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The Eastern Echo Monday, June 29, 2026 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Jacob Cipriano Mendez

Lifestyle

Web series gains fame

Since April 1, 2003, when “Red vs. Blue” was created by Burnie Burns after a failed attempt at a podcast called “Drunk Gamers,” the Machinima series has gathered millions of viewers and has become extremely popular.

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Halo 4 film a must-see

Back in April, in order to promote the newly-released Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 4, head developer 343 Industries announced that they would be releasing a five-part live action series bridging the gap between Bungie’s Halo 3 to Halo 4. On Oct. 5, the series launched on YouTube under the channel “MachinimaPrime” and so far has gathered over 9 million views just on the first episode alone.

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News

‘Borderlands 2’ provides players with bloody good time

A little over a week ago, the sequel to the 2010 Game of the Year, “Borderlands,” was released. Since the newly developed Gearbox masterpiece hit shelves, “Borderlands 2” has quickly won the hearts of many, creating an exciting fictitious environment offering loads of fun that equals the weight of the “87 Bazillion Guns” said to be in the game.

The Eastern Echo
News

iPhone 5 thinner, lighter

Since 2007, Apple has released a new design to the iPhone every year. Clocking in at $499 for the 4GB version of the first generation of the iPhone devices, it was presumed to be one of the greatest—and not to mention most expensive—smartphones on the market.

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Eastern Michigan University’s “Enlighten U” has been ranked the top mental health podcast in Michigan by FeedSpot, a platform that compiles blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters and other sites in one location.

“Enlighten U” is a podcast geared toward students who are experiencing mental health challenges. Melissa Thrasher, EMU's executive director of media relations and social media, and Lolita Cummings, an EMU public relations professor, serve as the co-hosts. Each episode is released around the 15th of every month and features a student or alum and a subject-matter professional.

Lolita Cummings in an interview with The Echo said that this is not the first time the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan has been awarded to "Enlighten U."

"We've been the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan from the very beginning," Cummings said. "I think it's an indicator of the fact that what we are trying to do, we are doing well, and that is important."

At the start of each "Enlighten U" episode, Cummings and Thrasher state that the "Enlighten U" podcast is an award-winning show.

"A couple of years ago, I won the best in PR for good campaign from Public Relations Society of America for the marketing and promotions program, because it's important that we get this, the word, out to everyone and about the podcast," Cummings said.

Thrasher and Cummings are both extremely proud of their podcast, but these awards and recognitions are not why they continue with it.

It is important to Cummings that she serves all of her students' needs. She noticed that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of many of her students was declining. When the students came back after the pandemic, Cummings noticed that her students' mental health was even worse. Due to this, she began brainstorming with one of her students about how she could help.

"She [the student] said to me, 'We watched a lot of podcasts while we were off.' So I said, 'Okay, I don't know anything about podcasts, but I will meet you all where you are.' So that's where the idea came from," Cummings said. "I am able to not just serve their academic needs, but I'm also able to serve their mental health needs. And to get the feedback from them, that is really helping, and is everything to me because the students are the ones who tell us what issues are impacting the most. Those are the issues that we bring to the table at 'Enlighten U.'"

Cummings encourages students to not only watch and listen to "Enlighten U" but to also spread the word about the podcast.

"One of the things we want to do is get the word out about this podcast to as many people as possible, across the nation, across the world," she said. "The need is not limited to our campus — the need is universal; it is worldwide. My goal at this point is obviously to continue to produce quality shows that reflect the mental health challenges that students are facing, but also get it out to wider audiences so we can help more people."

For those who are interested in engaging with "Enlighten U," the podcast can be found on YouTube and Spotify.