issue #7

Still thankful

Aransas Pass, Rockport celebrate Thanksgiving after Harvey

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Foghorn News DEL MAR COLLEGE

November 20, 2017 Foghorn News

@TheFoghornNews

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Foghorn News

Volume 83, Issue 7 thefoghornnews

Faculty finds fire system alarming Some voice concerns over safety in the Venters Building Brittany Claramunt bclaramunt@foghornnews.com

Brittany Claramunt/Foghorn News

Security guard Darlene Hooks walks the halls of the Venters Building listening for fire alarms, should they go off.

DMC holds birthday party for mascot and reveals his name Natalie Murphy nmurphy@foghornnews.com Almost seven months to the day since the Viking landed at DMC, he has been named.

Student Danielle Garza led the audience in DMC’s “Viking Thunder Clap,” then presented the Viking with his birthday gifts, the letters of his name in balloon form, at a Nov. 16 rally in the Harvin Center.

One at a time large blue letter balloons appeared, spelling out “Valdar.”

“The Viking has been a symbol of the school since 1939,” Garza said.

According to Garza, Valdar means “mighty leader.”

Alexandra Lasso, a health information technology major, is the student credited with the winning name out of over 850 sub-

Faculty and students in the Venters Building may have seen a security guard monitoring the building recently and wondered why. It’s because for several weeks, the fire alarm system has been offline.

According to Robert Duffie, director of Physical Facilities, the fire alarm system is still functioning, but it is not being monitored by the monitoring company.

“It is an older 1980s system for which parts are no longer available,” Duffie said.

missions.

“I’m really proud to have n a m e d the Viking,” Lasso said.

“I entered a lot of names but Valdar was the first one and it was my favorite,” Lasso said.

Lasso received a check for $1,000 in “Viking Bucks” for submitting the winning name and said she plans to use the money to pay the tuition for her summer classes.

The Viking has already

Other parts have been used to keep the system functional temporarily, Duffie said. Because the system cannot be maintained with original parts from the manufacturer, it has to be upgraded to a system that meets the current fire safety codes.

“We are currently negotiating the contract terms with a fire alarm installation company to install a new fire alarm system.

The old fire alarm system was operational and ‘grandfathered’ until it suffered a failure that could not be fixed,” Duffie said.

The Venters Building is under “fire watch” until the system is back online, according to Randy Paige, Corpus Christi fire marshal.

“Fire watch means that there is a security officer in the build-

ing actively walking and monitoring the area. If there is a fire, they will call it in,” Paige said.

Once the contract for the installation of the new fire alarm system has been finalized, the temporary system will be inspected by the Corpus Christi Fire Department. This will allow the temporary system to be monitored and the fire watch can be terminated.

“This system can only be used for six months, at which time the new fire alarm system must be installed and pass inspection,” Duffie said.

Many Del Mar and Collegiate students who go into the building never knew the fire alarms were not online.

“I didn’t know the fire alarms

become a great ambassador and symbol for the school, said Rito Silva, vice president for student affairs.

“I know everyone has been waiting patiently, including the Viking,” Silva said. “It really is the perfect name; he will help lead our campus and community in pursuit of a better life.”

Silva and the Viking recently visited Fannin Elementary in an effort to create what Silva calls “college going culture” in young kids.

“I knew the mascot was a success the first time we took him to an elementary school,”

Silva said. “I saw the student’s reactions. I had kids coming up to me telling me about their cousins and siblings that go to Del Mar and now they want to go to Del Mar.” Silva said he was pleased with the naming contest. Students and community members could nominate names, then students could choose their favorite name during several rounds of voting.

“We’re so happy with the naming process,” Silva said.

Silva has headed up the planning committees in charge of creating and naming the mascot.

“We wanted to be inclusive of our students and community,” he said. “We could have hired consultants but it just wouldn’t have meant as much.”

(See Alarms on Page 3)

@foghorn_murphy

Sophia Montez/Foghorn News

Balloons spelling out “Valdar” were presented one by one as gifts to the mascot as part of the Viking’s birthday celebration.

Photo by Josselyn Obregon/Foghorn News

Collegiate students present problems, solutions Mia Estrada mestrada@foghornnews.com Alanna Flores stood in front of dozens of her classmates and tearfully told the story of her best friend, who committed suicide at 8 years old.

Her best friend was thrown into a restroom stall by two girls who took off her glasses and flushed them down the toilet. They verbally abused her, telling her she should have never been born, Flores said at the Collegiate High School civic fair, Speak Up, Speak Out. “Later that day she told me goodbye and gave me the biggest hug and said she would see me later,” Flores said while fighting to contain her emotions. “What I didn’t know was that this was the last goodbye I’d get from her.

“She went home and went into her parent’s medicine cabinet, grabbed a bottle of pain medication and took the bottle to her bathroom and took two handfuls of them,” Flores said.

Flores was one of several freshmen at the Nov. 14 civic fair who provided students with their knowledge and research oo topics important to them.

Flores and her group members want to prevent bullying from further happening.

They surveyed 152 Collegiate students, finding that 59.1 percent were bullied before high school.

The fair encouraged students to come up with solutions and speak out. The students presenting bullying in middle schools plan to provide Atkins Middle School with a support group twice every month, beginning in two weeks.

The freshmen civic groups demonstrated topics such as stress, teen depression, texting and driving, high debt of college students, the impact of social media on depression, the importance of recycling, the low reading levels of middle school students, and the use of synthetic marijuana in Corpus Christi.

Another group, Royal Health, stressed the importance of access to feminine hygiene products.

“It’s unfair for women to go throughout the day stressing about a natural occurrence.

There needs to be better access for these products,” said freshmen Daniel Tellez.

Six judges evaluated and supported freshmen on their presentations.

Denis Wisner, Collegiate High School histo-

Mia Estrada/Foghorn News

Alanna Flores (left), Christian Ladwig, Ameris Biddy and Donavynnemarie Garcia present bullying in middle schools at the civic fair, Speak Up, Speak Out. ry teacher, put the program together for the freshman class.

