Winged Post Volume 22, Issue 6

WINGED POST

THE HARKER SCHOOL

Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID San Jose, CA Permit No. 2296

500 SARATOGA AVE. SAN JOSE, CA 95129

THE UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE HARKER SCHOOL VOL. 22 NO.6

500 SARATOGA AVENUE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95129

May 23

189 seniors from the class of 2021 graduate at Mountain Winery

Graduation ceremonies to take place with limited attendance, safety precautions Graduation, Baccalaureate, Lifer Event to kick off in-person with masks, distancing • Graduation on Sunday, May 23 at Mountain Winery

Israel-Gaza conflict grows with 1,000+ missiles fired, Palestinians fear eviction from Sheikh Jarrah

• Distanced seating pods, masks required

sara yen Violence between the Israeli Army and Palestinian militants intensified in Gaza last week with days of airstrikes, riots and attacks extending across Israeli cities, involving Arab and Jewish citizens as well.

The death toll since the start of the conflict last week includes over 67 Palestinians and at least six Israeli citizens.

The Israeli government has attempted to evict Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem for several weeks.

lucy ge Andrew Sun (12) was selected as the congressional debate national champion at the online Tournament of Champions in April.

Andrew Lee (12), Akshay Manglik (12) and Deven Shah (11) co-championed the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship in Lincoln Douglas debate.

The upper school debate team closed out the tournament, with Andrew taking first place, Akshay taking second place and Deven making it to the semi-final round.

Akshay observes that with the online format allowing more debaters to easily participate, the caliber of the competition has grown.

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It’s a wrap: “Les Miz” cast, crew releases movie production of Spring Musical aastha mangla & michelle liu The cast and crew of the Spring Musical released the movie adaptation of “Les Miserables” on April 30 after rehearsing since February. As the third theater performance following the start of the pandemic, the production hints at hope in a time of loss and revolution.

Unlike the format of the Fall Play and Student-Directed Showcase (SDS), Performing Arts Director Laura Lang-Ree converted the musical into a movie, where multiple video angles are used and the audio is recorded beforehand.

“We know what we can’t do as artists during this time, but we’re kind of tired of talking about that, so what can we do?

Make a movie,” Lang-Ree says.

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HATS OFF The class of 2019 celebrates their graduation at Mountain Winery on May 23, 2019. Unlike last year’s seniors, the class of 2021 will graduate at Mountain Winery, although with restricted attendance and distancing.

lucy ge & sara yen Upper school seniors will be participating in various in-person celebratory activities, including senior send-off day and senior movie night on Friday, May 14, baccalaureate on Friday, May 21 and in-person graduation on Saturday, May 22.

Senior Meha Goyal, who feels “super excited” for senior send-off day on Friday, recalled first hearing about in-person graduation events around February.

“Before we actually got a chance to come back to campus, I remember everyone being like, ‘You know, no, I don’t think I’m really gonna go.’ But once we all

got back on campus that one time for spirit week, I think everyone just realized how much they missed it and how much they loved it, and since then, we’ve all been super excited to keep coming back to campus,” Meha said.

Senior send-off features a host of activities, ranging from art activities to karaoke, and seniors will be receiving goodie bags and yearbooks.

In-person graduation is set for Saturday, May 22 starting at 10 a.m. at the Mountain Winery. For the first time, two valedictorians — Daniel Wang (12) and Claire Luo (12) — will give speeches.

Graduation is only open to those who have been given a ticket, and pandemic

Artists, performers exhibit talents in annual art, dance shows aastha mangla, emily tan & sabrina zhu Upper school conservatory seniors are set to perform live on Thursday, May 13 during the annual senior showcase, which celebrates their work in the upper school conservatory program, nearly a week after the upper school End of Year Art Show, previously deemed the “Artstravaganza,” kicked off on Friday, May 7.

Another week before, upper school dancers performed and filmed their dances on the Patil Theater stage from Monday, April 26 to Friday, April 30.

The senior showcase features live dancing, singing, acting and more seniors who have each pursued a certificate in one of field of performing arts, ranging from vocal music, instrumental music, dance, theater, musical theater or technical theater. Family can attend the event live on-campus while the rest of the upper school community can watch the performance live-streamed online.

The art show featured a wide display of visual, sculpture and digital pieces, all

of which were created at home. The artwork will be displayed in Nichols, Shah and the Rothschild Performing Arts Center until May 28 for students and faculty members to observe.

