Highline’s 23rd Annual Legislative Breakfast was spearheaded this Wednesday morning by the Associated Students of Highline College (ASHC).

The event included several key issues brought forth by Highline student presenters, as well as local government officials with keen ears and open mindsets.

Sit down with your ThunderPod host Evelyn Rissell, as she explores further the topic of loyalty pledges and education with Communication Studies professor Rachel Stuart.

This first installment interview probes the question: Is the government interfering with education?

The Highline Men’s Soccer team took home the long awaited championship title at this year’s Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Championship. With a final record of 18-0-3, the team had an exceptional 2025 season. 

Winning a championship was no small feat after ending the 2024 season just shy of glory – placing second in the 2024 NWAC Championship.

From Highline’s International Fair to the in-depth discussion of anime culture, this week’s ThunderPod has it all.

Join your host Evelyn Rissell, and first-time co-host Micaiah Simon. The two get into the weeds regarding Simon’s publications and past with the ThunderWord.

This is not an episode you will want to miss.

President Donald Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is closely reaching its Nov. 21 deadline.

As top universities across the country issue their response to this loyalty pledge, it’s worth noting how this agenda could impact Highline’s current practices and student body.

Egypt has unveiled its new “Grand Egyptian Museum” (GEM), just miles away from Cairo and the pyramids of Giza.

This archeological powerhouse boasts the largest collection focused on a single civilization. With its opening, the people of Egypt have a proper resting place for their rich history.

After the loss of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps or EBT, Highline College Foundation, in partnership with the Community Pantry, are stepping up to help students with an additional $100,000 in funding.

These efforts work towards keeping the campus hunger free.

Have you ever wondered where gas, and waste run-off goes from the airplanes at the SeaTac airport? Join the ThunderPod on their private tour of the Des Moines Creek Basin. That’s not all, this week’s episode features a new co-host in Kabira Prim!

Check out the latest episode now.

The Associated Students of Highline College (ASHC) hosted an open mic yesterday for students to share their voices in concern directly with Highline’s Executive Cabinet (EC). The message these students received was clear: We know, get over it.

Highline’s 2025 fall quarter has been met with its fair share of obstacles. From losing Title III funding, to the rising cost of living in the area, students have been under months of duress.

With our second episode, of our second season the ThunderPod gets to know resident editor and staff member Lilah Nutting. Along with her experience the team shares an exclusive interview with the lead tutor of the Academic Success Center. This is an episode you won’t want to miss. 

Renowned scientist, conservationist, and activist Dr. Jane Goodall passed away at the age of 91. Her work and legacy impacted vital parts of how humans understand themselves and the world. Before her death, she filmed her “Famous Last Words” documentary via Netflix interview, leaving a parting message for all: preserve and persist. 

“When someone important dies, all you long for is just a little more time with them,” these words flash across the screen as the documentary starts.

For long time listeners or first time viewers, Highline’s official podcast, the ThunderPod, has returned. This inaugural fall quarter episode marks new changes for the podcast as well as an exclusive interview with the Marine Science and Technology Center’s (MaST) new lead aquarist. 

First and most notably of the ThunderPod’s modifications is the visual element. Now students, staff, faculty, and followers can view the podcast.

Photos from the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) view of the Butterfly Nebula, known as NGC 6302, have provided scientists with new understanding of the universe. According to the ALMA observatory, the August 2025 Webb images “offer new insights into the final stages of stellar evolution.” These insights, include inklings to how planets form, and where the building blocks of life begin. 

Federal funding has been pulled for the LGBTQI+ youth 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline following the Trump Administration’s dropping of the Biden-Harris “Unity Agenda”. As of July 17, 2025, these clients were funneled into the general crisis line, despite option #3’s usage and community impact.

Confidential crisis services will still be available through the line, however this vital subnetwork specializing in counselors specifically designated and trained in LGBTQI+ issues has been completely defunded.

Recently, Thunderword staff sat down with Des Moines Mayor Traci Buxton to discuss her involvement with Highline’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST).

Mayor Buxton chatted about the “Shark in the Park” festival, pressing conservation issues, as well as her passion in creating educational opportunities for the Des Moines community.  

With new policy changes to Medicaid, and raising costs of medication, many Washingtonians might be asking if there is a better solution to the private healthcare model. Whole Washington, a healthcare advocacy group, has the answer: State run healthcare for all using existing tax structures.