“It can be very difficult to solve these issues. Students became aware of these issues, however, and felt like they had a voice and

that’s the whole purpose behind this particular program,” Wisner said. “I encourage everyone, including the next generation, to treat this as an experience to impact the future for something better.”

CAMPUS

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November 20, 2017

Stepping outside your comfort zone

Katie Babbitt kbabbitt@foghornnews.com

Photos by Azrael Montoya/Foghorn News

Students observe a drone being used outside the Del Mar College Center for Economic Development during the 19th annual Coastal Bend GIS Day.

Inspiring future GIS majors Sparking students interest with up to date technology

Azrael Montoya amontoya@foghornnews.com Participants in the 19th annual Coastal Bend GIS Day discovered a world of possibilities.

“If you’re into electronics and building stuff, this is the field for you,” said Tori Atokuk-Vitz, a geographic information system major at Del Mar College. The event was held Nov. 15 at the Center for Economic Developement.

Leonel Deleon, a GIS major at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, said that with an array of skills, geospatial technology is in everything.

“GIS in a sense is like a Swiss Army knife,” Deleon said.

For companies, GIS is in demand.

“Technology is catching up to what people want and feeding their needs,” said Del Mar Geospatial Faculty Professor J. J. Nelson.

Learning GIS makes a person more marketable and provides one of the fastest growing professional workforce opportunities.

A&M-Corpus Christi graduate Bryan Gillis, who now works for the Conrad Blucher Institute, said, “GIS is the technology that maintains the

Del Mar geospatial professor J.J. Nelson shows students what courses they would be taking for GIS at DMC. world’s progress.”

“GIS is a field that demands the nation’s youth,” Gillis added.

GIS is fast growing and provides many opportunities. Garrett Klepake, a technical drafting technology major at Del Mar, explained his perspective on technology and GIS. “It’s a common sense to be in a field with technology because technology is becoming important in every life,” Klepake said.

Other experiences abounded plentifully at the event.

A&M-Corpus Christi GIS Major

Jose Pilartes-Congo explained his journey towards GIS. “For me it was not knowing what I wanted to do and my fascination for geography and technology and my dad’s influence that got me into the field,” he said.

Dani Mladenka, also a student at A&M-CC, loves people.

“I loved maps, traveling, people and cultural locations,” she said.

The ever-expanding field of GIS was not lost on Nelson.

“Holy smokes, what can’t you do with GIS?” Nelson said.

On the hunt for job experience

Azrael Montoya

amontoya@foghornnews.com

More than two dozen employers hit East Campus on Nov. 14 to recruit students and members of the community for employment opportunities.

“We want to get our local talent and keep them with us,” said Walgreens store manager Phillip McDonough. For Walgreens, one of 27 employers at the fair, retail is always a need.

For art education major Moses Hernandez, the job fair was timely.

“I want to make my own money and gain work experience,” he said.

Lyia Calderon, a human resources associate at the Texas State Aquarium, said the recruitment process comes down to the students.

“I think they have a good group of students and a diverse population,” she said of Del Mar. Liberal Arts Major Kerrie Barrett was another of several students at the fair.

“I’m having problems with my future and I thought the job fair would help me,” Barrett said.

Parole Officer Dominic Camilleri also came to recruit. There’s always a need for parole officers, he said.

“We need people from our community to work for our community. That goes for all law enforcement,” Camilleri said.

Architecture Major Gabriella Gonzales stressed the important of having a Plan B. Brittany Claramunt/Foghorn News There was also a job fair the follow- Gabriela Carreon (left) and Sarah Savell talk with a Corpus ing day on the West Campus.

Christi Independent School District jobs recruiter.

Around Campus Drama students showcase Alien Sci-Fi

For the 12th year in a row, the Drama 1341 Makeup class will present their out of this world final projects.

The Fall 2017 Project Del Mar Alien Sci-Fi showcase the students character presentation. Eleven students will take part in the open house presentation where the public will be able to see their work and premiere their “creative journey.”

“Creature Collision: The Reckoning” will be shown Nov. 30, 2017 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bartlett Theatre located within the Fine Arts Building.

The event will be free and open to the public. For more information, you can contact Shara Haghjoo at shaghjoo@delmar.edu or 361-6981617.

Thanksgiving Campus Dining Hours

Thanksgiving week will see different hours for the campus dining.

Dining will be open Monday and Tuesday the week of Nov. 20, but will close at 3 p.m., while the salad bar will be closed for the week of Nov. 20.

Looking back at the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association tournament, every day was different in its own special way — and incredibly intense.

First off, I volunteered to do an event on Nov. 1 that would last me all day Nov. 3, one I knew nothing about. I did this because my debate partner’s teammate had to cancel at the last minute. This event was NPDA, or team debate. I felt terrible virtually the whole day. I will not lie and say I kept it together; there was more than one time I wanted to cry and did.

It wasn’t because I was scared of what my coaches would say as we lost rounds, though. Sarah Contreras and Mendy Meurer, our coaches and the hosts, are beyond supportive and believe we only get better with each tournament.

I was sad because I have perfectionist level standards for myself. One of my teammates, Natasha Perez, knowing me as a prose competitor, gave me great praise for putting myself out there despite not knowing what I was doing.

Nov. 4, a Saturday, would come as a great surprise because I advanced in two events at the novice level: prose and impromptu, a new event I took up. Perez snuck away to tell me about it and I could not have been more surprised. I had told her before that I didn’t think I would advance. She cheered and hugged me, congratulating me because this meant I would get two awards that night. I wasn’t crazy about it but, rather, I was stunned.

All I could do was nod my head.

At competitions like this you see all sorts of competitors. Some have done this less than me; others have done this for three or four years, and it shows.

“Even the small things like the way they hold their binders and turn pages makes all the difference which puts them into finals,” Perez told me.

When I went to awards on the night of Nov. 4 as they called for novice prose and then impromptu I was not surprised to get fourth place out of both. I was surprised with how far I had come to get two little trophies. It greatly contrasted with the previous day, where I didn’t know anything I was doing. On Nov. 5 I didn’t win but I had a great deal of fun with people I had just met.

