At Highline College, the scroll never really stops. In the classrooms, study rooms, and even between lectures. What can look like harmless downtime is something much bigger. Social media is shaping how students see themselves and not for the better.

Social media was created to connect people, yet instead, it has become a comparison machine. For many college students, that comparison is quietly damaging their confidence.

Following President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” being signed into law, beginning on July 1, 2026, graduate students may lose a critical source of educational funding. For ones enrolled in so-called non-professional graduate degree programs, they will no longer be eligible for fair, interest free, federally distributed loans.

As part of the administration’s new educational restructuring, graduate students are facing blows on two fronts.

Highline men and women’s basketball both had inspired seasons. However, with regular season play concluding, the teams take divergent paths – the men’s season ends falling just short of the postseason, while the women are set to embark on the playoffs this weekend, with eyes set on a championship.

The Thunderbird women head to Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., to play in the postseason tournament. Their first match, in the Sweet 16 round, is slated for this Friday, March 6, tipping off at noon.

Girona defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 at Montilivi in a dramatic Catalan derby, a result that cost Barcelona the top spot in La Liga and left them two points behind Real Madrid. The match was intense from the beginning and full of important moments, missed chances, and controversial decisions that ultimately decided the outcome.

The game started at a high tempo, with Girona showing early energy and forcing goalkeeper Joan García into action within the first minute. Barcelona struggled to control possession at times but still created several dangerous chances. Lamine Yamal was heavily involved in the attack and had two close-range opportunities that he failed to convert. In one key moment, he broke through on goal and attempted a chip over goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but the keeper reacted quickly and made the save.

Highline women and men won a well-fought game Wednesday night, taking Tacoma Community College down once again.

In the Feb. 25 matches, the men and women played their hearts out on sophomore night. The men won 98-86, a game with high energy and grit – a stimulating one to be at. And the women clutching up 60-57, a definite nail biter and a game getting people out of their seats.

Atletico Madrid crushed Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, taking a commanding advantage ahead of the return match. A disastrous first half and early mistakes left Barcelona with a huge task to overcome in the second leg.

The game started in the worst possible way for Barcelona. Eric Garcia made a simple back pass to goalkeeper Joan Garcia, but the ball went under his foot and crossed the goal line. It was an early mistake that gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 lead in just seven minutes.

“Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle” just had its 11th anniversary with a whole host of new games in celebration. Each year, Dragon Ball Z celebrates with new gimmicks, characters, events, and free rewards. Originally released in Japan on Jan. 30, 2015, it was released globally later that year on July 16. These anniversary releases attract players old and new each year.

Part one started off with the new characters: ‘Maximum-Power Battle Super Saiyan 4 Goku’ and ‘Earth-Shattering Climax Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta.’ Both legendary rare, Goku falls in the Super STR type while Vegeta is a Super TEQ type.

Pokémon’s 30th anniversary is happening in 2026, and its birthday is on Feb. 27.

Pokémon is the world’s largest grossing media franchise of all time, having made a lifetime revenue estimated between $115 billion to $150 billion. This far surpasses second place which even on the high end of estimates puts Hello Kitty at $80 billion.

Pokémon was able to achieve this in only 30 years. 

You read that right. The Moon, as we know it, is shrinking. And this isn’t from a “Despicable Me” movie where Gru is shrinking the moon. The Moon is shrinking, in real life. It isn’t really anything to be worried about, though.

The Moon has only shrunk about 50 meters (164 feet) over the course of several hundred million years. Given that the Moon’s diameter is 11,400,048 feet long, (2,159.1 miles), its width has been reduced by approximately 0.00144%.

The Moon shrinking does actually cause a few things, though.

Cavendish banana plants are being assaulted by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense worldwide, causing them to wilt and die. Fortunately, in this time of crisis, scientists may have just found something that could save bananas for generations to come. 

“Fusarium wilt – also known as Panama disease – is a destructive soil-borne disease which impacts farmed Cavendish bananas worldwide through its virulent Race 4 strains,” said Dr. Andrew Chen, a researcher at The University of Queensland.

Methane bubbles, pink water, and saltwater seas – these are a few of the words that describe some of the most unique bodies of water in the world. There is Lake Hillier in Australia, the Red Sea, Abraham Lake in Canada, Chillika Lake in India, and Lake Urmia in Iran.

What can we learn about the phenomena and science from these lakes?

Spider silk has always been known to be one of the strongest organic materials. Fortunately, scientists have found out why. Tiny, yet complicated chemical attractions allow spider silk to remain flexible while still being extremely strong.

The strongest spider silk is spider dragline silk. It forms the frame of the spiderweb, and needs to be able to hold the weight of the spider. It is stronger than steel (by weight), and tougher than Kevlar (a material used in the making of bulletproof vests).

People living in the United States and Europe immigrate for a multitude of reasons and always have. They could be fleeing conflict zones, they could be moving for financial reasons, or they could simply be exploring. Immigration is not only something humans have always done but it’s a normal thing for most living creatures to do. Birds migrate constantly for survival purposes and it is no different for us.

Here in the United States, immigration is one of the most hotly debated topics in modern politics. People immigrate worldwide all the time because it’s often a human necessity and simply a normal thing to do and yet, especially to the American right wing, it’s up there with the most important issues there is.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposal that prevents families with mixed immigration status from receiving federal housing assistance. Current HUD regulations dictate that mixed status households (meaning both eligible and ineligible to receive federal housing assistance) can receive assistance based on how many members of the household are eligible.

HUD’s proposal would limit the assistance to a temporary 30-day period, effectively barring mixed-status families completely from receiving said assistance. 

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union (SOTU) address of his second term earlier this week, facing his lowest approval rating and at a time when most Americans view the union as weak. SOTU addresses are typically a time for sitting presidents to tout accomplishments, discuss actions taken to fulfil campaign promises, and outline their agendas for the next two years in office.

Trump did not do any of those things. His campaign promises centered around making life affordable for everyday Americans who have eaten the cost of his unpredictable tariffs, yet Trump criticized the Supreme Court’s decision that the tariffs were unconstitutional. In his effort to consolidate power, Trump did not make any demands of Congress either.

The Mexican army killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed “El Mencho”, a cartel leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel during a military raid in Tapalpa, Jalisco. 

Mexico’s Ministry of National Defense said Oseguera Cervantes was severely injured during the shootout and died while being transferred to Mexico City. Six other cartel members were also killed, and two arrested. Additionally, three military officers were injured during the operation.

On Feb. 10, the Federal Way City Council held a meeting where members voted on removing the then City Council President, Martin Moore, from his position as president due to concerns regarding misuse of platform and partisanship.

This vote occurred in the wake of a FaceBook post Moore made with comments regarding student walkouts in Federal Way. While this vote is painted as being presented with partisanship in mind, the subliminal messaging here is alarming.

Queerbaiting is the notion that media, more specifically the creators of said media, can capitalize off their audience by including or hinting at queer storylines, but never fully or explicitly depicting them. In turn, disservicing the story that the fans have invested in. Often done as a marketing technique, it’s conclusively false advertising. 

Throughout the course of the “Stranger Things” season five press junket, creators Matt and Ross Duffer have proven their capacity for it.

Have you ever wanted to be on TV, or interview one of the greats? In such a competitive field, how do you even get started? For those interested in these questions, as well as the ins and outs of the major outlets like CNN, ABC, and others you won’t want to miss this week’s ThunderPod career conversation with Highline’s own Art Land.

Check it out now!