Through legislation, they would create the Washington Health Care Trust (WHCT), bridging the insurance gap for the estimated 480,000 residents without health insurance. 

Highline’s Marine Science Technology Center (MaST) in partnership with the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP), a group dedicated to bringing educational experiences to incarcerated individuals, brought a growing red octopus to the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor. 

Their goal: give the students imprisoned there an opportunity to study, ponder and come to an individual conclusion on the connection between this oceanic species and our own.

Highline international students were invited to the Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST) for the “Summer Refresh Retreat”. These 11 students were given a reprieve from the isolation that can surface during the summer months.

In partnership with the Public Speaking Center (PSC), the Counseling Center, and the MaST, faculty is looking to create a new space for international students.

For those who conquered the parking at Redondo Beach on Sunday, sharks were circling Wooton Park ready to celebrate the City of Des Moines proclaiming Redondo Beach as the “Sixgill Shark Capital of the World”.

The first annual Shark in the Park went off without a hitch. With nearly 30 volunteers and around 25 vendors, the event was well supported in greeting local shark enthusiasts and the estimated 750-1,000 attendees. All organizations gathered had a simple mission: Celebrate the docile Sixgill, and teach others how to protect their home. 

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBA) is Donald Trump’s multi-trillion dollar budget reconciliation, after being battled out by the legislative branch, it has been signed into law with presidential approval. The OBBA has garnered harsh headlines due to its drastic cuts to American institutions such as Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP).

These changes disproportionately target part-time, working students, as well as differently-abled students. Around 46% of Highline students are part-time, meaning they are enrolled in fewer than 12-credit hours per quarter.

During their “Chill & Chat” event the Public Speaking Center (PSC) introduced their updated space to campus students, and displayed this core value of their work during the day’s events. “Everyone, without exception, has something important to say,” reflected the PSC director, Professor Amy Rider King. 

For the PSC’s limited summer hours, they hope to attain lofty goals. They are looking to engage with all of Highline, and broaden communication comfortability.

Calling all shark enthusiasts!

Do you have a soft spot for sharp teeth and fish gills? Maybe you want to support Highline’s Marine Science and Technology center (MaST)? Either way, join the MaST Center on Sunday, July 6, at Redondo Beach to celebrate the Sixgill Shark.

As Sixgill Shark season swims in and to kick off  Shark Week, join the MaST center in celebrating the Sixgill’s life & legacy with a day of “discovery, food, and family adventures”. The event will be held from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at both the Redondo Pier and the adjacent Wooton Park.

While many folks were begrudgingly returning to work after last week’s Memorial Day holiday, Thunderword reporters & photographers had the chance to join the Marine Science & Technology Center (MaST) during a specimen collection trip. 

Typically, these trips are reserved for MaST employees. They are crucial to the center, as they allow them to diversify and reinforce their existing aquarium population.

Through every season, tide cycle, and rainy day the circle of life endures. If a whale dies, and washes up on your local shore, how do the powers that be preserve it?

According to four-time whale conservator and marine biologist Rus Higley, step one is simple. Higley runs Highline’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST), as an educator he knew the power of having a local whale on display.

Highline’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST) is more than just an aquarium with hundreds of species of native marine life, it is a view into the greater oceanic world around us. 

Rus Higley, MaST’s director and knowledgeable caretaker, is a professor of marine biology. His work at the center allows all who enter a chance to have a deeper connection with these creatures living in the Puget Sound.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act, is the newest G.O.P. lead bill that would redefine eligible voters to those with specific citizenship documents. This bill would not have passed in the House without the support of four democrats, including Washington State House member Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

In an official statement to the press, Perez stated her vote was based on the following, “I do not support noncitizens voting in American elections.”

Since the beginning of this year, 300 student visas have been revoked by the current executive administration. This may lead to many visa bearing students asking what protections they have on and off campuses.  

Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk and Alireza Doroudi – if you’re a student on an F-1 or J-1 visa these names might be uncomfortably familiar to you. Without prior official notification, or request to appear before a judge, these students were detained by government officials.

Over the course of 25 hours and five minutes, Senator Cory Booker completed the longest speech in Senate history. The record, previously held by Strom Thurmond, was once used to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

During Sen. Booker’s impassioned speech, he championed the opposite, and left anyone watching with the firm belief of hope and optimism in America.