Contreras, our coach, told us at the end of the tournament that she was proud because four of us won awards and the team got a trophy. At TIFA we were pushed our limits, novice or not, and we loved it.

I learned about myself and met all sorts of people I get to see at the next tournament, in Houston, in a few weeks.

At the end of it all I feel drained and want nothing more than to sleep. Although, I also want to rehearse to get a bigger trophy that will match the other two.

Foghorn News

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Volume 83, Issue 7 Natalie Murphy @Foghorn_Murphy Editor-in-chief Mark Young @foghornmark Managing editor Brittany Claramunt @brittclaramunt Associate/Web editor Jonathan Garcia @jonathan10894 Entertainment editor Mia Estrada @miamiaestrada Features editor Josselyn Obregon @JTO_News Spanish editor Erin Garza-Granados Social media editor Staff: Katie Babbitt Charlie Blalock Chloe Carrillo Mark Garcia Jennifer Gracia Julieta Hernandez Emily Jasso Marissa Lopez Warren J. Maxwell Omar Mickelson Michelle Mirelez Sophia Montez Azrael Montoya

Robert Muilenburg Adviser Scott Beckett Lab adviser The Foghorn News is a forum for student news, events and opinions produced by Del Mar College students for students.

For Information: 361-698-1390 (office) 361-698-1939 (adviser) 361-698-1246 (advertising) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor must be no more than 150 words in length, must be signed, and are subject to editing for grammar and content.

Send emails to letters@foghornnews.com Send letters to the Foghorn News office: Harvin Student Center, Room 215, 101 Baldwin Blvd.

Corpus Christi, TX 78404 CORRECTIONS Need to report an error?

Call 361-698-1390 or email news@foghornnews.com.

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Campus Dining will reopen Monday, Nov. 27 with its normal hours.

Former City Secretary to represent DMC Armando Chapa has been announced at DMC’s representative on the Nueces County Tax Appraisal Board.

Announced during the November Board of Regents meeting, Chapa will begin serving on the board for a two-year term in January 2018.

He served as City Secretary from 1985 to 2014, where “he managed access and security for municipal documents, maintained fiscal records and served as a city liaison with numerous community organizations,” according to the press release from DMC. Chapa holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts degree in psychology.

“The Board is impressed with Mr. Chapa’s credentials and appreciative of his willingness to represent the college and our taxpayers,” Trey McCampbell, the Chair of the Board of Regents, said of Chapa.

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November 20, 2017

A love for music wins Collegiate student has been performing since 11 years old Mia Estrada mestrada@foghornnews.com Before performing on stage, Gema Rodriguez got nervous as she saw people in the crowd, waiting for her to sing.

“I always get jitters as I’m about to perform. I’m not as nervous as I was before when I was younger because I’m more experienced now,” said the Collegiate High School sophomore.

Rodriguez showcased her love for music at Corpus Christi’s Kids Got Talent competition, winning first place in the high school category.

“I had no idea I was going to win, and I was really happy, especially because last year I placed second,” Rodriguez said. “So this year to finally get first place it felt like a really big accomplishment.”

Rodriguez has been performing since she was 11, and now has her own band, The Jams. The group

usually plays ’80s rock but they are open to all music.

At the competition, Rodriguez enjoyed a junior dance group that took third place.

“There’s a lot of amazing talent here in Corpus Christi with younger kids, especially,” Rodriguez said.

The song that led her to win was “So In Love,” an original co-written by her manager, Machy De La Garza, from her former band Bomb Girls.

Rodriguez is inspired by outstanding female performers such as Stevie Nicks and her own grandmother, who taught her how to play the guitar and led her to a musical path.

Her grandmother Felipa Sanchez-Lopez is the only member of her family to play an instrument, and Rodriguez feels a close connection to perform and carry on her grandmother’s passion.

Collegiate High School sophomore Elijah Rodriguez has known Rodriguez since elementary school and supports his friend and her love for music.

Campus

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Mia Estrada/Foghorn News

Gema Rodriguez, a Collegiate High School sophomore, won first place at Corpus Christi’s Kids Got Talent in the high school category. Her grandmother inspired her to play guitar and set her off on her musical career.

“I’m proud to see my friend pursue a passion of hers and I know one day she’ll be on the screens of many TVs in homes,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez plans to major in Science, Technology, Engineering and

Math (STEM), even working for Collegiate’s robotics team, but will always have a close relationship with her original music.

“I’m going to focus on a more academic approach and not really so much with music.” Rodriguez

said. “Music will always be a hobby of mine, who knows if I do take off with music I would really love to perform and have gigs.” @miamiaestrada

Women’s health stressed Annual event focuses on well-being, making life changes Jennifer Gracia jgracia@foghornnews.com

Jennifer Gracia/Foghorn News

Dr. Jennifer Phy lectures at the Day of the Woman event.

SGA pushes for food trucks Julieta Hernandez jhernandez@foghornnews.com

Del Mar students on both campuses may soon have more choices when it comes to food, one that involves everybody’s favorite vehicle: food trucks.

During the last Student Government Association meeting of the semester on Nov. 15, Parliamentarian Marjorie Bryant-Sparrow discussed the motion to test out food trucks for students during finals week.

The purpose for the food trucks, according to Bryant-Sparrow, is to provide students with options. The group hopes to prioritize efforts on West Campus, where students are surrounded by the usual Subway, Burger King and other fast-food options, but few within walking distance.

This way, students who are looking beyond snack food have more choices for meals with a truck open from 6:30 a.m. to the end of testing all week during finals week, where everyone is running out of time and forgets to do kind of important things … like eating.

As far as the East Campus, a focus is placed more on lunch and dinner foods with several breakfast options already located around Baldwin and Ayers.

The truck on East Campus will be set up at 11:30 a.m. during finals week, Bryant-Sparrow said.

The motion was unanimously carried to move forward with the food trucks as a trial run during finals; if the food trucks are successful, the SGA plans to incorporate them to campuses regularly.

