Welcome back Highline scholars! You have likely come across the myriad of world-changing news that has been unfolding over the past few months, and things can slip by if we don’t give them their due diligence, so let us recount some of the biggest pop culture events that have happened since our last issue of the Thunderword.

Emily Hamilton (she/her) is not a stranger to service to others. Even in regard to her passion for poetry and literature, Hamilton has served illustriously on the National Poetry Committee here at Highline, carrying the torch proudly, and with it, the tradition among Thunderbirds to be especially keen to the arts.

Highline advisor Tarisa Matsumoto-Maxfield said of Hamilton, “Her work has helped to elevate the writing and creative works of Highline students.”

After a near 12-hour deliberation over the course of two days, jurors made U.S. history last week by finding former President Donald J. Trump guilty on all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. The verdict has been the center of stark debate across the nation, highlighting the divide between voters of the Republican and Democratic parties.

Immediately after leaving the Manhattan courtroom, Trump decried a “rigged trial”, and made multiple comments on the dangers inflicting the United States, should he be convicted. These comments echoed his intentions to exercise revenge-laden control of the country if he wins a second term as president.

With Panera Bread dropping its Charged Lemonade in response to multiple wrongful death lawsuits, it may be time for a stroll down memory lane back to 2013, when an enraptured gym culture felt the side-effects of another nearly unregulated stimulant, Jack3d.

Jack3d (pronounced ‘jacked’) is a caffeinated pre-workout supplement that was banned in the U.S. in 2013 because of the illegal substance, dimethylamylamine (DMAA), though its updated formula sits on store shelves to this day.

Laura Manning has taught at Highline since the spring of 2000, and that length of service hardly does proper credit to the sheer impact she has had both in and beyond our campus. The end of this spring quarter marks the start of her retirement and following journey to Oklahoma, but students and faculty have found it difficult to let her go without showing exactly how much she means to our community.

The Thunderword sat down with Manning and reminisced about past challenges, lessons learned, and the core aspects of teaching that kept her coming back year after year, giving her all to students and faculty alike.

Earth Week at Highline has officially kicked off this past Monday with a presentation by Isaac Kastama of Water Street Public Affairs at the Mt. Constance building and has been raging ever since. Speakers and presenters like our institution’s own Woody Moses (Biology) and Lonnie Somer (Anthropology).

Activities like a forest cleanup, an environmental resource fair, and bird watching compelled students and faculty alike to take a step back and appreciate our environment and, perhaps even more importantly, see the urgency in caring for it.

Is your home cluttered with old paperwork or outdated electronics? BECU Tukwila Financial Center is holding their bi-annual shred-it event this Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and this could be the week that you clear out all of your clutter!

The event (held at 12770 Gateway Drive in Tukwila) has been a hit the past few years with those who want to get rid of old tax paperwork, and their partnership with the Tukwila Food Bank and Northwest Center makes this effort a win-win.

After finding a mysterious red envelope and being compelled by a group of old women into marrying their dead grandson, police detective Wu Ming-Han has to solve a drug case while simultaneously coming to terms with the ghost husband to whom he is now wedded. Maybe the hardest thing to believe about this movie is that it gradually gets weirder from there.

Wu (played by Greg Han Hsu) starts off the film as an arrogant and homophobic cop, chiefly concerned with his own career’s trajectory, and as he is faced with the unbelievable task of marrying a dead man, lest he continue to receive bad luck.

“X-Men ‘97” is more than another superhero property; it is a revitalization of the famous 1992 X-Men cartoon that – despite its low production value – enraptured 90’s kids back before the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) took over the comic landscape. “X-Men ‘97” is everything that a nostalgia property should be.

Though only four episodes have been released so far, the new iteration has created waves online, widely consisting of praise for the series’s animation, faithfulness to the comics, and impressively crafted dialogue.

Highline College has been a bastion for passionate educators and leaders since 1961, and for the last 25 years, it has been fortunate enough to be home to Susan Rich. The Thunderword spoke with Rich this past week and discussed her tenure at Highline, her favorite moments at the Arcturus publication, and some highlights from her upcoming book, “Blue Atlas”.

Taking in the views on campus as her last quarter as Faculty Editor for “Arcturus” and creative writing teacher, Rich is now looking onward to her oncoming book tour with as much creative zeal as she did at the start of her career.

Disclaimer: Please consider where you are mentally and emotionally right now. The following article addresses and elaborates on the subject of abortion, sexual assault, and death.

Our campus received a visit from a group of men this past week. They brought with them enlarged photos of fetuses in an attempt to spread their belief that abortion is wrong, and nobody should have access to safe reproductive healthcare.  

It is clear to me that they did not come to fight for a woman’s right to choose to see her pregnancy to term. Women already have that right, and nobody has tried to take it away. Instead, they came here to prevent women from ever having that choice.

Dakota Johnson stars as the subtly-named Cassandra Webb in Sony’s newest attempt at money laundering: “Madame Web”. Boasting a 3.8 out of 10 stars on IMDb, a 13% critic rating, and 55% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, “Madame Web” is, in my opinion, actually not a bad movie – but perhaps the greatest Pepsi commercial ever made.

