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…

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…