The Student Government Association also discussed matters such as club volunteering hours.

President John Beauford made a motion to include one hour of student volunteering each week, by each officer.

According to association adviser Beverly Cage, this could be a chance for students to “individually be more active members.”

Also discussed was the motion to include club apparel, which means button-up shirts for the SGA to wear to their retreats as well as T-shirts to wear casually, and to give one to all students on campus who request it.

About 100 women attended the Day of the Woman at the Center for Economic Development on Nov. 9. Del Mar College and the Laura W. Bush Institute coordinated the annual event for women’s health.

Mary McQueen gave an in-

troduction and welcomed the guest moderator, Connie Tyne, director of the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health.

Guest panelists included Dr. Jennifer Phy, associate professor and faculty physician at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Dr. James B. Maas, the CEO of Sleep for Success.

“We like working closely with the organization to help educate women on health,” said Karen Silva from the Del Mar College Foundation.

Phy spoke about internal medicine and the gastro intestinal effects some of today’s medication has on women.

Maas spoke about the importance of sleep and the effects it has on women’s health.

“Sleep for Success, it is imminent for your health” Maas said.

The event concluded with a healthy lunch, door prizes and a small gift.

“I enjoy events like this, especially geared toward women’s health,” said digital media major Bernice Gonzales.

Preparing for the workforce Jennifer Gracia jgracia@foghornnews.com On the fourth floor of the Del Mar White Library, the Career Readiness Institute hosted a Lunch and Learn for about 40 students on Nov. 15.

Yazmin Diaz introduced the professional guest panel, Charles A. Nickerson, a consultant for DMC corporate services; Teri D. Samo, DMC business instructor; and Gina Ronje, DMC financial planning counselor with Title V. Ronje spoke about salary negotiation, urging students to (Alarms from Page 1) weren’t working. It is a concern for us on not having an active fire alarm but at least we have a security guard patrolling the floors so I feel safe,” said Alvaro Ramirez, GIS major.

Drue Jones, an associate professor of business administration, had noticed the increased security and thought someone had made a threat to the building.

research the salary for the po- in an interview. We want to help sition, consider all benwith soft skills which efits and ask questions are so important to before accepting an ofhave in order to mainfer, and not to underestain a job,” Diaz said. timate one’s own worth.

Door prizes and Diaz explained the gifts were distributed services offered to stuto close out the event. dents by the Career Free professional headReadiness Institute. shots were also being “We have a software offered to students afcalled Interview Stream, Diaz, CRI coordi- ter the event. where a student can re- nator, gave advice “The headshots are cord themselves, and re- on résumé writ- a service we offer to view how they respond ing at the event. students, until the seduring the interview mester ends,” said Jusprocess. Little words tin Luna, a student emsuch as ‘um’ and ‘like’ do count ployee at the CRI. “I didn’t know the reason why there was more security in the building but now I know that it’s because of the fire alarms. This is a fairly old building but we don’t have chemicals or science labs here to cause a fire. … I do feel safe with the added security,” Jones said.

When Gerald “Craig” Brashears, chairman of the Faculty Council, heard there was an issue with the fire alarm in the building he went

directly to President Mark Escamilla and Kelly White, director of Environmental Health and Safety, to express concern.

“This is vital for the safety of our students, faculty and staff,” Brashears said.

The fire alarm system is expected to be back online by the start of the spring semester. @BrittClaramunt

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Apply online at DALLASCITYHALL.COM and select “FIND A JOB.”

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COMMUNITY

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November 20, 2017

The long road to Thanksgiving

Organizations aid Rockport by delivering meals

Omar Mickelson omickelson@foghornnews.com

Charlie Blalock/Foghorn News

Mindy Cook (right) serves a hot turkey dinner at the fourth annual Fall Feast at the Aransas Pass Civic Center as residents still struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Harvey.

Fall Feast in a giving community Aransas Pass comes together for early Thanksgiving dinner

Jonathan Garcia jgarcia@foghornnews.com ARANSAS PASS — Attending the fourth annual Fall Feast at the Aransas Pass Civic Center meant more to resident Lucy Mendez than it did in previous years.

“We lost our house and have to rebuild, so we’re staying at my mother-in-law’s house,” Mendez said of life since Hurricane Harvey came ashore near the coastal town in late August.

The event brought together many residents of Aransas Pass to enjoy an early Thanksgiving feast for the community, which brought joy to Mendez and her family.

“Everybody has been really friendly and all our family can come out and eat together here,” she said.

The feast saw many volunteer groups come out to serve food and desserts, and to help put together the Nov. 14 event, which almost was postponed because of the Civic Center receiving storm damage.

“We were thinking of postponing it, but we decided to do it bare bones and manpower to do,” said Sarah Lee, director of community enrichment for Aransas Pass.

Lee was more than pleased to see the amount of help they received and said they had more volunteers this year than in the past.

Helping serve food to residents, Mindy Cook volunteered selflessly to give back to her hometown roots.

“It’s a bonding experience for all of us, and it’s to let the public know that we are still here for them and have their back through all of this,” Cook said.

Other volunteers, including Alex Hinojosa, came from outside Aransas Pass to help out with the feast for

the locals.

“With everything that this community has gone through, I felt it was necessary to help in whatever way possible,” Hinojosa said.

Of the four years that the feast has happened, this year was more meaningful to mayor of Aransas Pass, Ramiro Gomez.

“This came right after Hurricane Harvey came through here, so there was a good need for this to get the community together,” Gomez said.

He added that it provided a chance for locals to interact with one another to see where they stand and help out.

Lee said the turnout for this year was a success with over 500 people in attendance to receive a hot meal.

“I’m very pleased. This definitely surpassed more people than we had in the past,” Lee said.

to extra y muchos otros tuvieron que alejarse de sus familias. Es por ello que The Highland Park Community Bible Church in San Antonio, The Somebody Still Cares Fundation y Church Unlimited se unieron el pasado 11 de noviembre para poder compartir un plato de comida con los habitantes de Rockport y sus alrededores.

