Billions of dollars in funding – from cancer research to investigations into immune cells – have been withheld or terminated entirely by the Trump administration in a political attack on vaccines, targeted outreach programs, and specific language. The cuts affect national institutions and universities alike, and will have consequences for years to come. 

The Supreme Court ruled in August that President Trump’s $2 billion in cuts to the National Institute of Health (NIH) will go forward. The largest project affected was a $77 million grant to the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. The University’s president resigned in September, followed by the Interim President agreeing to pay the US government $75 million to restore research funding.

Following the waves of complaints crashing into Financial Aid, Director Corrine Soltis acknowledged the frustration with the department, and internal policies have been changed, effective immediately. 

This acknowledgement has sparked joy and inspiration across faculty and staff. The effort to instigate change in the department has been an ongoing and long process, supported by the faculty who advocated to their students, the staff that supported logistics, and the students who spoke up in surveys, listening sessions, and discussions on campus.

Vice President of Student Services (VPSS) Dr. Jamilyn Penn returned to Acting President this week as President Dr. John Mosby goes on his third medical leave. Dr. Penn steps into the dual roles amid contentious issues with Financial Aid and faculty.

She sat down with Managing Editor Mavrie Durham for a short interview about what she intends to focus on in her time as Acting President.

Highline College’s Financial Aid department has been in the limelight recently, and for all the wrong reasons. Students voiced their concerns and faculty advocated at a Board of Trustees meeting last week. The effort to reform the department is ongoing under new leadership.

The ThunderWord has collected student testimonials alongside the results from a recent survey conducted across campus.

The government shutdown has come to an end after eight Democratic Senators broke from their party to pass a spending bill that does not address ACA healthcare credits, which was the sticking point in negotiations.

After it passed the house Wednesday, President Trump signed it into law last night, ending the longest government shutdown in American history, lasting 43 days.

As we approach the holidays, we also approach application season. Students will begin to melt over perfecting essays, double-checking submissions, and even trying to find scholarships. So how are we supposed to approach it? What if we don’t have someone over our shoulder, guiding us through the murky waters of scholarship applications? 

The first step: get over the idea that there isn’t a scholarship out there for you. Whether it’s grades or you don’t feel like you made as much of a presence on campus; there’s still something for you.

As of Thursday morning, neither of the closest-watched local elections have yet to be called. Girmay Zahilay leads by a slim majority against Claudia Balduccii for King County Executive, an office that has been occupied by Dow Constantine for nearly 15 years.

Incumbent Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell holds a steady lead in front of Katie Wilson.

Recent vandalism at Highline’s satellite campus in Federal Way, the Hub, provided a missed opportunity for Highline’s Executive Cabinet to take stronger stances against bias and antisemitism on campus.

Multiple instances of defacement have not been publicly condemned thus far, with only a single line addressing the existence of bias in a campus email.

Over the weekend many of the Washington residents and neighboring states witnessed major rainfall, powerful winds, and power loss. As Halloween celebrations gear up, another atmospheric river is set to arrive.

A powerful atmospheric river brought rain, wind, and snow across western Washington, leaving thousands without power, claiming one life, and dumping snow in the Cascades. The precipitation was immediately followed by deadly winds on Saturday, with the strongest recorded at 77 MPH.

As 25 states across the nation sue the Trump administration for withholding funding for SNAP, more commonly known as food stamps, food banks prepare for an unprecedented surge. Washington state has ordered a weekly $2.2 million to assist food banks in preparation. Food insecurity relief can be found in community gardens and working together to ease tensions. 

Nearly a million Washingtonians receive food stamps. According to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), “If federal funding is not restored, DSHS will not be able to issue food benefits after Oct. 31.”

In the broad morning daylight of Paris on Sunday, four professional thieves broke into the Louvre Museum, stealing French Crown Jewels from the Napoleonic Era. The heist took less than eight minutes, and the thieves made away with eight priceless artifacts. 

Disguised as maintenance workers, the thieves rode up on scooters outside the museum, where accomplices waited with a basket truck to lift them up to the second floor of the Apollo Gallery.

Have you ever screamed yourself hoarse into your pillow, when frustration or despair surmounts? The cathartic release leaves you feeling slightly better, if not more tired, and slightly emptier than a few moments before. Scream therapy is a type of expressive therapy, now weaved into art and culture. Perhaps some of us could benefit from the emotional release of stress here on campus. 