“The feel of it, being able to talk to people, just the experience of sharing your work with the community, it’s not the same [online], but one of the things that have been super exciting personally is when the works are starting to come in,” upper school visual arts teacher Pilar Aguero-Esparza said.

Dancers arrived onto campus in costume in late April for filming of the virtual 2021 dance show. The group of around 80 dancers and the dance instructors began the preparation process in October, pushing back the planned January show date to after the recording of the Spring Musical to allow for in-person filming in the Patil Theater.

“I would much rather prefer to learn it in person, but everybody worked together really well in our dance,” performer Fiona Yan (9) said.

Additional reporting by Lucy Ge.

PROVIDED BY ELLEN AUSTIN

Senior becomes congressional debate national champion, 3 debaters co-champion national Lincoln Douglas tournament

• 2 tickets per senior • Baccalaureate on Friday, May 21, in Graduates’ Grove • Both events livestreamed

safety precautions, including distanced seating pods, masking requirements and staggered arrival times will be taken.

Baccalaureate will take place on Friday, May 21, at 8 p.m., and the event will be open to seniors only, with family able to watch the event live stream online. Seniors must arrive in time slots determined by the alphabetic order of advisor name: Aguero-Esparza to Garcia advisees arrive from 7 to 7:15 p.m., Glass to Oderkirk from 7:15 to 7:30 p.m. and Paran to Tejada from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Lifers, seniors who have gone to Harker since Kindergarten, can attend the Lifer Event on Friday, May 21, which will feature food and activity and last until 10 p.m.

SPIRIT WEEK RECAP

YOUTHFUL YOGA Michael Eng (12) falls to the ground while acting out a yoga pose with his advisor, upper school speech and debate teacher, Scott Odekirk on April 19.

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

COMING UP IN MAY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021

• Each grade held its own day to celebrate the community • Advisories competed in trying their hand at yoga poses and hula hooping • A dunk tank sat outside Main for each class to dunk Brian Yager and other faculty DESIGN BY SARA YEN

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 NEWS VOLUME

‘Outside the Box’ performers overcome constraints

SABRINA ZHU

Annual dance show to release in video format within next few weeks

INVISIBLE AUDIENCE Jacqueline Au (12), Sophia Bronder-Chang (10) and student choreographer Sofia Fernandez (12) dance during the filming of Sofia’s routine, “Imagine.”

emily tan From breaking free of Zoom squares that have confined dancers all year to thinking creatively in terms of choreography, students and faculty involved in this year’s Dance show have had breakthroughs in nearly all aspects of production. That is why Karl Kuehn, director of upper school dance and director of the dance production, selected “Outside the Box” as the theme of this year’s dance show.

“It was really a challenging year creatively, but I’m just so impressed with the

MEET THE NEW ASB AND CLASS COUNCILS

resilience and the effort and the energy of all the dancers and the show, they pulled it together,” Kuehn said.

Choreography class and dance teacher Rachelle Haun emphasized the professionalism and high level of execution that students brought to the stage the week of filming, especially since most routines had never previously rehearsed together in person before.

“The students were, as a cast, so prepared, thoughtful and intentional about their dancing. It was amazing,” Haun said.

“You would not watch it and go, ‘This is the first time this has ever happened.’ The

first time they ran it, we filmed it, which is insane. And they did such an incredible job.”

Despite overall satisfaction in the end, dancers and choreographers alike experienced various constraints in the months leading up to the final week of recording. For example, because of social distancing and mask wearing protocols in place, choreographers had a smaller group of dancers to work with as well as fewer dance moves they were allowed to incorporate into their routines: lifts, partners and group clusters were off limits.

In the process of teaching choreography, Kai Due (11) encountered technical issues such as mirroring and lagging.

However, the experience also helped further strengthen his own choreography skills.

“Sometimes it was better to not choreograph everything and instead try to pare it down a little bit so I could make the sections that you have better,” Kai said. “I’m proud of my team, more so than I would have been if it was in person for sure.”

Haun echoed this sentiment by underscoring the perseverance of the performers and commending them for proving that even an art form such as dance that is difficult to share remotely can still thrive.

“There were so many challenges for the student choreographers, for the dancers, for absolutely everybody, challenges that we’ve never had to face before. And the show turned out awesome,” Haun said.