La actividad tuvo lugar en las afueras de las instalaciones de la Iglesia Unlimited de Rockport, donde se hicieron presente más de 200 voluntarios de todas las edades. Se prepararon alrededor de 5,000 almuerzos de Thanksgiving, repartiéndolos en

sus propios vehículos y a todos aquellos que se hicieran presentes al lugar. También se hiso entrega de 500 almohadas donadas por la fundación My Pillow.

Esta actividad se realizó con el objetivo de llevar un poco de esperanza y amor a todas las personas que están trabajando arduamente después del Huracán Harvey. Una situación que está muy lejos de ser superada, pero que de alguna manera los habitantes de Rockport se sientan que no están solos que hay un apoyo espiritual y moral.

@jonathan10894

Tiempo para agradecer y compartir con todos Josselyn Obregon jobregon@foghornnews.com ROCKPORT ­ — A casi tres meses de uno de los desastres naturales que más a afectado la costa de Texas, sus residentes y las comunidades que le rodean están consientes que hay mucho trabajo por hacer. Harvey marco la vida de todos y para mucho los efectos serán a largo plazo. El desastre no les permitirá a mucho tener una Cena de Acción de Gracias tradicional, por diferentes razones: algunos se quedaron sin hogar, otros en el esfuerzo de restaurar sus propiedades no pueden pensar en hacer un gas-

@JTO_News

Josselyn Obregon/Foghorn News

A volunteer from Highland Park Community Bible Church loads up Thanksgiving dinners to take to Rockport residents. The San Antonio church partnered with relief organization Somebody Cares.

DMC, KEDT join forces for StoryCorps project

Michelle Mirelez/Foghorn News

E.J. Goodroe (left) talks with student and veteran Chris Smart at the Veterans Day Mixer in the Retama Room on Nov. 6.

Kicking off Veterans Day with a mixer

Del Mar College Veterans Services hosted a Veterans Day Mixer to kick off a week of celebration on Nov. 6 in the Retama Room.

Participants received information on resources available on campus.

Organizations that came

ROCKPORT — The road to recovery has been a long one during the months following Hurricane Harvey.

On Nov. 11, however, it stretched all the way from San Antonio to Rockport, as volunteers from Highland Park Community Bible Church donned orange T-shirts and carpooled to the Church Unlimited campus, where they provided 5,000 Thanksgiving dinners for residents in the area who needed them.

Along with Highland Park Community Bible Church and Church Unlimited, the event was also done in partnership with the relief organization, Somebody Cares.

Mark Roye is a field operations manager for Somebody Cares. He had been in Rockport the first Sunday following Harvey’s Aug. 25 landfall.

“We did 50,000 meals here in 28 days,” he said, adding that the campus became something of a point of distribution for those seeking relief. “Church Unlimited is who (the Somebody Cares foundation is) partnered with.”

Roye said there were as many as 50 volunteers from Highland Park Community Bible Church.

“All we’re trying to do is come alongside (and) help manage the needs of the community,” Roye said. “It’s not our first rodeo … it’s all about (managing) flow.”

In an effort to get the meals to the more outlying members of the community, volunteers from other organizations could also come to the campus to transport the food in their own vehicles.

One of the drivers, Portland

resident Amy Montgomery, has been actively engaged in volunteer efforts with FEMA, the Aransas County Harvey Donation Center, and various other organizations that have been helping to clean up after the storm.

“We actually started in a (condemned) building … but we ended up at the old H-E-B,” Montgomery said. “Every night and day, I’ve slept in a tent (there because) I felt that those people needed my help.”

Furthermore, the drive to deliver the dinners to Holiday Beach, a short 25-minute drive over the Copano Bay, gave Montgomery the opportunity to take photographs of the damaged homes along the route.

“FEMA’s wanted me to … come join their forces,” Montgomery said. “I’m still staying on with … hiring case managers (who will be working with those) who have no home.”

Roscowe is a veteran of the Iraq War and single father of two, who also helped Montgomery out with the delivery of the meals to residents of Holiday Beach. He lost his home there, when a tornado touched down on it. In the months after the storm, he and his two sons have been staying in a motel in Rockport, which he describes as looking “like a war zone.”

“This place … looks like Iraq,” Roscowe said. “Well … the American version of Iraq.”

After successfully delivering 30 packaged meals to Holiday Beach residents, Montgomery eventually ran out of food. And while the orange-shirt volunteers may have finished up at the church that afternoon, there is still quite a lot of work to do in the Rockport-Fulton area, and according to Montgomery, the next couple of years will be a long and arduous.

“We (have about) five more years to go,” she said. “My plan is to continue staying involved with recovery and rebuilding.”

by to provide information included Goodwill Industries, Operation Homefront, Department of Veterans Affairs and Nueces County Veterans Services.

On Nov. 10 at the Center for Economic Development, Army Veteran Jose

Olivares, owner of Tejas Cable Construction, spoke to veterans during a luncheon.

Olivares talked about starting and operating their own business through a veteran's perspective.

Mark Young myoung@foghornnews.com A rainy day did not stop members of Del Mar College and KEDT from coming together for the kickoff of StoryCorps coming to Corpus Christi.

StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization that was created to record the conversations of everyday Americans, which are then logged in the Folklife Center in the Library of Congress. It has become one of the largest oral history projects, with over 65,000 interviews from all 50 states, and will now include 150 conversations from the people of Corpus Christi.

The kickoff opened with Don Dunlap, the KEDT president and general manager, saying he is excited that StoryCorps is going to record “the stories of people in our community.”

Dunlap then went on to introduce Trey McCampbell, chairman of the Del Mar College Board of Regents, who spoke about the importance of working together and telling your story.

McCampbell started off by quoting Henry Ford and saying, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success,” which he tied into DMC’s long partnership with KEDT and their temporary partnership with StoryCorps to tell the stories of the community.

“I look forward to StoryCorps’ work in the community,” McCampbell said, “and I also look forward to recording a conversation with Dr. Escamilla later next week, but also to be in an Airstream.”

