Mathew Biadun | News-Editor With open-source code, game engines, and education made more accessible than ever thanks to the internet, making your own videogame has gone from a childhood dream to something truly achievable. One student at Eastern has taken that bet, kickstarting their own indie project, and looking to hire Eastern talent to help out. MaKaylah Dugas, who also goes by ‘MaK’, is an English major in her junior year, working to complete a five-year Master’s program

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Family Relaxing Together and Watching Television at Home. / Photo by 'choreograph', licensed by Envato.com . Have you ever been watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Supernatural or Law & Order or some other long-running TV show and realize that the magic and intrigue from the first few seasons is just not there anymore? Because same, and before you come after me about dissing these shows, I’ve binged Supernatural so much I

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Painted colorful green pinewood forest in Euskadi. Oma, Spain. / Photo by 'ABBPhoto', licensed by Envato.com . A few months ago I played a game called “Lost Records: Bloom and Rage” and I don’t think anything could’ve prepared me for the absolute mesmerizing story that this game told. Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is a storymode game where every single choice you make has consequences. It’s made by DON’T NOD, a video game company which

Mikayla Leskey | Arts & Entertainment Editor Teenagers Holding Decorative Colorful Masks on a Sofa. / Photo by 'seventyfourimages', licensed by Envato.com . I think society as a whole has forgotten about the magic of ‘filler episodes.’ Y’know when the main cast took a break from all the drama and had a beach day or some other wild goose-chase that was usually irrelevant to the plot as a whole. I didn’t appreciate these episodes enough when I was a kid, just wanting the plot

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor From left to right are members of the Radio Club E-Board: Kyle Berson; Q Asberry; Jason Salois; and Taylor Ribiero "People want to come together to make music, and to enjoy music," Radio Club President Kyle Berson said. "And Willipalooza is exactly that." What is Willipalooza? Though many students might have never heard of it, it's actually an old event. The event was first started around 2010 or 2011, explained Berson, when it was first called '

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Vintage Television on Christmas background. / Photo by 'francescosgura', licensed by Envato.com . Happy almost-spring break Warriors! There’s only two weeks left until break, and with mid-terms right around the corner, and two feet of snow outside, here are some new books, movies, tv shows, and videos coming up in March! Netflix Born a Champion Jurassic World The Lego Movie Wind Breaker Bruce Bruce: I Ain’t Playin’ Blue Thera

Mikayla Leskey | Arts & Entertainment Editor Four Robots working with laptop. / Photo by 'iLexx', licensed by Envato.com . Recently, I finished a game called Detroit: Become Human . I’m sure many of you have heard of this game before, I hadn’t until my friends introduced me to it earlier this year. Surprising, considering my love for “choices matter” games. But nonetheless, I managed to complete the game in three days and it exceeded most of my expectations. But before I

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Silhouette of woman with kid playing behind sheet. / Photo by 'ADDICTIVE_STOCK', licensed by Envato.com . We all have stories to tell—it doesn’t matter your age or gender or race or class, or anything really, you have a story. Whether that story be of your entire life or something that happened to you yesterday. Every choice you make is the basis of a story, even if it’s choosing what to eat or not doing homework, you can make a stor

Mikayla Leskey | Arts & Entertainment Editor Woman watching TV at home and relaxing. / Photo by 'stockasso', licensed by Envato.com . I hope everyone’s enjoying the recent snow fall we’ve gotten! With the snow and Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are some new cozy and romantic releases of TV Shows, Movies, Books, and Video Games, coming this February! Netflix Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing The American President The Bucket List Crazy, Stupid, Love. Ex Machina Fli

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment family of four parents pregnant mom and dad and two siblings little boy and girl in stylish clothes in chalet are ready to welcome Christmas and New Year near Christmas tree with gift box presents. / Photo by 'fentonroma', licensed by Envato.com . Over winter break, during one of my long Barnes & Noble’s perusal I came across a book by Non Pratt called Unboxed. I don’t know why exactly it drew me in at first, it was nothing like what