While product placement is a common aspect in film, especially modern film, “Madame Web” seems to hint at Spiderman characters as side plots to a larger, expanded “Pepsi Cinematic Universe” (PCU), which I personally find inspiring.

Even the climax of “Madame Web” is atop a giant Pepsi sign, wherein one of the letters falls off and crushes the villain, almost suggesting that the hero all along was Pepsi Cola, with some assistance from strong independent women. 

Last time the Thunderword checked in with Highline College’s own Veterans Services Office, Kendall Evans, who is at the helm, was eagerly awaiting a new and improved room for student veterans to congregate at their leisure. Well, that day has come!

Evans and his student veteran staff want to spread the word that Building 23, room 111, boasts free coffee, snacks, a TV, and computers for those wanting to get ahead in class while they take a load off.

Is cash really the best thing to donate? How used can my used clothes be? Exactly how do I get a tax write-off for this? If you’ve ever considered donating to a charity, you have most likely gone through a thought process similar to this.

Before we can get into the specifics, let’s start with the first question you will encounter: Which charity do I pick? Are there bad ones?

Spotify has over 550 million active listeners, and artists like Taylor Swift and Drake hover around 100 million monthly for themselves, but what else is out there, waiting to be discovered?

Here are three songs by three artists with under 50,000 active listeners that you should check out!

Welcome to Highline Highlights, where we at the Thunderword get to sit down with one of countless students who make up our incredible campus community! This time, we sat down with Sergio Martin Acuña Carrillo, and asked him five questions to really get to know him!

The new year is underway, and we are already halfway through January, so this begs the question: How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? 

Whether a person makes a fitness goal, plans to spend more time with family, or even spending less time on their phone, the follow through of these resolutions seems to be the biggest challenge. 

No need to fear, the Thunderword is here to simplify the problem and offer three tangible solutions to help make this year’s plans come through to their fullest!

Every week, the Thunderword asks five questions to a student around campus to get to know the wonderful people that make up our community! We started off the new year and new quarter by sitting down with student Marianna Ibarra. 

Hey there. If you’re up to it, I would like to extend some thoughts to you. I don’t have the ability to fix a problem, or stop the stress, but I would like to exist in your mind for just as long as it takes you to read this, and then maybe as long as you’ll have me after that.

My life has been touched by suicide at numerous angles, and even knowing that pain, I have still sought it out myself in the past. Those I’ve confided in throughout my life have had a countless number of remedies that worked for each of their own individual minds and souls.

This week the Thunderword sat down with Ayoub Kemao to discuss his favorite things! Ayoub is a new student at Highline College who is enjoying the process of learning and adapting to new challenges out of high school.

Taking care of your mental health should be a priority all year long, but never is it more important (and often never more difficult) than when the holiday season gets in full swing.

Halloween is in our rear view mirrors, Thanksgiving is in full swing, and December is approaching at full speed. Christmas music is flooding your local mall and students are nearing a much needed break from school. So why do so many people feel more stressed than ever?

Highline’s Cyberforce team competed against a staggering 107 schools this past weekend, at a competition annually held by the US Department of Energy. Students competed for accolades, networking opportunities, and valuable internships, though everyone went home with a rich experience in cybersecurity.

Each year the competition reflects a different scenario – this year it was ensuring smart meters and that everything behind the scenes was kept operational. Jordyn Ceplina and her team secured their website and database, fixing over 40 anomalies, all the while proudly representing their team and campus.

Highline College’s own community pantry, along with other local food banks, shelters, and nonprofits are experiencing a drought in funds, due to a major dip in both state and federal funding.

Though a myriad of problems can affect food bank funding, there is a specific issue that has hit these shelters, and it has to do with a drop in COVID relief – a fundamental source for nonprofits during the brutal impact COVID had on the world’s population.

Mayor Matt Mahoney and Deputy Mayor Traci Buxton are on a crusade to learn from, and engage with, the everyday citizens of Des Moines, Wash. In less than a week, you can find them at the city’s monthly social staple: Coffee With The Mayor.

Coffee With The Mayor has been a hopeful endeavor by the city leadership to invite the people of Des Moines to make themselves heard, stay informed, and, while they’re at it, support some local businesses.

Veterans of the US military have more benefits afforded to them now, than any previous generation, and Kendall Evans with Veterans Services wants every single vet at Highline to take advantage of them.

If you’re a veteran, you have already seen the basics: the act of enrolling in classes requires you to email your schedule and verify your monthly enrollment with the Veterans Affairs (VA). But there is so much more at Highline that is built just for you, as well as a team dedicated to guiding you every step of the way.

On Sept. 24, the country set its eyes on a promising new love; Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s possible relationship, following the NFL Chiefs game. Swift was seen at the event, sitting with the athlete’s mother, Donna Kelce, and even leaving with Travis afterwards.

At first glance, this interaction resembles any other celebrity get together, whereas two famous people are seen in public and the occasional tabloid will sound off some gossip, hoping to stir up some clicks or views.

Burien City Council voted in Ordinance #818, a law created to combat the growing unhoused population that has been afflicting the city, as well as the surrounding counties, including Seattle.

The purpose of this ordinance (officially voted on September 26) is to remove, or clear out unhoused people, though it is written specifically to target people sleeping or pitching tents on publicly owned property.