Morgan Feigal-Stickles, who was in Corpus Christi with StoryCorps, told the crowd about the mission behind the project and what it can do.

“It is an opportunity for communities to tell their own stories,” Feigal-Stickles said, who noted that nowadays communities can be misrepresented by the media.

“We hope that through the broadcast we can show our shared reality,” Feigal-Stickles said. “It is rare for us to sit down for 40 minutes, without our phones, and talk to someone you love and listen to their stories.”

One of the first conversations recorded was with DMC Regent Susan Hutchinson with former Mayor Nelda Martinez.

Hutchinson said the experience was “fascinating” and they talked about multiple things, from old stories of her and Martinez’s past to Hutchinson’s late husband.

“We talked about my late husband, Owen Hopkins,” Hutchinson said. ”I did this for him, to preserve his legacy. I did it all for him. @foghornmark

ENTERTAINMENT

November 20, 2017

5

Reviews

Journalist sheds light on PTSD two did a fantastic job together and did justice to the actual story. The one person I did not expect to be in this film is Amy Schumer, who plays Saskia’s best friend and the wife of Sgt. Brittany Claramunt 1st Class James Doster. While bclaramunt@foghornnews.com she was an unexpected cast One in 5 men and women in member in a serious role, she uniform come back home with did a good job balancing the sesome kind of brain injury. Often riousness and having some light times their injuries are not vis- humor. ible — they are mental. These The cinematography is fanmen and women defend their tastic in this film. The change country but are also protecting in lighting helps better undertheir friends, family and people stand the mood of what the whom they have never met. characters are feeling but also The movie adaption of “Thank helps the audience feel what You for Your Service” by Ameri- they are going through. The can journalist David Finkel fo- action sequences were well cuses on real-life veterans who thought out to show the audireturned to Fort Riley, Kansas, ence what exactly these characfollowing a 15-month deploy- ters are hearing and seeing. ment to Iraq in I always try Cast: 2007-08.

They to read a novel return home and before I see the A+ try to adjust to movie; howScript: civilian life while ever, I never A+ dealing with knew there was post-traumatic a novel to beCinematography: stress disorder gin with. Since A+ and other injuthis a real-life Soundtrack: ries. The novel story novel adand film also aptation, I had Atackle the strugdoubts on how Overall: gles of the veteraccurate the ans’ benefit crisis movie will be.

A+ with the DepartAfter watching ment of Veterans the interviews Affairs. with the cast, director and writIt is a strong cast with Miles er Jason Hall along with Sgt. Teller, who plays Sgt. Adam Schumann, it is clear they did Schumann, and Haley Bennet follow his story but also the stoplaying his wife, Saskia. Those ry of many other veterans who

After returning home, soldiers struggle with reality

Contributed photo/DreamWorks Pictures

Miles Teller plays real life veteran Sgt. Adam Schumann in “Thank You for Your Service.” The film is an adaptation of the nonfiction novel by American journalist David Finkel. can relate.

“It’s not just my story. There’s hundreds of thousands of veterans that face similar stuff that’s portrayed in this movie,” Schumann said.

To prepare for the movie, the majority of the cast did some vigorous training so they better understand what the people they are portraying went through. Scott Haze, who plays Michael Emory, confined himself to a wheelchair for a month to prepare for his role.

A few of the actors were

afraid to jump on board for this project because they felt they wouldn’t be able to accurately portray the truth of what these veterans feel and deal with when they come back. However, Teller knew their story must be told.

“What they go through in that, when they get back from war, it’s not like they take some pills and then they’re OK. We’re dealing with young men and women who are experiencing things that are just unimaginable. … They’re coming back

a different person,” Teller said.

Veteran or not, everyone should go watch this film. This story is unique because it is not just one man’s story, it is multiple that any veteran can relate to but any audience member can try to understand what these men and women go through when they come home.

This sheds light on the invisible injuries veterans suffer when they come home. @brittclaramunt

Adaptation brings suspense Agatha Christie book comes to life with strong cast, beautiful imagery Azrael Montoya amontoya@foghornnews.com

Contributed photo/Twentieth Century Fox

Kenneth Branagh portrays Hercule Poirot, the investigator tasked with solving the crime.

Murder and sins from the past come back to haunt the passengers in “Murder on the Orient Express.”

Murder and drama are here in this mysterious film and it will leave you guessing from frame to frame.

A famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, played by Kenneth Branagh, must solve a murder on the Orient Express set in 1934.

Poirot is almost a divine detective with his abilities and his amazing prowess to solve the most difficult cases. The murder target on the Express is Samuel Ratchett, played by Johnny Depp. He is a shrewd American businessman.

A plentiful amount of evidence is found in the case pointing toward a lone shooter, including a bloody handkerchief with an H on it. Evi-

dence is planted in Poirot’s cabin Armstrong, to commit suicide. because the killer is psychologically The ending of the film is one filled toying with him. with humility as Detective Poirot reThe film itself is a suspenseful alizes his imperfections as a human piece of work. Poirot discovers that being and that justice is now never everyone aboard the black and white.

Express is lying to There are a great Cast: him. many positives to A+ For example, the film, including a Gerhard Hardman, star-studded cast and Script: played spectacularly a great twist.

B+

by Willem Dafoe, is Mercy, forgiveness Cinematography: revealed to be a phoand violence greatly A+ ny doctor. abound in the film, Everyone aboard and each character’s Soundtrack: the train has someflaws are highlighted B thing to gain in the rightly. Lessons in the murder of Ratchett. film are clear. The setOverall: Years ago there ting really fits into the A was a murder that film with the dead of shook the prominent winter. People are just Armstrong family trying to exist and in and the effects of this event are felt some instances will bend the truth to aboard the train. Poirot discovers ev- fit their needs. ery person on the Express is connectThe final overarching lesson in ed to the family, even Samuel Ratch- “Murder on the Orient Express” is that ett. the law of man is not enough and The murder of the Armstrong there will always be an imbalance in daughter caused her father, Colonel the world and in seeking justice.