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Girl wearing superhero costume and mask for Halloween doing flying pose. / Photo by 'DC_Studio', licensed by Envato.com . You know what I’ve always wanted to see? A TV series or short film or whatever about our everyday heroes in a superhero universe. Y’know our firefighters or teachers or nurses working together to save the civilians or clean up the city whilst Superman or Captain America are in the background defeating whatev

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Christmas, Winter Holidays And Leisure Concept - Close Up Of Young Woman Watching Tv With Fireplace. / Photo by 'GroundPicture', licensed by Envato.com . With finals week just a week away, here are some of upcoming shows, video games, movies, and books, to binge in-between study sessions and after finals! Have a wonderful winter break warriors! Netflix All the Empty Rooms Love is Blind: Italy Playing Gracie Darling A League o

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Portrait of a two female radio hosts recording podcast in a home broadcasting studio while sitting on a yellow sofa. Live stream concept. Neon on air sign blurry in front of them.. / Photo by 'zamrznutitonovi', licensed by Envato.com . I couldn’t count the amount of projects I’ve done on the importance of Queer representation in media, especially for younger audiences, but the show Heartstopper , a LGBTQ+ coming-of-age TV show

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Female hand holding Red poppy flowers in a wild field. Vivid Poppies meadow in spring. Beautiful summer day. Beautiful red poppy flowers on green fleecy stems grow in the field. Scarlet poppy flowers in the sunset light. / Photo by ' yanishevskaanna ', licensed by Envato.com . The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is a militaristic fantasy book and by far, one of the most popular books I’ve ever read. It exceeded every single expectation I ever

Riley Backofen | Contributing Writer Gracyn Goodale | Contributing Writer Student being tutored. / Photo by 'KostiantynVoitenko', licensed by Envato.com . Transitioning from high school to college can be extremely overwhelming for many students. Dealing with the workload and new expectations can be difficult to achieve right away. Did you know that tutoring does not just help you fix your grades or understand more of the concepts you are learning, but it also improves your

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor “Love Coffee, Love People.” That’s the slogan of Silk City Coffee, and the philosophy that drives one of its founders, Tammy Gerhard. A member of Eastern’s Class of ’92, Tammy majored in psychology and went on to spend twenty-two years as a guidance counselor. Helping others was always at the heart of her work, in and out of school. Beyond counseling, she wrote children’s books and helped develop support programs for survivors of human trafficking

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween weekend! Though with it being Halloween, it means winter is right around the corner. Here are some cozy new releases of movies, tv shows, books, and games, that make you want to curl up underneath a blanket. Netflix A Very Vintage Christmad Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Back to the Future Dr. Dolittle Charlie’s Angels Elvis Happy Christmas The Hangover In The Heights

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment About a month ago, Electronic Arts (EA) a company that creates video games such as “The Sims,” “Madden NFL,” and, “Battlefield,” announced that they are being acquired for a $52.5 billion deal by private equity firm, Public Investment Firm (PIF) Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. This deal, if it goes through as planned, then it’ll be the biggest buyout funded by a private-equity firm. The news itself was unexpected. There was noise

Megan Hayes | Editor-in-Chief The Denise Reis Trio performing on September 12, 2025 at the River Room in Willimantic, CT. On a Friday night in downtown Willimantic, the glow of soft light spills from the River Room’s front windows. Inside, gentle chatter mingles with the sound of clinking glasses and the hum of soft background music. Then, the show starts -- Brazilian singer and guitarist , Denise Reis and her band come to the stage, and the room is immediately filled wi

Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid is a retelling that you’ve never known you needed. It’s a gothic retelling of The Juniper Tree , where a boy is murdered by this stepmother who cooks him and feeds him to his father. The boy’s sister buries his bones under a juniper tree and he’s reborn as a magical bird. Eventually it leads him to kill his stepmother and bring him back to life, but this retelling, it’s something you wouldn’t expect