The final product shown to the upper school community will be a video compilation of dances, which Kuehn anticipates will be available for viewing within the next few weeks.

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Plaque honoring Muwekma Ohlone Tribe installed on campus PROVIDED BY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

2 WINGED POST

COMMITMENT SDC leaders and Mukwekma Ohlone Tribe representatives unveil the new commemorative plaque next to the Zhang gymnasium on May 5.

lucy ge The Student Diversity Coalition (SDC), representatives from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and Harker administration took part in a unveiling ceremony showing a newly installed land acknowledgement plaque on the upper school campus on May 2.

Harker is situated on the native homelands of the present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. The SDC presented a proposal for a land acknowledgement last July to the administration, and the SDC and administration worked together to implement the SDC’s proposal.

“A land acknowledgement is just one little step into how we can honor and respect their history,” SDC student leader Uma Iyer (11) said in an interview last year.

Similar plaques are set to be placed on the Harker middle and lower school campuses, and the plaque marks Harker’s first step towards building a “true partnership with the Tribe.”

Additional reporting by Isha Moorjani and Nicole Tian.

Annual BEcon shifts to online, delivers variety of events Speakers share perspectives and advice, students engage in economics workshops

Junior Council

Alexander Lan Jacob Huang Kris Estrada Dominick Piscione SAB: Sara Wan, Sydney Adler, Zubin Khera

Senior Council

Yejin Song (Chair) Kailash Ranganathan Sasvath Ramachandran Sujith Pakala SAB: Arvin Nidadavolu, Kate Olsen, Akhilesh Chegu

Associated Student Body Pres: Dawson Chen VP: Ayan Nath Treasurer: Aaditya Gulati Secretary: Spencer Cha Spirit: William Chien

nicholas wei The upper school Business and Entrepreneurship department hosted a virtual BEcon conference on Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17 via Zoom. The convention featured a keynote address from Jensen Huang, the president, CEO and co-founder of the multibillion-dollar NVIDIA Corporation, as well as several workshops and mentor panels and a pitching competition.

Planning for the 2021 BEcon started in late January, initially led by Sujith Pakala (11), Dhruv Saoji (11), Michelle Liu (11), and Emily Zhou (11). Attendance has seen a great increase from the first time Harker hosted BEcon in 2014. “[BEcon] was started just to be able to give the Harker students a business experience, and since then, it’s expanded a lot,” Emily said. “We’ve really increased the attendance – the attendance for the very first conference was probably less than 100. But here, we got more than 100 at just the keynote speaker event, so that was really wonderful.”

The initial BEcon team began adding

more team members in order to be able to reach out to a great number of people in the process of organizing the event.

As the Director of Public Relations, Emily worked with several other team members to find speakers, panelists, and judges for the various events at BEcon. In particular, Emily managed to find Huang for the keynote address, and she and her team managed to find venture capitalist firms to participate as judges in the sHarker Tank pitching competition.

Shounak Ghosh (11) attended BEcon for the first time this year and went to the keynote address, as well as several mentor workshops. He took inspiration from Huang’s business journey.

“He wanted to constantly develop products that hadn’t ever been made before. That was his main thing. And because of this strategy, he was able to push ahead and become who he is today,” Shounak said.

Shounak also attended the marketing workshop and the Internet of Things (IoT) workshop.

“I learned things that I wasn’t expecting to learn because I was able to talk to people who are really well-known in the

PROVIDED BY DAMON HALBACK

Daniel Lin (Chair) Ella Lan Anaya Mandal Cynthia Wang SAB: Meishin Yen, Harshini Chaturvedula, Alice Tao

NICHOLAS WEI

Sophomore Council

PROVIDED BY DEAN LIZARDO

Students voted for their new ASB on March 26 and new class council, SDC and SAB elections on April 21 to 22.

field,” Shounak said.

Sophia Gottfried (12), co-president of Harker’s Philosophy Club, attended a workshop hosted by Damon Halback, economics teacher, who discussed the Black Power movement and its relationship to economics.

“I’m very glad that Econ took on this talk because there was a lot of emphasis on the economy, the status quo — capitalist systems and whatnot,” Sophia said.

“And I found it very good on the part of the organizers that they got a little bit of diversity and economic thought in there.”

Halback’s workshop has inspired Sophia to dig deeper into the subject of race relations and its deep ties with philosophy and economic constructs.