Latest ‘Call of Duty’ storms the front lines Online multiplayer modes shine despite average storyline Jonathan Garcia jgarcia@foghornnews.com Get ready to storm the beaches during the Battle of Normandy in “Call of Duty: WWII,” the return to form for the hit first-person shooter franchise.

Sledgehammer Games, the maker of “Advanced Warfare,” takes the COD franchise back to its roots with a more bootson-the-ground experience fans know and love. After the failure of Infinity Ward’s “Infinite Warfare” and the success of EA’s “Battlefield 1,” the franchise decided to do a 180 from the futuristic setting and it’s a solid decision.

The single-player campaign puts you in the shoes of Army Pfc. Ronald “Red” Daniels as he tells his war story of his time in the First Infantry Division during World War II. The story mode follows the similar feel to “Battlefield 1’s” single-player mode “War Stories,” but the story is just a serviceable one at best. Despite having the added star power of Josh Duhamel as he portrays a hard as nails technical sergeant, the story does nothing to make you care about certain characters despite a strong opening. It at

times gets repetitive and certain Sledgehammer does a good job moments happen in the game in making each mode fun as well where it goes as adding new off the rails infeatures. Gamers Gameplay: cluding a level have a choice A involving an of selecting a Story: armored train class to fit their Bderailing, which play style, addthrows off the ing many ways Graphics: gritty setting of to approach A+ World War II ena multiplaytirely. er battle. Team Soundtrack: One welDeathmatch, Kill B+ come return is Confirmed and a health bar for Hardpoint return Overall: the campaign as along B+ you no longer with rely on getting to cover to heal.

To replenish health, you must use first-aid kits, which can be found in the game or your teammate hands you one on command, causing you to reconsider going in guns blazing. The campaign is a welcome distraction to gamers, but the online modes are where the game truly shines.

Multiplayer is addicting and

a new mode called War, which borrows from “Battlefield’s” Rush mode. You must either defend or push back enemies to gain total victory. This game is also the first to introduce a social hub on the beach where you can gain contracts, orders and even train your soldier.

Nazi Zombies mode returns with a whole new storyline and is a step up from “Exo Zombies” from “Advanced Warfare.”

This mode is great gathering a group of friends to play

with online and kill the legions of zombies to see how far you can survive before the undead defeat you.

“Call of Duty: WWII” is a solid return to form, with fun multiplayer and zombies mode that will keep gamers coming back and anticipating what will be next for this franchise when Treyarch Studios handles the next entry.

PERSPECTIVE

6

November 20, 2017

Editorial

Thanks for not giving us more time off Time and planning are key when getting ready for the holidays. That also means added pressure for college students.

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family around delicious food and drinks, sharing stories and memories with one another and hoping the night does not end with a fight.

Del Mar College is a nontraditional college, full of students who may not have gone straight into college after they graduated high school. Many students are either raising a child by themselves or have already started a family, so students are trying to balance their own schedule along with their child’s or family’s schedule.

To make matters more difficult for our students, the Corpus Christi Independent School District gives its students a week off for Thanksgiving. It is not just CCISD; the majority of school districts in Texas give their students and faculty the full week off. This gives them time to travel and get things ready, or at least be together.

Originally, the state, like Del Mar, only gave three days off for Thanksgiving, but it chose to use two days from the weather emergency days that school districts can use. These days do not have to be made up at the end of the year.

So students in public schools get a week off from school but students at colleges and universities do not. If college students want to go home for Thanksgiving, they have to plan to get on a plane or drive the day before the holiday.

For Del Mar students who have kids, they have to figure out what they will do with them while they are in class for two days. They cannot drop them off at the day care center on campus because that is a year-round program with limited space available. Depending on the age of the child, day cares may or may not accept them, and they can also be expensive. The only choices for parents in school are to either find a baby sitter or let their child go to a friend’s house.

The younger a child is the more expensive child care becomes. Each day care is different for how much they charge for their service. On average, for a 3-year-old

Emily Jasso/Foghorn News

child, it may cost about $125 per week.

A younger child may rack up the price to nearly $200 a week or more. A student may or may not be able to afford that for a week, especially during the holidays.

Student parents have to worry about their child and their school work, leaving little time to plan a Thanksgiving meal.

A nontraditional college such as Del Mar should give students a full week off for Thanksgiving. To make up the days, they should add them on either at the beginning or at the end of the semester.

How does only having three days off for Thanksgiving affect your schedule?

“It’s a little annoying because I work, so having a week would give me more time to relax and do any homework.”

— Caroline Armendarez, biology “We get to spend time with our family now but we may not in the future once we go to college.”

— Briellyn Towne, Collegiate High School student “Pienso que está bien, porque es mejor que den más tiempo de descanso para las celebraciones de fin de año y no para Thanksgiving.”

— Frida Perez, psicologia “We can’t take a huge vacation so you won’t have time to go out of town. I think we should have a little bit longer breaks especially since it’s close to finals.”

— Brandon Arriola, music

This gives student parents time to plan but also not have to worry or feel rushed with the limited time they have. Most importantly, they get to have time with their kids and family without having to think about school or remember the fact they had school the day before.

Also, students who do not have kids but want to see their family that live in another city can have more time to travel there without the worry of having to drive right after class or in traffic with other commuters who are rushing to their location.

During the holidays, drivers become more reckless. Instead of driving defensively, they start to drive aggressive because they are also trying to make it home. For many students, they may have to drive at night, which poses a risk if they feel fatigued.

Time is difficult to have on our side, especially for students and professors. Giving students the same amount of time off from school as public schools can make the holiday less stressful from school, but that doesn’t stop the stress from family.

“Creo que necesitamos más tiempo de descanso, porque estamos mucho más estresados y cargados de trabajo en comparación con las escuelas segundarias que tienen una completa de descanso.”

— Cesilia Garza, psicologia “It’s good to have those days off so we can de-stress and relax, even if it’s for three days or a week.”

— Claire Wood, Collegiate High School student

“I feel some older people would appreciate the extra time off. College is different from high school so I wasn’t expecting things to get easier.”

