Supreme Court’s conversion therapy ruling in Colorado sets stage for others to follow
The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 majority against a law that banned conversion therapy in Colorado, siding with Kaley Chiles, a Christian teen counselor who “argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment.”
Conversion therapy is a type of “talk therapy” that is used with the intent to change or alter someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity so that the person is then cisgender and straight.
Stop making lists of Jews: A Jewish college student’s perspective on the Penn subpoena
A U.S. district judge ruled on March 31 that the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) must provide the Trump administration with a list of Jewish students and faculty. This subpoena, which was submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), was framed as a way to combat antisemitism.
Penn has appealed the subpoena, and a spokesperson representing the university raised concerns about the decision.
New research links oral bacteria to development and progression of breast cancer
New research has discovered an oral bacterium called Fusobacterium nucleatum can cause and exacerbate breast cancer. This bacteria can travel through the bloodstream to the breast tissue, where it mutates the cell’s DNA that causes the growth and spread of tumors.
Fusobacterium nucleatum, or Fn, is a type of oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease, or gum disease. Fn has previously been linked to other types of cancers, but this new research suggests that it can cause breast cancer as well.
Taliban continues to restrict women in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s new academic year began last week, following the Persian New Year holiday, with official ceremonies and celebrations, yet for the fifth consecutive year, girls and women beyond grade six remain barred from attending school. This leaves over 2.5 million Afghan girls without access to education.
Access to education has gotten increasingly more difficult to achieve; as of January 2026, Afghanistan stands as the only country in the world where formal education is strictly prohibited for women and girls beyond primary school.
Campus
Nine years ago, Highline professor Susan Rich read a poem by Saddiq Dzukogi in the Toaist Journal of Poetry, sending her on a near-decade correspondence with the Nigerian author. Dzukogi celebrated his recent book release, “Bakandamiya: An Elegy” at last week’s “Poetry and Samosas” event as the key note speaker.
Once Professor Rich read that 2017 edition, she wrote a letter to the editor, exclaiming about how much she loved it. She then received Dzukogi’s email, which became a professional relationship between the two. Good things can happen unexpectedly. Dzukogi’s second book came out last last year, and he shared a range of new and older works of his as keynote speaker of the event.
As the spring quarter settles into instruction, many students graduating might wonder, should I go to commencement? This year’s festivities take place at the Kent ShoWare center on June 18, and answering this question may loom large for students in contemplation.
Commencement ceremonies have a varied history. Beginning in medieval 12th century universities, their original inspiration was to celebrate “mastery” certifications for Latin speaking scholars receiving licenses to teach.
Gov. Bob Ferguson recently appointed Lorraine Chachere to the Highline College Board of Trustees.
Chachere, a Burien resident, will be formally introduced to the Highline College community at the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, April 16. The introduction will highlight her professional achievements, commitment to education, and her dedication to community service.
Highline’s Q-center in collaboration with the Center for Cultural & Inclusive Excellence (CCIE), the Center for Leadership and Service (CLS), and the Public Speaking Center (PSC), helped organize a queer forward comedy show in Building 7.
The event, which featured comics Juno Men, Ricci Armani, and Jenna Nobs, was held this past Tuesday, April 7, and lasted from noon to 2 p.m.
Community
The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 majority against a law that banned conversion therapy in Colorado, siding with Kaley Chiles, a Christian teen counselor who “argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment.”
Conversion therapy is a type of “talk therapy” that is used with the intent to change or alter someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity so that the person is then cisgender and straight.
Afghanistan’s new academic year began last week, following the Persian New Year holiday, with official ceremonies and celebrations, yet for the fifth consecutive year, girls and women beyond grade six remain barred from attending school. This leaves over 2.5 million Afghan girls without access to education.
Access to education has gotten increasingly more difficult to achieve; as of January 2026, Afghanistan stands as the only country in the world where formal education is strictly prohibited for women and girls beyond primary school.
Bus route 156 recently underwent a service change in late March, which altered the route’s last southbound stop from Highline College’s South Parking Lot to the newly constructed Kent-Des Moines Station.
The service change was done in an effort to connect the 1-Line Light Rail to more local bus routes, which would in turn connect the ridership of the rerouted buses to the train.
Every year, as winter loosens its grip and the first days of spring arrive, millions of people across the world mark the occasion with one of humanity’s oldest celebrations. Nowruz — literally meaning “new day” in Persian — has been observed for over 3,000 years. Rooted in ancient Persian civilization, it begins at the precise moment of the spring equinox, usually March 20 or 21, when day and night are nearly equal in length.
Nowruz has evolved from quiet family gatherings into prominent public celebrations. What once unfolded in private living rooms now fills Seattle City Hall, public libraries, performance centers, university halls, and the Washington State Capitol.
Sports
As the NHL’s main season comes to a close, and a number of teams prepare for the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Seattle Kraken are preparing for the next season. On April 11, 2026, the Kraken were officially eliminated from the playoffs after a long string of losses.
After four players competed in the 2026 Olympics (none for the U.S. team) the Kraken went from a team with a decent standing this season – with a solid chance at representing the Pacific Division in the playoffs. Instead, they fell apart, ending their season with a 34-36 record, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and out of the playoffs.