“I think that this is a very ambitious project on the part of Mr. Halback, and I think he did a great job. I hope Harker students can take his beautiful explanation and that it inspires them to dive deeper into it,” Sophia said.

Overall, the BEcon conference thrived even in a virtual format and successfully saw through a variety of different events.

DESIGN BY LUCY GE

WINGED POST 3

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 NEWS VOLUME

‘Speak up’: Saratoga mayor fights anti-Asian hate Mayor Zhao encourages activism at March rally, Public Health Club event in April

COMMUNITY REACTIONS “We thought that Mayor Zhao would provide insight not only into issues of public health because she’s been dealing with it for about a year but also provide a lot of insight for the recent uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes.

But even though it isn’t directly related to public health, it is something which definitely affects Harker” PR

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RICHARD ZHANG (10) ATTENDED THE PUBLIC HEALTH SPEAKER EVENT

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verdict, 16-year-old Black girl Ma’Khia Bryant was shot by a police officer over an attempted stabbing.

“How she got her position as the city mayor was probably what I took away most from it — how she faced discrimination from other people, not just misogyny, but also because she was Asian” O

1 hour before the

ZH

verdict, 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright was shot by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. According to the police chief, the officer intended to fire a Taser.

D B Y E M I LY

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maximum sentence Chauvin will likely face.

9 days before the

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Guilty verdict serves as historic step towards police accountability in U.S.

40 years is the

verdict, protests followed the police shooting of 13-year-old Latino boy Adam Toledo in Chicago.

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Derek Chauvin convicted on all charges for George Floyd’s murder

ex-officer Derek Chauvin’s lawyer on May 4 on the basis of “jury exposure to prejudicial publicity” and other arguments.

21 days before the

DE

1 appeal was filed by

EMILY ZHOU (11) ATTENDED THE WEST VALLEY RALLY

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tino, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno — to co-host the rally.

“That’s just the beginning of letting people hear our voices and letting them know what has been happening to Asian American communities, so I feel strongly that we need to speak up,” Zhao said in an interview after the rally. “Before, I just kept quiet because I was hoping something would be done, but something has to be starting from us — we have to do something to make it better.”

Despite the disparaging nationwide discrimination, Zhao emphasizes embracing her identity and participating in democracy to make Asian American voices heard.

“I’m proud to be a Chinese American, so I would never shy away trying to be something else. It’s very important to participate in all these community events to let people know we’re part of this community,” she said.

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“I really liked how they brought out people within the youth generation. It was really refreshing to also hear that perspective on this intergenerational kind of problem that we’ve seen. Overall, the rally was very eyeopening and inspiring” O

A sprawling crowd speckled with bold posters before her at Saratoga City Hall, Saratoga Mayor Yan Zhao stepped up to the podium and began her speech on March 27.

“America is a place with diversity, a melting pot with many ethnicities, a country where human rights are highly valued and protected,” she said in her address. “But today, unfortunately, we have to come together to fight for one basic human right: that is we can go to public places without the fear of being attacked or assaulted.”

Following her appearance at the West Valley Stop Asian Hate rally on March 27, Zhao spoke at the Harker Public Health Club on April 16 about her political career and the challenges she faced as a Chinese American immigrant.

In Saratoga, Zhao served for eight years on the city’s Planning Commission

and decided she wanted to contribute more, leading her to run for City Council member three times and eventually become mayor in 2020.

At the rally and at the Harker Public Health Club, Zhao mentioned racist encounters such as when a resident slammed the door on her during her campaign for mayor, claiming that they would only vote for a white candidate.

“Some people somehow don’t treat the AAPI community as part of America — they think we are outsiders no matter if you were born here or an immigrant,“ Zhao said at the club event.

In response to a recent surge in hate crimes involving Asian Americans, Zhao began a series of actions for the Saratoga city council by introducing a resolution denouncing violence against the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community. To make a larger impact, she then called upon the mayors of five West Valley cities —Saratoga, Campbell, Cuper-

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TAKING A STAND Mayor Yan Zhao shares her own experiences with racism at the West Valley Stop Asian Hate Rally on March 27.

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MICHELLE LIU

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AKHILESH CHEGU (11) PUBLIC HEALTH CLUB VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

PEACEFUL PROTEST Protestors hold up cardboard posterboards in support of the Black Lives Matter movement during a Juneteeth rally on June 19 at the SF Civic Center Plaza.

lucy ge Former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on April 20 for the high-profile killing of George Floyd, who was Black, in Minneapolis last year.

