that, according to Del Mar lore “has 15 letters, all consonants, and is impossible to pronounce in English…

Campus, Featured

Meet your Del Mar College Board of Regents

Ana Alldredge

With candidates for the Districts 2 and 5 seats as well as the At-Large position running unopposed, the Del Mar College Board of Regents recently canceled the General Election. Each of the three Regents will serve for a period equaling six years, which will conclude in 2028.Nine regents serve on the Del Mar College Board of Regents. There are five district-based regents and four at-large regents. All of the territory that is under the jurisdiction of the Calallen, Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff, Tuloso-Midway and West Oso Independent School Districts is included within the boundaries of the Del Mar College District.…

Community, Featured

Peoples Street Fest helps bring a diverse community together

Andrew-Pól Clements

DJ Edica, a Corpus Christi native, performing a DJ set at the People Street Music and Film Festival on Friday, Oct. 7. The Peoples Street Music and Film Festival began modestly; a handful of vendors and stalls, a couple dozen attendees traveling between Peoples Street and the Art Walk, and a dance remix of Kate Bush’s “Running up that Hill.” But, as the sun began to set and the streetlights came on, while the rest of the city got ready for bed, the party on Peoples Street began to come to life. An area traditionally coated with the dim orange…

Featured, Sports

Team USA takes win at ‘Olympics of Motocross’

Logan Lankford

BUCHANAN, MICH. – The Americans broke their drought at Motocross Des Nations. Often referred to as the “Olympics of Motocross,” the 75th running of the event was held at Redbud Track and Trails in Buchanan, Michigan, Sept. 24-25. Thirty-two countries each assembled a team of three riders to compete, but only twenty of them qualified for the final three races. For only the fifth time ever on American soil, Team USA came to win with Eli Tomac, Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton, who brought home the Chamberlain Trophy after 11 long years. A cold, consistent drizzle and sporadic showers subdued…