Scream therapy, an off-shoot of “primal therapy” came around in the 1970s from psychologist Arthur Janov, but the idea that screaming as a form of emotional release provides a “cure from neurosis,” as claimed Janov, is still speculative.

After a summer of tense meetings, classified staff and Highline College have reached a collective bargaining agreement.

A joint response from stewards, the bargaining team, and the union, said, “The Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA) Classified Staff have ratified their 2026-2027 contract with an overwhelming 96.6 approval vote. 

Highline College was officially denied reconsideration to continue their Title III funding from the Department of Education, effectively ending the school’s federal Title III grant, jeopardizing funding for multiple college support services.

Right before the start fall quarter, Highline was notified by the Department of Education (DOE) about the non-continuation of Highline’s Title III Strengthening Institutions (SIP) grant, ending the grant funding a year early.

There is less than 24 hours until the world’s favorite showgirl releases her 12th studio album, “Life of a Showgirl.” Taylor Swift, along with producers Max Martin (“…Baby One More Time” and “Blank Space”) and Shellback (“So What” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”), created this album in between the European Eras Tour shows last year. 

Former Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, released her book this past Tuesday titled “107 Days”, which recounts and reflects upon her presidential campaign, the shortest run in modern history. The book contains her notes, journal entries, and thoughts she had during those days, and more recent thoughts on current President Donald Trump’s actions since inauguration. 

Summer quarter has reached its end and Highline faculty and students take a five week break before classes resume on Sept. 22 for fall quarter.

Registration remains open, as does the Advising Center in Building 6. As finals conclude, grades should be available by Aug. 20.

Contract negotiations between classified staff and Highline College have reached an unpopular sticking-point.

WPEA President Amanda Hacker was informed last Monday that Highline would no longer participate in bargaining, instead sending contract negotiations to the Office of Financial Management (OFM), the legislative office that oversees union contracts. 

On Sunday, Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives fled the state to block a vote on a law that redraws congressional districts.

The re-drawing was a demand of President Donald Trump in an effort to secure five more Republican seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Arrest warrants for the missing House Democrats were promptly issued the following day. 

Voter trends are changing across the country, and Washington State does not escape the progressive shift reflected in this week’s primary election.

The top two vote-earning candidates across the all primary elections will move up to the general election. This brings more vetted choices to citizens by the November 4 election. 

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula Tuesday evening (local time), prompting a tsunami advisory for the entire North American west coast.

Washington’s outer coast was under tsunami advisory until Wednesday morning, with the tallest tsunami waves measuring about a foot and a half at La Push around 1 a.m.

Three G7 countries have agreed to recognize Palestine as a sovereign nation, under certain conditions. The war in Gaza has officially been dubbed a genocide. The conflict has continuously restricted food and other humanitarian aid, leading to daily starvation deaths. 

According to the IPC report, there have been over 1,000 deaths during attempts to access food. IPC calls it the “worst–case scenario of famine,” predicting “widespread death” without immediate actions.

James Gunn’s “Superman” movie landed in the box office, with mixed reviews across the political spectrum. At the end of the day, many are glad to have a new soundtrack for the summer and a return to the traditional values of what Superman is all about.

In the first two weeks of its release, “Superman” soared past its  $225 million production budget, earning $416 million worldwide. The film is overall rated 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.6/10 on IMDb.

Congress has approved a Trump administration demand to rescind $1.1 billion dollars of public media spending, targeting NPR and PBS. Trump cites the “bias” reporting of these organizations, but station leaders say the move will disproportionately affect rural communities.

The money was set aside to fund public media across the nation for the next two years, but with fiscal budgets already in place, stations will take the hit in the coming months.

TRIO, a long-standing federal college access program, has come under fire at the White House, with Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump requesting the complete elimination of the program.

TRIO scholars, advisors, and directors across the country are calling on peers to preserve it.

A picket line erupted earlier this week on Highline’s campus, organized by Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA) members across Highline staff. Nearly two dozen people showed up to show support for equal pay. 

For the past year and a half, WPEA, a labor union for state workers, has been in a slow-moving, locked argument with Washington’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) over contract negotiations – specifically, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).