— Jorge Betancourth, kinesiology

“Se necesita más tiempo para estos días, porque muchos trabajamos y estudiamos y no es tiempo sufriente para compartir con la familia.”

— Deniss Guerta, psicologia

“I’m a college student and I work. So I may only have Thanksgiving to spend time with my family. Other than that, I won’t be able to spend a lot of time with them.”

— Dilinger Siadak, liberal arts

GAMES

November 20, 2017

7

1. GAMES: In Scrabble, what is the point value of the letter K? 2. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What breed of dog is known as a firehouse dog?

3. SCIENCE: What do you call trees that lose their leaves?

4. LITERATURE: In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” what is Romeo’s family name?

5. DISCOVERIES: Who is credited with inventing the 3D printer?

6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the first president to be born in a hospital?

7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the name of someone who shoes horses?

8. BIOLOGY: What percentage of people in the world have blue eyes?

9. MOVIES: Which actress has won the most Oscars?

Answers 1. Five 2. Dalmatian 3. Deciduous 4. Montague 5. Chuck Hull

shopping already. But be careful to keep within your budget. Shop around for the best buys.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Love and friendship remain strong in your aspect over the next several days. This is a good time to develop new relationships and strengthen old ones.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A beloved family member has news that will brighten your holidays. Also expect to hear from friends who had long since moved out of your life.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Family and friends are in for a surprise when you accept the need to make a change without being talked into it. (Bet it surprised you, too — didn’t it?)

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Restoring an old friendship might not be as easy as you hoped.

You might want to explore the reasons for your former buddy’s reluctance to cooperate.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Your party-going activities pick up as the holiday season takes off.

Enjoy your plunge into the social swim as you make new friends and renew old friendships.

BORN THIS WEEK: You are caring and considerate — two wonderful attributes that endear you to people of all ages.

— King Features Syndicate Inc.

LIKE TO DRAW? The Foghorn News is always looking for talented artists.

Stop by Room 215 in the Harvin Center for more information.

— King Features Syndicate Inc.

by Ben Kessels

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your work on a recent job assignment is impressive and is sure to be noticed. Meanwhile, expect to receive news about an upcoming holiday event you won’t want to miss.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Saving the world one person at a time is what you were born to do. So accept it when people ask you for help, especially during the holiday season.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Now that you’ve resolved all doubts about an important decision, you can surprise a lot of people by defending your stand with your strong and well-reasoned arguments.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) The holiday mood stirs your need to nurture everyone from the family cat to great-grandma. But don’t overdo it, especially with teens, who like to feel grown up.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Enjoy basking in the warm love of family and close friends. But don’t fall into a prolonged catnap yet. There’s still much to do before you can put up your paws and relax.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Avoid pushing others to work as hard as you do on a common project. Instead, encourage them to do their best, and they might well reward you with a pleasant surprise.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Like the sensible Libra you are, you no doubt started your holiday

during this torpor, its body temperature can get as low as 27 degrees Fahrenheit — without the animal becoming just another chunk of ice. This nifty trick can be attributed to a biological process that clears the rodent’s blood of ice nucleators, which facilitate freezing. n You might be surprised to learn that in a 2016 survey of human resources professionals, it was reported that more than half of all workplaces offer paid time off for employees to vote.

Thought for the Day: “We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?” — Jean Cocteau

ANIMALS

n It was 17th-century English novelist and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton who made the following sage observation: “If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues.” n If you have an indoor/outdoor cat, you might have found yourself wondering why it sometimes shows up on your doorstep with an offering of a dead animal. Well, there’s actually a good reason for it. It seems that

the cats most likely to present owners with a gory gift are spayed females, and they’re acting out behaviors seen in the wild. Feral cats teach their young how to hunt by bringing them dead or injured prey. With no kittens to teach, your cat is evidently trying to teach the family it does have — namely, you -- how to find food on its own. n You probably aren’t familiar with the term “anthropodermic bibliopegy,” but in the unlikely event that it ever comes up in conversation, you now know that it refers to books bound in human skin. n It’s not surprising that during the severe northern winters, the Arctic ground squirrel goes into a state of suppressed physiological activity. What is surprising, though, is that

6. Jimmy Carter 7. Farrier 8. 8 percent 9. Katharine Hepburn, 4 Oscars; 12 nominations

Ben Kessels/Foghorn News

SPORTS

8

November 20, 2017

Two new teams crowned champions Flag football players compete, followed by 3-on-3 basketball Chloe Carrillo ccarrillo@foghornnews.com Several teams competed throughout the week of Nov. 13 to be able to show off their skills when it came to the championship flag football tournament.

There were about four teams that played against one another all week to battle it out before the big game. Usually it was two teams made up of Collegiate students and two teams made up of Del Mar students. Oftentimes, they would work together to fully engage in the rivalry.

Because of the weather, multiple games were canceled and played the same day as the tournament.

In the end, the team K.P.R. won it all and keeps up their legacy at Del Mar College intramurals. They have won many sports and have now successfully added flag football to the list.

The 3-on-3 basketball tournament kicked off with eight teams competing the first day.

The final four teams were Triple B, S.O.G., Most Hated and Lit. The final round of the tournament saw Most Hated triumph over S.O.G. to take the championship.

Farris Ashour juggles the ball while attempting to make the catch during the championship flag football game.

Charlie Blalock/Foghorn News

INTRAMURALS SCHEDULE

Charlie Blalock/Foghorn News

Nov. 20: 3-point Contest ABOVE: Jonathan Aleman’s pass is broken up

by Benito Torres during a flag football game on Nov. 9.

Nov. 28-30: 5-on-5 Indoor Soccer Ongoing: 100 Mile Challenge 500,000 Step Challenge

LEFT: Joe Moreno covers Jonmichael Garza as he dribbles down the court during a 3-on-3 basketball game.

View registration details and event times at www.delmar.edu/kine/ intramurals.html.

Josselyn Obregon/Foghorn News

Joe Moreno guards Darian Silva during the 3-on-3 basketball game.

Mark Young/Foghorn News