The Mariners have been a hot topic in Seattle following the start of the MLB season just a few weeks ago. All eyes are on the field for the first time since their widely celebrated success in the 2025 playoffs, hoping to build off of the momentum of last season, notable changes are already taking place in Seattle baseball.
At the end of last season, ecstatic fans filled T-mobile park to witness the first players in history to bring Seattle so deep in the playoffs. The Mariners advanced to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time in over 20 years during their historic 2025 run.
Arts
Netflix is under fire again in both the public eye and in the courts as Italy rules the most recent price increase unlawful and the companies dismissal of promised releases, leaving many people upset and their wallets drained.
A Roman court recently ruled that price increases over the last seven years were unlawful after lawyers discovered that their contract did not align with the Italian Code of Law and ordered the company to reimburse their customers by refunding the money.
Rising star RAYE (born Rachel Keen) has released her much anticipated sophomore studio album “THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.” It comes three years after her debut “My 21st Century Blues” which was also a long time coming.
She actually entered the music industry in 2014 after dropping out of the prestigious BRIT School in Croydon, London. It’s the same school artists like Olivia Dean and Adele went to, but for her, she felt “confined”.
Florence + The Machine has released her sixth studio album “Everybody Scream” – a deeply profound work about her ectopic pregnancy miscarriage resulting in a near-death experience. She delivers themes of grief, horror, womanhood, and power through raw writing about the human experience. She asserts her power through the one defining truth of her career in music – that Florence Welch is one of the greats.
Welch told Zane Lowe in an Apple Music interview, “I was thinking about greatness and the cost of greatness and how with every album I’m like ‘I’m gonna be satisfied with this one, I’m gonna be completely satisfied and have no issues with it’, and how it almost like never happens.”
Science & Technology
New research has discovered an oral bacterium called Fusobacterium nucleatum can cause and exacerbate breast cancer. This bacteria can travel through the bloodstream to the breast tissue, where it mutates the cell’s DNA that causes the growth and spread of tumors.
Fusobacterium nucleatum, or Fn, is a type of oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease, or gum disease. Fn has previously been linked to other types of cancers, but this new research suggests that it can cause breast cancer as well.
A new study has revealed that marmosets call each other by name. They are the first non-human primate to exhibit this behavior.
Marmosets are a small western monkey that lives in South America. They are very social animals, living in social groups of three to 15 individuals. They are frequently called “finger monkeys” on social media, due to their small size.
Scientists have discovered a new way to help animal conservation. New research has discovered that Giant Panda connective tissue cells can be used to eventually create a lab grown embryo, which will help increase their vulnerable population.
Panda skin cells are being used to create specialized stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), that are able to be turned into gametes. These specialized cells, iPSCs, are able to transform into any of the three layers needed for embryonic development, endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm.
News Briefs
Construction continues around the new Kent-Des Moines Light Rail station, but this time, instead of on the Light Rail itself, the construction is focusing on new affordable housing units.
For anyone following this publication quarter to quarter, it’s no surprise that constant local construction is a reoccurring theme. The Kent-Des Moines Light Rail station just finished construction and opened to the public last December, while the new construction started on March 18.
Opinion
A U.S. district judge ruled on March 31 that the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) must provide the Trump administration with a list of Jewish students and faculty. This subpoena, which was submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), was framed as a way to combat antisemitism.
Penn has appealed the subpoena, and a spokesperson representing the university raised concerns about the decision.
Everyone has a favorite show, or at least a ranking of their top five. But lately, there have been a slew of “fans” mischaracterizing and misrepresenting characters they claim to love. These “fake fans” are referred to as larpers or larps. Larpers are annoying fanbases across media by claiming to have watched a show they deem their favorite, but under scrutiny, their opinions are baseless and wrong.
Emerging “No Kings” protests have exposed the lack of education on the oppressive structures that have impacted working class Americans, and the ineffectiveness of a protest when it doesn’t function in accordance with working class interests.
Likewise, a mass mobilization of people provides an opportunity for effective organization; even if the protests themselves don’t. We need to show up, and build unity by doing so. But when we do show up, we need to organize.
Hungary has election day approaching on April 12, but the results are practically predetermined. The far-right incumbent, Viktor Orbán, is facing Péter Magyar in the race for which political party will hold the majority and, therefore, determine the Prime Minister. Orbán has been in power since 2010 and has since drastically changed Hungary’s electoral system in ways that make his victory much more likely.
Although Orbán’s Fidesz party is currently trailing in the polls pretty dramatically in comparison to Magyar’s Tisza party, there is still a decent possibility that the way he has skewed the electoral system could still lead to a victory for his party. For this reason, Hungary is often deemed as having “free, but not fair elections.”
ThunderPod
Welcome back ThunderBirds! This ThunderPod episode is the first of the spring quarter and comes to you jam packed!
The Pod brings you a world wide release of our own shark teaser trailer – produced and edited by MacKenzie Charles. This trailer brings awareness to the Sixgill shark, whose nesting ground is Highline’s own Marine Science & Technology Center (MaST).
We are not done with the MaST yet! Along with this we are showcasing the Winter International Retreat. Join Highline’s Public Speaking Center & Wellness Center for a day of relaxation and mindfulness.
Check this week’s episode out!