By: Juamarley Miller

In 1890, U.S. Senator Justin Morrill created the Second

Morrill Act to better his vision of higher education for all.
This second land grant Act became law on August 30, 1890;
it improved upon the first Morrill Act of 1862 by creating
institutions, like Delaware State University (DSU), or minority
residents of primarily southern states who were denied admission
to the publicly funded universities.
Today, DSU has over 53 bachelor's degrees, 25 master's
degrees, and 5 doctoral degrees.
Mass Communication is a major provided at DSU. The
Department of Mass Communications produces graduates who
specialize in convergence journalism; public relations and
advertising; or television-radio-film production.
Mass Comm provides a background in all types of
communication with many different people in multiple professions
and occupations in life, said Dave Skocik, President of PR
Delaware, a public relations agency that specializes in working
with small businesses.
Mr. Skocik has also been an adjunct professor at DSU for
about eight years, where he enjoys working with young minds and
trust they will take advantage of the expertise and experience
available at DSU.
He likes to use academic knowledge with practices in the
world outside the campus as his teaching style in order to help
students.
During his time as an adjunct professor, Mr. Skocik has
experienced many changes with more time wasted in the pursuit of
technology, e.g., computer games and text messaging about trivial
things, than on learning and really connecting with others and
learning about them.
Over the past years new technology has surfaced, which
created alternatives routes for students to pursue at DSU.

The only thing that has changed within the department is the
willingness for students to be involved, in my freshman year many
students werent involved within the department like they are now.
Students did not have their own show on the television station;
students didnt use everything on campus to their advantage, said
Dominique Lockett, a Mass Communication Junior at DSU
concentrating in TV-Radio-Film.
Ms. Lockett has seen more students getting involved, by
utilizing everything the department has to offer such as the studio
for projects, the equipment for their class projects, and many
students are also starting to report and film events on campus to
build their resume now that she is a junior.
The mass communication department has changed a lot in
the several years that I've been here. It has gone from a just being
program with a lot of promise to becoming a program that has
fulfilled the goals of students, said Michael Brooks, a Mass
Communication Junior with a concentration in Convergence
Journalism.
Although both students have different concentrations,
they feel that with all the new changes in the Mass Communication
department DSU has provided the keys to succeed after graduation.
The program has given the student body the opportunity to be
successful post graduation.