With the summer comes campaigns, and with Seattle’s Mayoral election around the corner, this year promises the potential for new and actionable leadership. Katie Wilson is the cofounder and Executive Director of the Transit Rider’s Union, and her plan, if elected, would be to make public transportation safer by addressing the unhoused and housing crisis in the area. 

Wilson goes up against the incumbent Bruce Harrell, who has occupied various seats in city hall since 2008.

Summer quarter has arrived, and for the first time in recent history, the ThunderWord is staying open to keep campus connected.

During this condensed quarter, our limited operations will include briefs and recaps on campus events, our continuing coverage of Highline’s MaST Center, and periodic updates on local and national news. 

After 15 years, the partnership between Highline College and Akin has come to a close. The childcare center, located on the south side of campus, will be closing the doors at the end of August.

The center has been used by the community for childcare as well as educational purposes for students in education and nursing. 

Last week, Highline college hosted their Pink Prom with drag performances by Delyla Dalyte, Caesar Hart, and Tyra.

Building 8 served as a beacon of inclusivity, with stickers, bracelets, buttons, and flashing giveaways at the entrance for everyone to find a representation of identity to wear.

Highline welcomes back Dr. Rolita Ezeonu as Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs after the termination of Dr. Emily Lardner last quarter. Dr. Ezeonu has served as Interim VPAA in the past, from April 2017 to June 2018, before spending the past several years at Green River Community College as the Vice President of Instruction.

“Coming back now feels like a full-circle moment, an opportunity to rejoin a community that aligns with my values and am ready to contribute and be of service during a meaningful time in Highline’s journey,” Dr. Ezeonu said.

In the Quarter Quell of the 21st century, Suzanne Collins’ fifth installment of “The Hunger Games” saga, “Sunrise on the Reaping” arrived in bookstores early on March 18. Collins used her power to commentate on implicit submission and propaganda, while breaking hearts with a story we’ve held close since 2010. 

Reader’s should absolutely read “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” before picking this one up. And if you haven’t read the original trilogy, what are you doing here? The shadow of Lucy Gray Baird is still on District 12 and the Covey, and to understand the full timeline of events readers need to go back to the 10th games.

Next week, the Thunderword editors Mavrie Durham and Liv Lyons will appear on the Students Perspective on AI panel. The event takes place March 12 at 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Building 8, Mt. Skokomish conference room. 

“Are you curious about how Highline students are engaging with AI in their academic and personal lives? Join us for an insightful panel discussion where students share their firsthand experiences, perspectives, and aspirations related to AI,” the event description reads.

The “Arcturus”, a student published literary magazine, put out their calls last week for the 2025 edition, opening the doors for writers, poets, visual artists, and creators to submit their works for this year’s publication, the 57th edition of the award-winning literary magazine. 

Instructor Jamie Wilson invites everyone on campus, whether student, staff, faculty, and alumni to share fiction or nonfiction stories, poems, and visual art in “an award winning journal that celebrates the diverse voices and talents of our Highline community.”

After 15 months of horrendous fighting in the Gaza strip, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement just days before the second Trump administration.

The cease fire began on Sunday, Jan. 20 and phase one is projected to last six weeks. The pause in fighting is meant to allow Palestinians to return to their homes in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be flooded into the region.

Within a week of this article, President-Elect Donald Trump will have been formally sentenced for his 34 felony count conviction, in which a guilty verdict fell down on him like a hammer for paying off a porn-star, and he will also be inaugurated as America’s 47th president, serving two non-consecutive terms; a feat that only President Grover Cleveland accomplished.  

The Highline College Wellness Center, a hidden resource available on the first floor in the biology building (Building 26), offers a wonderful space for exercise, to de-stress, and connect with other members of the community. 

The Wellness Center offers a wide variety of equipment and hours, providing the Highline College community with a dedicated space to improve cardiovascular health, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, and flexibility.

As we wrap up Highline’s fall quarter of 2024, the Thunderword would like to take a few steps back to highlight the memories made, events attended, and wonderful community the campus has fostered. 

As fall brought in its crisp breeze and cooler temperatures, Highline College brought along some special events and info-packed activities.

Highline’s TRiO program is hosting their “De-stress and Reconnection” event today (Dec. 5) from noon to 2 p.m. in the TRiO center on the first floor of Building 6.