Upper school speech and debate teacher Scott Odekirk showed the verdict being handed down live in his Competitive Speech and Debate: Congressional Debate class. He recalls that “everybody in the class was really nervously paying rapt attention” in the moments leading up to the verdict.

“I don’t think it’s a moment of congratulation. It’s more like a step as we learn as a society how to hold people accountable, rather than any kind of moment of full justice, but it felt very significant,” Odekirk said.

Floyd’s killing, along with the killings of hundreds of other unarmed Black peo-

ple at the hands of police, sparked nationwide Black Lives Matter protests last year, including protests in the Bay Area and a national reckoning with race. At the upper school, a community vigil and town hall meeting were held to discuss racism towards Black people at the both the national and local level.

Chauvin, who has been out on bail, was placed back into custody on Tuesday, and his sentencing is set to take place on June 25.

Although he is convicted on all three charges, under Minnesota statues, he will likely only be sentenced based on the most serious conviction: second-degree murder, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Chauvin had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him despite bystander video evidence that circulated widely on the internet of him pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck until Floyd died. During the trial, police officers, including the Minneapolis Police chief, testified against Chau-

vin to the 14 jury members, including two alternate jurors. The trial took over three weeks, and the jury deliberated for over 10 hours before reaching their verdict.

“Once there was no longer any resistance and clearly, when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back — that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy,” Minneapolis Police chief Medaria Arradondo testified during the trial.

After hearing the guilty verdict, Odekirk thought back to witnessing the acquittal of the four Los Angeles police officers who brutally beat Rodney King in the 1991, an incident captured on camera that sparked riots in the city.

“My initial reaction when I saw the verdict was I immediately flashback to that feeling after the Rodney King verdict and, thinking, ‘Wow, I don’t know totally the whole scope and scale of the significance of this moment, but I know it’s big,” Odekirk said.

Aaditya Gulati (11), one of the students watching the live verdict in Odekirk’s class, recalls that witnessing the three guilty verdicts “was pretty amazing.”

Like Odekirk, he felt awed by the significance of the verdict being handed down.

“The reason why this Floyd case was so special, and we talked about this during class also, is that all eyes were on this case,” Aaditya said. “And while this was a good stepping stone for America, there’s so many other cases, just like this one, where not all the eyes are on it.”

President Joe Biden called the verdict “a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.”

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DESIGN BY LUCY GE

4 WINGED POST

GLOBAL

VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021

COVID-19 cases in India surge in second wave

GLOBAL NEWS arjun barrett

More than 249,000 deaths, 23 million confirmed cases

ISHA MOORJANI

HOW TO HELP

India is facing shortages in oxygen and supplies amidst a surge of COVID-19.

To help, consider donating to:

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

May Day has sparked protests from across the world for better working conditions amidst a global pandemic. International Labor Day, better known as May Day, commemorates laborers and the working class on May 1 each year.

This year, May Day also recognizes the struggles workers have faced during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Over 17,000 citizens gathered in Paris in opposition to recent changes in unemployment benefits.

Around 300 rallies took place throughout the rest of France; while most were peaceful, five protestors were arrested and 27 officers were injured in Lyon. In Berlin, over 10,000 activists protested social inequality in defiance of the COVID-19 restrictions, throwing fireworks and rocks in their clash with police.

Russia labels Alexei Navalny’s opposition group as terrorist organization, arrests members Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) has been labeled an extremist group. Navalny, a Russian lawyer and leader of the Russia of the Future party, is a strong opponent to Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. The Rosfinmonitoring, a Russian state financial watchdog, added the FBK to its public list of extremist groups on April 30, following over 13,000 arrests of Navalny supporters who participated in protests January through April. Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer for the FBK, was also briefly detained as the St. Petersburg office of his legal team was searched on April 30. Pavlov states he has been accused of disclosing classified information about one of his former clients.

isha moorjani There have been more than 22 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 246,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in India as the second surge continues to spread, causing fear and lockdowns. Other factors also play a role in the surge, such as shortages in oxygen in vaccine supplies, as well as ignored guidelines.

