Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl LX
Super Bowl LX captured the attention of fans across the country as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots to re-claim the NFL championship for the second time in franchise history.
On Feb. 8, the Seahawks clinched their second Super Bowl title with a 29–13 victory over the Patriots in Santa Clara, Calif., at Levi’s Stadium, showcasing a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. Although, it was not their first time winning the Super Bowl, it was the first time they won in twelve years.
Local schools organize ‘I.C.E. OUT’ walkouts
During the past couple of weeks, local high schoolers have organized student walkouts in protest of the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) These walkouts are part of a statewide, student-led movement to get as many high schools as possible to participate in walkouts in protest of I.C.E.
Federal Way High School’s walkout was on Feb. 5, and had a turnout of hundreds of students who walked out of class to protest up and down Pacific Highway near the high school.
Tacoma Black Panthers talk community, gender, and safety in modern America
The Tacoma Black Panther for Self Defense made an appearance on Highline’s campus last week, paneling to a diverse mass of students, and accepting donations of food, clothing, and hygiene products. The discussion ranged from the history of the party, to the fracturing of different chapters, the integral role of women in the party, and life living as a target for the federal government.
The panel was a part of Center for Cultural Inclusion and Excellence’s MLK series, celebrating Black History Month.
Bad Bunny puts on a record-breaking Super Bowl halftime show
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX was a celebration of love, America, and unity despite political pushback from the MAGA party. Bad Bunny’s performance topped the charts, telling the all-American story, surprising viewers with appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and even holding a full-blown wedding.
The NFL having Bad Bunny as the headliner, however, created a divide between communities, with some right-leaning figures claiming he was not American, despite being from Puerto Rico, a long-time U.S. territory.
Campus
The Tacoma Black Panther for Self Defense made an appearance on Highline’s campus last week, paneling to a diverse mass of students, and accepting donations of food, clothing, and hygiene products. The discussion ranged from the history of the party, to the fracturing of different chapters, the integral role of women in the party, and life living as a target for the federal government.
The panel was a part of Center for Cultural Inclusion and Excellence’s MLK series, celebrating Black History Month.
Student mental health is declining. In 2026 the average student faces many different mental issues. Whether it be with their classes, lack of personal life outside of school, or sleep-related problems, student health is facing a massive reduction in positive emotions.
But how much has mental health been declining, and what could be done about this issue?
Highline’s Global Student Alliance (GSA) is reaching out to all international students to raise their voices and write to local congress representatives regarding ongoing issues facing the international student community.
With this campaign the GSA’s drive is to focus directly on international students. Due to the specific and special strain they have faced this quarter (and in ones previous), they are hoping to allow a space for international students to air out concerns, grievances, and real fears.
Having modern technology is important on a school campus, especially when students, staff, and faculty alike depend on that technology. These machines range from computers to printers, and fortunately, most accounts find Highline technology dependable and user-friendly.
Ian Porter, a librarian at Highline said, “The technology services in the library are working really well … starting in the fall quarter the computers have been running a lot faster because of the IT department’s upgrades.”
Community
During the past couple of weeks, local high schoolers have organized student walkouts in protest of the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) These walkouts are part of a statewide, student-led movement to get as many high schools as possible to participate in walkouts in protest of I.C.E.
Federal Way High School’s walkout was on Feb. 5, and had a turnout of hundreds of students who walked out of class to protest up and down Pacific Highway near the high school.
Septima Poinsette Clark understood something dangerous for her time: If you could read the law, you could challenge it.
She was born on May 3, 1898, in Charleston, South Carolina, into a world still shaped by slavery’s shadow. Her father had been born enslaved. Her mother, raised in Haiti before returning to the United States, believed fiercely in dignity and discipline. From them, Septima inherited both memory and expectation, the knowledge of what had been endured, and the insistence that more was possible.
I was born and raised in a remote, mountainous village in central Afghanistan. As a child, the world arrived to me already divided into two categories: Aowghoo (Afghan) and Azra (Hazara). These were not official terms or textbook definitions. They were lived realities, carried through stories, warnings, jokes, and silences, and passed down from one generation to the next.