Game tables, art stations, and lunch will be provided.

With the end of the 2024 fall quarter, the Thunderword staff wishes to say happy holidays until next quarter!

Finals week will take place beginning Tuesday, Dec. 10, with grades available the next Wednesday, Dec. 18. The winter quarter will begin on Jan. 6.

With a nearly untouched IP and a contested author behind the brand, HBO has their work cut out for them with their attempt at a new Harry Potter TV series.

The producers will have to balance the consumer demand for a blacklisting of all things J.K. Rowling and the author’s rights of creative control. 

When I was 11 years old, myself, my closest cousin, our grandmother, and her mother all lined up outside Martha Berry Square Mall at 3:30 a.m. to catch the Justice 75% off sale the company was holding. The entire store, whole outfits, and all the sequins we could dream of for a few dollars apiece.

This year, I stayed in. I didn’t go shopping, avoided any plazas, and kept my wallet closed. Cyber Monday came and went, and yet not a dollar was spent. That’s because the Black Friday I remember does not exist anymore.

Thanksgiving is coming up, which means the season of stuffing has arrived! Highline College has TWO Friendsgiving events happening this week: MESA Potluck and Highline Clubs Friendsgiving. 

Bringing scientific light onto a quiet class of organisms, HBO’s “The Last of Us” warned us of an impending epidemic by the apocalyptic fungus: Cordyceps. Zombies have been explained to us by the media as lingering electrical impulses in the brainstem (The Walking Dead), a virus that takes over and consumes the human body (World War Z), and most recently: mushrooms. 

In the original 2013 action-adventure game, “The Last of Us” creatively avoided using the term zombie, opting for the term infected. It refers to a species of fungus, cordyceps, that infect a hosts’ brain and control them. When idle, infected lie still and allow the cordyceps to grow from them in an attempt to connect to other cordyceps.

Bob Ferguson is Washington state’s newly elected governor, leading his competitor, Dave Reichert by almost 400,000 votes.

The Seattle-born former Washington Attorney General has been in the public eye for some time, but may not be as ubiquitous as his contemporaries–at least for now. So who is Ferguson?

The finish line for this election season is less than a week away.

Along with the hotly contested Presidential campaigns pushing all they can in the final days, Washington has its own hot-button ticket issues that will racket through its own economy, depending on how the votes go. 

Drag Bingo is being held tonight in the Student Union (Building 8) in the Mt. Townsend conference room, starting at 6 p.m. and hosted by Brandi Marxx from Tacoma. She promised an “unforgettable evening of Bingo, drag performances, and tunes.” 

Early voting is open! Mail-in ballots have been sent out, and registration is still open for anyone needing to request a new ballot.

As the Presidential race has everyone’s attention, the Thunderword wished to remind everyone that local decisions are also on the ballot this November.

Two American astronauts, sent into space for an eight-day mission by a Boeing Starliner, have been stuck for months on the International Space Station (ISS), as their craft was deemed too risky to safely make the return trip home.

On June 7, 2024, Boeing, in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), launched the two American astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunni Williams, into space aboard Boeing’s ‘Starliner’ capsule. The mission: an eight day test of systems aboard Starliner, but this not-exactly-successful mission has turned into an eight-month detour around the planet for the pair.

Between the dark hours of 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. EST, Florida residents braced themselves for another catastrophe. Entire towns were abandoned, debris left behind, and homes vacated. Those watching from the screens urge friends and family to get out, get safe, and stay alive.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on central Florida’s west-coast as a Category 3 hurricane in the evening hours of Wednesday. The once tropical storm took less than 36 hours to strengthen into a Cat 5, but slowed and downgraded to a Cat 3 upon approaching the state.

Bringing us into the spooky season this year was none other than Tim Burton, the King of family-spooky night, with the reprisal of Beetlejuice. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters in time to kick off the haunting season, 36 years after the original premiered.

Winona Ryder, Catherine O’hara, and Michael Keaton all reprise their roles as Lydia Deetz, Delia Deetz, and the exorcist himself, Beetlejuice.

In 1890, while living the life of a luxurious and infamous playwright, Oscar Wilde compiled all his imaginatives on hedonism, temptation, and human nature into a blood-driven, sex-filled young man he most definitely saw himself in, Dorian Gray. 