“We are seeing a huge surge of [COVID-19 in India], and really critical cases as well. What adds a layer of complexity is that there is a shortage of supplies and equipment, and so we’re seeing also a lot of deaths and potentially preventable deaths because of that shortage,” said Professor Rita Burke, assistant professor of clinical preventive medicine and pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Many people in India have also not been vaccinated, as according to the New York Times, less than 10% of the population of India has received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Some people are also not practicing social distancing and following other guidelines, as religious events and large gatherings have taken place. All of these factors have contributed to the rise in cases. Burke also emphasizes how India’s environment could have an impact.

“India tends to have very dense living

quarters, so in some ways, it’s very difficult to socially distance and to adhere to the public health mitigation strategies that we have here in the U.S.,” Professor Burke said.

The increase in cases and deaths has impacted people and families of people

“What adds a layer of complexity is that there is a shortage of supplies and equipment” RITA BURKE

ASST. PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE AT USC

with COVID-19 in India, and it has also impacted Americans and members of the Harker community who have family in India.

“I am worried because I have family members who live in India right now, but I also am glad they’re all safe because most of them are staying at home and also because all of them are fortunate enough that they can stay home and they don’t really have to go anywhere for their jobs,” Keesha Gondipalli (10) said.

• The Ratna Global Foundation • American India Foundation • Oxygen for India

23 million+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of May 10

249,000+ deaths due to COVID-19 as of May 10

380,000+ 7-day average of new cases as of May 10 DATA FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

Influx of migrants leads to overwhelmed U.S.-Mexico border Migrants seeking to enter U.S. face harsh conditions in detention facilities isha moorjani A large influx of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border is overwhelming the border facilities, causing migrants to experience dire conditions in detention centers. Migrants, including unaccompanied children, are seeking to enter the U.S. or request asylum for various reasons, such as economic conditions in Mexico, gang violence and fear.

There have also been reports of migrants being held in detention facilities for longer than the legal limit.

“Children, and there’s litigation surrounding this, are supposed to be held in these facilities for a short period of time, not to exceed 72 hours. We’re hearing reports that they’re being held for much longer than that. These are the photos you see of these big warehouses with cages and people sleeping with mylar blankets,” said Professor Jean Reisz, a professor at the University of Southern California (USC)

PROVIDED BY JEAN REISZ

Protestors gather worldwide in May Day rallies

RATNA GLOBAL FOUNDATION A hospital staff member speaks to a patient at the Lokniketan Dhruva Centre in the Banaskantha district in North Gujarat.

PROVIDED BY RITA BURKE

PROVIDED BY CADY CHEN

The European Union has charged Apple with violating antitrust laws on its App Store, citing complaints by Spotify about fees on in-app purchases. Although subscriptions to Spotify Premium usually cost $9.99 per month, Spotify charges $12.99 per month for subscriptions made from the App Store, which enforces a 30% surcharge on all purchases. Spotify cannot offer discounts to customers using Apple devices since Apple prohibits offering payment options outside of its ecosystem.

Yet, Apple Music is able to charge $9.99 per month online and on Apple devices.

The EU argues that Apple violates antitrust laws since they impede competition.

If found guilty, Apple could face fines of up to 10% of its annual revenue.

PROVIDED BY RATNA GLOBAL FOUNDATION

EU charges Apple with antitrust violations on its App Store

DETENTION FACILITY The Otay Mesa Detention Center on the border in San Diego, CA.

and co-director of the USC immigration clinic.

Harker UNICEF Club focuses on initiatives dedicated to raising awareness and helping the migrants. “[We are] going to post on social media and email information because some people don’t even know about this happening right now. We’re also planning to share donation links,” Suman Mohan-

ty (12), president of the Harker UNICEF Club, said.

Reisz emphasizes that the current immigration system needs modifications.

“Instead of preparing the system to help with our obligations, we have this broken system that Biden’s now trying to just do damage control to,” Professor Reisz said.

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DESIGN BY ISHA MOORJANI

WINGED POST 5

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 FEATURES VOLUME

Color and coming together Upper school art department hosts end-of-year end-of-year on campus art show

aastha mangla & sabrina zhu Two students step into the Nichols Atrium, looking at the walls filled with patterns and colors. They walk through the hallways and observe the black and white photographs, complex graphic designs and vibrant oil paintings. Every once in a while, they stop to talk about the talent of their classmates or to point out some favorites among the hundreds of pieces.