In the language of my family and community, Aowghoo meant the oppressor – cruel, violent, and unjust. Azra meant the oppressed – innocent, vulnerable, and perpetually under threat. We were Azra. This binary did not simply describe the world; it organized it. It shaped how we understood power, danger, and morality long before we had words like ethnicity or social hierarchy.
Claudette Colvin was fifteen years old when she decided she had had enough. It was March 2, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala. Colvin had climbed onto that bus countless times before, paid her fare like everyone else, and sat where Black riders were allowed – until they weren’t.
That day, when the bus grew crowded, the driver demanded that she and three other Black students give up their seats for a white woman. The others moved. She did not.
After months of lengthy protests battling the presence of ICE in Minneapolis, the Trump administration has agreed to reduce presence by 700 agents in the city. This is following the firing of Captain-at-large Gregory Bovino, being replaced by the border czar himself, Tom Homan.
This is a large success in the region’s fight against ICE and federal presence. Protests erupted after the murder of two U.S. citizens, mother Renee Good and VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Thousands showed up over the weeks, marching together through -20º weather and tear gas.
LEGO revealed their new LEGO SMART System, which includes a brick, a mini figure, and a tag, is set to be released March 1. Only included in the Star Wars sets, the community has been split in their criticisms.
The SMART System is basically a chip inside the LEGO brick or mini figure that lights up and makes sounds when put together. These sounds vary from car engines to swords clashing or different mini figures having different moods.
Sports
Super Bowl LX captured the attention of fans across the country as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots to re-claim the NFL championship for the second time in franchise history.
On Feb. 8, the Seahawks clinched their second Super Bowl title with a 29–13 victory over the Patriots in Santa Clara, Calif., at Levi’s Stadium, showcasing a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. Although, it was not their first time winning the Super Bowl, it was the first time they won in twelve years.
The T-birds had some exciting games this past week with the men and women heading down to Pierce College. Both teams came away from the match up victorious over their Raider counterparts.
In the Feb. 7 match, the women showed grit and determination, defeating Pierce 46-40 in a come-from-behind win. The Thunderbirds outscored Pierce 20-7 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
FC Barcelona were crowned champions of the 2026 Spanish Super Cup after defeating Real Madrid 3–2 in a thrilling El Clásico final played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Brazilian winger Raphinha stole the spotlight with two goals, sealing back-to-back Super Cup titles for the Catalan side and extending their record to 16 overall triumphs.
After a tense opening period, Barcelona struck first through Raphinha, who finished confidently after moments earlier missing a similar chance. Real Madrid responded in spectacular fashion during first-half stoppage time, with Vinícius Júnior producing a brilliant solo run to level the score.
Arts
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX was a celebration of love, America, and unity despite political pushback from the MAGA party. Bad Bunny’s performance topped the charts, telling the all-American story, surprising viewers with appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and even holding a full-blown wedding.
The NFL having Bad Bunny as the headliner, however, created a divide between communities, with some right-leaning figures claiming he was not American, despite being from Puerto Rico, a long-time U.S. territory.
After ten years, “Dragon Ball Super” anime is coming back with a remaster. Toei Animation revealed that the “Dragon Ball Super” anime is getting a remaster with brand new animation and a more manga-accurate story starting with “Dragon Ball Super: Beerus”. This part of the remaster will cover the ‘Battle of Gods’ arc, releasing in fall 2026.
It has been eight years since “Dragon Ball Super” episode 131 aired, finishing the ‘Tournament of Power’ arc. Since then, the manga continued and two “Dragon Ball Super” movies have been released: “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” (2018) and “Dragon Ball Super: Super hero” (2022). The only problem was that the movies didn’t cover the chapters of the arc following the ‘Tournament of Power’.
In Brené Brown’s “Atlas of the Heart”, Brown emphasizes the importance of accurately identifying the nuances of one’s emotions, and knowing how to meet others where they’re at. “Atlas of the Heart” walks readers through 78 “emotions and experiences” that are key components of the human experience as a whole.
