Student mental health has taken a steep decline at Green River College and all over the country due to the stay-at-home orders put in place as a response to COVID-19. The vast majority of the student population is struggling mentally in some way because of the pandemic. According to the Jed Foundation, 3 out of 5 students say that their mental health is worse than it was pre-pandemic. “I have only had one student tell me that a dimension of their life actually improved because of the pandemic,” said Liz McKinney, a Green River College counselor who has worked in…

Domestic violence rates increase during times of struggle both large and small: during recessions, wars, after family deaths or job losses, and surely amid pandemics. The issue of violence is prevalent without curfews and unemployment, but the added stressors of such create serious tension in households which manifests itself in dangerous ways.  What toll has the lockdown taken on students and staff, and what is the Green River community doing to combat household violence? Let us take a look. Derek Ronnfeldt, the Green River director of campus safety and transportation as of five years, knows well the crime trends both…

COVID-19 has made it difficult for consumers to eat inside restaurants, causing a huge increase in the use of drive-throughs nation-wide.  Are fast-food businesses suffering financially because they are unable to use the dining areas, or are they still thriving because of the increased number of customers using drive-throughs?  “During 2020, through the grace of God, we were able to thrive and grow,” said Marc C. Schuh, Owner of a Chick-Fil-A in Covington.  As an example of the kinds of tactics fast-food outlets are doing, a Chick-Fil-A in Covington have team members walk next to cars with iPads and take…

By Jack Morrell All of Seattle’s professional sports teams have found enormous amounts of success over the years. Despite the restrictions and modifications, the year has brought everybody, Seattle sports have proven that 2020 would not hold them back. Seattle’s NHL franchise gets a name: The Kraken. Earlier this year, the name and logos of the Seattle Kraken were announced. At the same time, an $800+ million renovation of the Climate Pledge Arena, formally known as Key Arena, and practice facility in Northgate are under way. The team begins play in the fall of 2021. The Kraken, which is a…

By Alyssa Healey In the accompanying video, Lina Abdul Hussein, Jennifer Fadaro, Wade Marshall, and college president Suzanne Johnson, respectively, all shared some things they are grateful for this year, and offered up their best smile to end 2020, as well. Obviously, 2020 was full of ups and downs, highs and lows. So, the purpose of this multimedia journalism project was to see 2020 from a different, and uplifting, perspective rather than focus on the negative aspects of the virus and other events that occurred in 2020. The idea of this story/project was to end 2020 on a high note…

By Ishant Brar The year 2020 has been a crazy year for everyone from Covid-19 to the elections. However, this has not hindered musicians from making great music all year round and keeping 2020 a little less stressful for most of us. With that in mind, here is a list of the top 50 songs worldwide for this year according to Billboard, Spotify, and Youtube. 1. Life goes on – Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) 2. Dynamite — BTS 3. Positions — Ariana Grande 4. Holy –Justin Bieber, Chance 5. Monster — Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber 6. Laugh now cry later…

Julie Swienty, a piano teacher at Green River College, admits online teaching has been all but easy. The class begins as a lecture, and then branches out into breakout rooms where Swienty provides individual help for students. All fine arts are struggling during this time, and Gary Oliveira, head of the Fine Arts Division, recognizes this. “A major challenge has been that the Arts Division has classes that simply cannot be taught online,” said Oliveira. “Several of these classes have specialized studios and classrooms that students would need to access in order for them to run.” Classes have been forced…

Whether you thought 2020 was a good year or a lousy year, everyone can agree that it was a year to remember. A majority of college students at Green River can say their lives changed in 2020. But how would those students describe the once highly anticipated year in five words? “Confident, astoundingly-stupid, dumpster-fire, arrogant and ambitious” are the words, Noor Samra, a freshman at Green River, used when asked to describe 2020. Samra, a 16-year-old Running Start student, also said why she thought of those words. “It ruined all my plans with my friends and family, as well as…

An event usually regarded as the largest Veteran’s Day West of the Mississippi also found itself as one of the first City of Auburn events in months, setting the tone for what the community may expect to see for the foreseeable future. Rather than a main event with thousands of participants dwarfed by a throng of spectators, we saw a week of tribute, with an online presence and restrictions and accommodations in full force for a luncheon and a procession. Kristy Pachciarz, special events coordinator for Auburn, said the city accomplished all goals with this event. “We received a ‘Navy…