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” remains Wilde’s only novel, first published in a monthly magazine. Wilde wrote a few versions of the story, censored and edited by his publishers, but an artists’ work is always a reflection of the artist.

The Vice Presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance, was one of the most polite political stages seen the past few election cycles.

The 90-minute face off between the two men duking it out to be second-in-command was a spectacle in that it was a night of civil oratory discussion – edging on even exchanging polite pleasantries.  

This past week Israel has “defended” itself outside its borders by remotely detonating hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by militant group Hezbollah. The attack killed dozens and injured thousands more. 

The conflict has escalated since, with Israel carrying out air-strikes and raids within Lebanon. Hezbollah has continued their own assault into northern Israel. The fighting continues as Israel wages another conflict in the south.

Highline College welcomes all new and returning students back this autumn season for its 2024 fall quarter!

As with every season at Highline, the campus is brimming with events, resources, clubs, and sports to appeal to anyone curious about trying something new, something different, or in search of a community over something you love.

As the fall quarter kicks off at Highline, there is a realization that the political world we live in now, in September, is vastly different than the political scene we left in June.

The last issue of The Thunderword reported on the historic conviction of former President Donald Trump. This was shortly before the disastrous debate with current President Joe Biden, who at the time, was the presumed democratic nominee for this year’s election.

The Live Nation-Ticketmaster conglomerate is now under the scrutiny of the Department of Justice for maintaining an illegal monopoly. Whether it’s a concert at Lumen Field, a Mariners game at T-Mobile Stadium, or an event on Capitol Hill, the big live event giant handing out your tickets has now been thrust into its own spotlight after years of skirting the dark side of the stage.

The entertainment industry is a curtained machine of artist management, venue operations, concert promotion, and ticket sales. After a 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the one company now owns and controls every single one of these aspects. The lawsuit, set forth by the DOJ against Live Nation, says they “control around 60% of concert promotion at major concert venues across the country.”

Over 100 firefighters and EMS staff working at Boeing facilities in Washington are locked out in an attempt by Boeing to force a contract agreement for low wages and longer progression periods.

At midnight on May 4, Boeing deactivated all security and parking passes of its on-site EMS and firefighters at its six Washington facilities around Seattle.

The lockout began at 12:01 a.m., as the current contract between Boeing and the International Association of Firefighters union expired at midnight, and a new contract had not been agreed upon. The lockout comes after months of failed contract negotiations on wages between the company and the union representing the workers.

On the morning of April 29, students from University of Washington Seattle campus pitched tents on the Quad, establishing the Popular University for Gaza Liberated Zone. Situated in between the Raitt and Miller buildings, the encampment tripled in size within the first 24 hours. The most contentious demand is for the school to cut ties with Boeing, a long-time partner.

The encampment includes organizations from the UW Progressive Student Union as well as the UW United Front For Palestine Liberation and the UW Student Muslim Association.

Registration for summer and fall quarter is now open to all Highline Students. Summer quarter is shorter, more faced paced as it stretches over eight weeks as compared to fall classes, which last 11 weeks.

Summer begins June 24 and ends with exams being Aug. 14 and 15.

For students wanting to receive financial aid for the summer quarter, a separate form is required to be completed as it is processed differently than the typical academic year (fall-spring). Students must ensure they register for classes first and then fill out the Summer Aid Request Form.

Over the past several months, 2,600 students have been arrested at protests across the country as encampments crop up on quads and in squares. The main call for these protests have been to end US involvement in the war, bringing it to their school administrators demanding divestment from Israel-supporting companies.

For context, on October 7, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian militant force who has had control over the Palestinian population for the past 18 years, launched an attack into southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,400 and the capture of about 250 people, including women and children.

Upon entering a restaurant and seeing a dog in a bright red vest on, it’s hard to tell whether the pup is about to start begging for food or alerting their handler to something wrong. With a “Service Dog – Do Not Pet” patch attached, there’s still a level of mistrust these days.

Due to the easy access of service dog attire, it’s commonplace for people to purchase working dog harnesses for household pets in order to bypass “no-pet policy” places. Some might claim their dog is an ESA, maintaining a privilege above business policies.