This book feels like one of the most important pieces that I have read in a while. From start to finish, I found that my preconceived notions regarding many emotions were challenged in many ways, forcing me to reflect on how I have viewed my emotional experiences, and the experiences of others.
Science & Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a topic that’s hot on the tongue of everybody and it often feels unavoidable. There are a million differing opinions on it and how it can be used as a tool. Many people fear that it will go further than being a tool and will begin to take over people’s jobs. One field that AI is particularly prominent in seems to be education.
With the rise of AI in fields and careers like education, one might be curious what educators across the schooling system feel about AI. How do they feel about students using it? How about their co-workers or potentially themselves? Do they have fears of losing their jobs to these robots? Here were my findings over the course of a series of interviews with high school teachers and college professors.
Recently, two confirmed reports of the Nipah virus have been made in India. The two confirmed cases are healthcare workers exposed to the virus in a laboratory setting in West Bengal. Both cases have been contained, with one still in critical condition. This virus is a special concern for many as it draws similarities to another, fairly recent highly infection virus.
The main issue with the Nipah virus is that it can potentially cause encephalitis, which is the inflammation of the brain. Most of the deaths come from seizures and comas, where the brain is too inflamed and stops functioning properly, making specific aid for the virus quite difficult. The World Health Organization (WHO) states, “While there are no specific treatments for Nipah, early diagnosis will promote early supportive care.”
TikTok’s U.S. operations were acquired by a majority-American company this week, in compliance with a September 2025 executive order issuing new terms and conditions and undating the privacy policy for the engaging social media platform.
The change led to another mass exodus of users, particularly over data-collection and concern over media-control in the U.S.
A few months ago, scientists investigated a cave in northern Germany. Inside, a hidden infrared camera captured something strange: A rat hiding in a corner jumped at an unsuspecting bat, jumping out of the shadows before swiftly dispatching it. With bat populations already low, scientists jumped in to research the threat. Rats had never been known to hunt bats, so this encounter bewildered scientists.
The rats were identified as brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), one of the world’s most common and invasive predators. The research team turned to other bat caves around the area to see if they could get similar findings like the one shown on the infrared camera.
News Briefs
The National Poetry Month Committee calls out for submissions to this year’s Highline College Poetry Contest! There’s been a reduced amount of submissions compared to last year, so odds are good for the various cash prizes given to the winner.
Send your poem(s) through the submission form by 4 p.m. on Feb. 20.
The 12 flag went up on Highline campus in anticipation of the Seahawks Super Bowl this Sunday. A few dozen students, staff, and faculty, all decked out in team spirit, showed up Thursday afternoon to watch Interim President Dr. Jamilyn Penn, raise the flag at the Veteran’s Plaza outside Building 6.
Opinion
ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents are detaining more people than ever before in the United States – and I can’t stop wondering how many families must be broken before we decide it has gone too far.
I am used to seeing immigration enforcement reduced to headlines and statistics: Thousands detained, facilities overcrowded, rules tightened. Those figures dominate headlines and briefings. But they flatten a reality that is deeply human.
Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse for the Minneapolis Veterans, was forced to his knees, beaten, disarmed, and executed early on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis by masked federal border patrol agents.
Unfortunately, it’s not even surprising. Not even a month before Pretti was killed, on Jan. 7, ICE agent Johnathan Ross shot Renee Good in the head after she attempted to flee from officers in her car. Federal officials immediately defended Ross’ actions claiming that he had acted in self defense and helped him flee the state with his wife. A gofundme page was created for the officer raising more than $750,000 so far.
ThunderPod
Jump into rest and mindfulness with this week’s episode which features taking you through the Public Speaking and Counseling Center’s retreat at Highline’s Marine Science and Technology center over the fall quarter.
But that’s not all. A favorite co-host, Lilah Nutting, is back to finish her exciting segment from last week about Greek mythology. Check out this episode for everything ThunderPod!