The upper school End of Year Art Show, previously deemed the “Artstravaganza,” kicked off on Friday, May 7, with a wide display of visual, sculpture, and digital pieces. These pieces, which were created at home due to the pandemic, were sent to campus to ensure the art can be exhibited in a clearer and more exciting way.

ESHA GOHIL

ESHA GOHIL

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DIGITAL TREASURES Nellie Tonev (‘20) explored her AP Drawing sustained investigation using digital drawings.

SNAPSHOTS OF LIFE Farah Hosseini (12) created her Honors Directed Portfolio exhibition using photography.

“I think it’s more fun to work in person because you can see everyone else working around you. You can see them on the screen in Zoom, but in the classroom you could just see them doing whatever they’re doing,” Study of Visual Arts student Claire Luo (9) said.

“Drawing it with charcoal first is pretty fun, but when I’m painting white on the canvas, since there’s already charcoal, they mix, so it’s not a clean white, it’s a gray. So, I had to paint on it over and over again until I got white, but it made the lines clean,” Advanced Painting student Kurtis Tong (10) said.

“In photography, I got to see places that meant a lot to people. One of the kids in my class took different types of pictures of her cat. They felt like different pieces, but she focused on what meant most to her. It was a chance to see into people’s lives and who they really are and what they love,” photography student Leah Anderson (12) said.

Despite the unfamiliar nature of learning at home, students still created dazzling pieces of art and sent them to the art classrooms from April 5 to April 12. Aguero-Esparza was pleased to note that the works appeared vastly different from the pictures she saw during the Zoom learning environment and that their corresponding pictures could not compare to the texture and vibrant colors that came alive when seeing them face-to-face.

“It’s just beautiful to see that engagement and the commitment to [learning online],” Aguero-Esparza said. “We were excited to be able to share our student work with the community and hopefully more people as we come more and more on campus. You could actually see and observe all the wonderful work that was done this year, despite a pandemic.”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Behind the giant arch, the orange brick buildings feature the distinct Belgian “stepped gable” rooftop design. Under the arch, dressed in a plaid scarf paired with a white top, blue jeans, and tall black boots, upper school dance teacher Rachelle Haun smiles at the camera while standing

“I love to experience new things: they’re so exciting. I get so much out of travel — your perspective changes every single time you go someplace. ” RACHELLE HAUN UPPER SCHOOL DANCE TEACHER

on a street in Brugge, Belgium, the destination of one of several trips that she takes on a yearly basis.

When Haun isn’t teaching dance, she loves to travel. With an average of two short, weekend trips a month and four big trips a year, her travels range from close, recurring destinations such as Disneyland or Lake Tahoe to large, one-time destinations such as Sydney, Australia.

Haun loves the planning process as much as she does the actual voyage.

“It’s my way to unwind,” she said.

“Usually, we pick our destinations based on the best sale that we can find at any time, so that makes it really exciting. It’s a lot of fun researching locations, planning the whole thing and then finally getting to go. My version of a spa day is planning.”

Besides sightseeing, Haun has learned about different cultures and lives throughout her travels. One big lesson, for her, was going on Harker’s sixth grade Tamagawa trip.

“When I went to Japan with Harker, the culture is very, very different from what I’m used to. So going there and getting to experience made me understand where a lot of our Harker families are coming from,” Haun said. “Every time you travel, you see a different culture and your eyes open a little bit what it’s like experiencing life from that different point of view. But that was very helpful because it was specifically applicable to Harker — very meaningful.”

While not every experience may hit as deep as the trip to Japan, Haun gains something new, such as a new outlook on life, out of every experience.

“I love to experience new things: they’re just so exciting. I get so much out of travel — your perspective changes every single time you go someplace. When I’m making decisions, we’re always thinking in terms of ‘well, that money can be spent towards a vacation, going somewhere new,’” Haun said. “ It’s definitely a lifestyle choice but one that I wouldn’t want to change.”

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY RACHELLE HAUN

Worldwide voyages: Dance teacher gains new insights from travel

irene yuan

PROVIDED BY RACHELLE HAUN

PILAR AGÜERO ESPARZA UPPER SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS TEACHER

COZY STROLL Upper school dance teacher Rachelle Haun takes a walk through the streets of Brugge, Belgium. She takes an average of two short, weekend trips a month and four big trips a year with her destinations ranging from repeated spontaneous short-distance voyages to visiting destinations overseas.

