By: Kylee McmanusStaff Writer Green River College is home to a diverse body of students who all spend their Thanksgiving holiday in various ways. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. Its origin comes from a communal feast between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians in 1691. President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. While there is the typical tradition of gathering with family and feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie, not everyone spends their Thanksgiving in this way. Akash Bhardwaj, a student at the college, takes the four-day…

By: Lucas BohannonStudent Writer Head coach Godfrey Drake and the Gators are back for more this season and the team is prepared to make another run in the Northwest Athletic Conference(NWAC) tournament. The men’s basketball season has already begun and the Gators are primed for another impactful season. Last year the team made a statement with a 20-win season and a ticket to the NWAC tournament. Drake has decided that this year will be no different as he plans on setting his team up for similar success. “We are rebuilding our leadership group so that our guys can learn to…

By: Romeo BuckleyStaff Writer On Nov. 22, Green River College is putting on its first performance of the fall play “The Diary of Anne Frank.” In the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne writes about her immediate family and the relationship that was developed with another family that was staying with them. These two families were hiding in the attic for two years during the Holocaust of World War II. The Holocaust is real and millions of Jewish people died because of hatred and religious differences. The Drama Director Robin Bowles said that he selected this play because some…

By: Halley SwindleStaff Writer Learning community classes are two hour, ten credit classes that combine the work of two separate courses. Marcie Sims, a community class professor at Green River College, believes that these classes create a faster pace environment, long lasting connections, and prepare students for higher level courses. Dez Everett, a new GRC student who is currently taking a community English 101/English 220 class, said that the class has enhanced her understanding of the course and improved her social life. “Since you’re with a small group of around 25 students, you get so close to people in such…

By: Macie JeanStaff Writer The International Student Ambassadors hosted the annual Green River College Halloween Party from 8 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 2019. Activities provided for those in attendance included a dance party, a magic show, a photo booth, and a costume contest. There were many creative costumes dawned by the students and staff, from silly and cute to intricate and scary. The winner of the contest was Audrey Lee Hang Yee, 16, a Running Start student, who was dressed as a dinosaur. At the beginning of the party, Craig Martin performed a magic show and continued…

By: Valentin DreherStaff Writer The Green River Volunteer Fair will give students a wide variety of opportunities to apply for volunteer positions. The fair will take place at 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union on Nov. 7. “The purpose of the Volunteer Fair is to help students find volunteer opportunities that match their passions,” said Robin Dinh, International Student Ambassador, who is in charge of the fair. “Thereby, they can affect positive change in the local community.” He expects around 100 students and 12 organizations to take part in the event. The organizations are active in a…

By: Samantha OlguinStaff Writer Vape users have been left outraged after a flavored vape ban was passed due to several teenager’s hospitalizations that were tied to the use of flavored vape brands. The ban prevents the use of almost all of flavored nicotine and THC products including the e-cigarette giant, Juul labs.  According to CNN there have been roughly 805 lung Injuries across the states this year alone. Thirteen people, seven of them teenagers, have died from a lung illness tied to vaping and its effects. This ban was put into place in order to prevent further casualties or any…

By: Jessi Zamorano-SausedoStaff Writer Are cellphones considered a distraction or a helpful tool for college students? The opinions people have on phones being a distraction to college students are split with half for and against. Some say it helps them with their studies while others admit to not being able to control themselves from getting distracted. Some students went ahead and explained thoroughly why they think that phones are indeed a distraction to their studies. “I think that phones are treated like an addiction because you’re wondering what’s going on with your personal social media, which can be a huge…

By: Kamea PrimacioStaff Writer Listening to music while doing schoolwork had created troubling opinions for many researchers as well as students. From the researcher’s point of view, some believe there are benefits of listening to music when doing schoolwork, while other researchers believe that there are negative effects. For example, in the article “Can Music Help You Study and Focus?” written by Dr. Masha Godkind at Northcentral University, it states that classical music is helpful when studying because there are not any lyrics to be distracting to students. In addition, it states that music affects our mood, blood pressure, and…

By: Marian MohamedStaff Writer Students have struggled to balance completing the FAFSA with other academic and work related responsibilities ever since its opening on Oct. 1. Oct. 1 is the day that The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) opened up for all students to apply in order to help pay their college tuition. All that is required to apply is to fill out a form with the student’s tax and financial information and send it in to the financial aid office.  However, some students find this to be a much more difficult process than it seems. For…