Photo of Myanmar protest against military coup. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

After a long year, high school districts near the college are starting sports seasons, which gives hope to Green River College (GRC) athletes for the 2021-2022 season.  Since sports have been on hold, this has given school administrators, athletic directors and coaches the chance to organize COVID-safe practices and games.  The Kent School District’s first season has started with football, cross country, soccer, volleyball, cheer and dance. Each sport has its own challenges with finding creative ways to effectively and safely participate in sports.  “We spread out on the sidelines, we don’t huddle, we keep our varsity and JV groups separate…

Photo of Elon Musk at a conference. Flickr Some celebrities have decided not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.   “I don’t trust it,” said Wendy Williams, host of the Wendy Williams Show, “I’ve never had the flu and I’m not getting the shot.” Williams did not elaborate much more concerning why she does not trust the COVID-19 vaccine.  She views it like any other vaccine, and thinks that since she rarely gets sick she does not need to worry about getting vaccinated.  Elon Musk, billionaire and CEO of Tesla, also said that he and his family will not be getting the…

President Joe Biden recently proposed to make the minimum wage $15 an hour which could change many student’s lives. People like Bernie Sanders have been pushing this since before his running for president, saying, “A $15 minimum wage would be a raise for 32 million workers.” However, with no Republican support and incomplete Democratic support in the Senate, many economists and politicians have recently debated on the reality of what a $15 minimum wage would do for the country. Empirical evidence suggests that it would not be a disaster, and that we are more prepared for a wage increase like…

Woman in a sea of binary code. Photo Cred: Gerd Altman / Pixabay Women in I.T. is a new Green River club that meets every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. and offers support to female students interested in technology. With gender roles influencing student’s career choices, there has been a disproportionate amount of male students majoring in information technology programs around the world. Only 23 percent of the students in the Associate of Applied Science Software Development Program identify as female. This club can therefore become an opportunity for more women to explore this major even if they have a passing…

Green River artists, confined to their homes, have been coping with the stresses of isolation through art. On March 13, 2020, the state of Washington made its first attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Teachers and scholars bid each other farewell for a four week break, no way of knowing what had yet to come.  Just three months into the lockdown, the CDC said 40 percent of adults reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse, up from 20 percent in 2019. Nearly one year from the initial lockdown, many students and teachers from Green River have come to…

Green River College (GRC) will take a “wait and see” attitude on whether students, faculty and staff need to be vaccinated for the coronavirus before returning to campus. “This is an evolving situation and it might change as the months move forward,” said Suzanne Johnson, president of GRC. “We are monitoring the state’s and governor’s plans regarding this.” Johnson said as a public college, GRC is limited in its abilities to decide independently about requiring a particular vaccine. “Even vaccines that are required by the state still have exceptions which people can request to not be vaccinated,” she added. The…

A woman writing in her diary while in quarantine. Lisa Fotios Although quarantine has been a hard time for all, it also has been a time for self-discovery for many. Many people have been stuck at home since the pandemic first outbroke in March. These times have been very scary and stressful for everyone. We have had the choice to either sit around and complain or make the best of it. Numerous people have decided to look on the Brightside. To pass the time, new hobbies have been discovered. At the beginning of the pandemic, many people took this opportunity…

Photo of a Japan Airlines (JAL) airplane in the air. Credit: Adrian Pingstone Japan Airlines (JAL) suspended flights to the U.S. to curb Coronavirus damage but affected many people and students. Japan Airlines (JAL) has recently decided to reduce the number of flights and services of its domestic airlines with the intent of slowing down the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Depending on the results of this decision, there may be more reductions and changes in flights in the future. These changes were reflected on the JAL website soon after the announcement, and will continue to be updated with future…

Biden speaking at a 2019 political convention. Source: Wikimedia Commons Student loan forgiveness is expected to become available for all students after President Joe Biden extended the federal student loan freeze. On January 20, Biden extended the student loan freeze until September.  “When students are attending school, they don’t have to make payments on their loans,” says Amanda Smyser, a Student Loan Specialist who has been working at Green River for about 6 years, “It’s not until 6 months after you graduate that you have to start making payments.” While the loan freeze in itself does not do much for…