FUN FACTS ABOUT HAUN • Collects pins and stores them in the rehearsal room • Moonlights as a professional photographer • Wanted to be a professional cheerleader when she was young • Enjoys wearing costumes for any occasion • Has self-described “vampire teeth”

PHOTO PROVIDED BY RACHELLE HAUN ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

WINDOWS TO THE SOUL Ashley Gauba (12) used digital mediums to create her AP 2D Art & Design portfolio last year.

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

DYSTOPIAN FANTASIES Paintings created by Maria Teplova (12) for her AP Drawing portfolio last year hang in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center, inviting viewers into stirring, skillfully created scenes reminiscent of a dystopian society.

ESHA GOHIL

“You could actually see and observe all the wonderful work that was done this year, despite a pandemic”

DESIGN BY SARAH MOHAMMED

6 WINGED POST

ILLUSTRATION BY ARELY SUN

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 LIFESTYLE VOLUME

TikToker?

Broadway performer transitions from the stage to the screen

SHARING WITH THE INTERNET Twentyfive-year-old JJ Niemann is a Broadway performer who has appeared in “The Book of Mormon” and the recent TikTok musical “Ratatouille the Musical.” After Broadway shut down March 2020 due to the pandemic, Niemann turned towards TikTok to continue showcasing his acting, singing and dancing as well as behind-the-scenes of Broadway life.

“Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams. I praise you, my ratatouille. May the world remember your name.”

The original movie “Ratatouille,” featuring the loveable and wholesome Remy the rat, recently made a resurgence this year on TikTok as different songs and scenes from the movie were shared and used across the platform. The popularity led to “Ratatouille the Musical,” catching the eye of 25-year-old Broadway actor JJ Niemann. In a Tik Tok video, Niemann excitedly shared his wish to become a part of the cast.

Niemann first joined the trend alongside other users, pretending to be in Ratatouille-themed musical rehearsals and on stage in his videos.

“I have definitely put in my flair and created part of the world around [“Ratatouille the Musical”] in imagining what it would be like if it was really put on,” Niemann said.

Just a couple weeks later, the cast of “Ratatouille the Musical” was announced, and Niemann would be joining the cast as part of the ensemble.

Nominated for a Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Concert Production on March 3, “Ratatouille the Musical,” which streamed in early 2021, helped raise over two million dollars for The Actors Fund, which is an organization that supports arts workers during the pandemic.

Niemann grew up in a family of performers, and his experience with theater gradually began to grow, with him acting in shows in regional theaters and during university. Now a Broadway performer, he has performed in musicals such as “The Book of Mormon.” His TikTok page centers around his journey to Broadway and the behind-the-scenes life of a professional performer.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though, Broadway went dark on March 12, 2020. Musicals, along with much of the rest of our world, shut down, and performances were halted. Niemann was forced to return home and find other ways to pass his time in quarantine.

“I’m really happy that I discovered TikTok in mid to late March [of 2020] because the theatre community there is so big.

It’s been so amazing to be a part of that and to see how people respond to things” “The pandemic obviously affected me a lot,” Niemann said. “It definitely halted my plans, and it halted the performing arts in the entire country.”

But this was when Niemann found a different musical theater community to turn to. When the physical stage was taken away, Niemann used Tiktok as a new plat-

form to share his passion for theater.

“I’m really happy that I discovered TikTok in mid to late March [of 2020] because the theater community there is so big,” Niemann said. “It’s been so amazing to be a part of that and to see how people respond to things.”

Niemann also hopes that with his content, he can give other young performers a taste of the show business world and of performing on Broadway or on other stages. He hopes that his viewers realize that many of these actors were also once “theater kids,” and that their dreams are actually achievable.

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About Niemann’s TikTok: Over 660 thousand followers 41 million likes total across all his videos Includes the behind-thescenes of a Broadway performer’s life

ILLUSTRATION BY ARELY SUN

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JJ NIEMANN

sally zhu

Within a world of uncertainty Pandemic complicates this year’s college application process

Colleges have prioritized overall GPA over test scores, unlike previous years.

Due to the closing of testing centers, scheduling exams has been difficult.

Writing college recommendation letters can be hard for teachers without interacting with students in person.

Looking back at her experience completing her college applications earlier in the year, Stephanie Shen (12) remembers it to be a process filled with the general emotions suffused within the pandemic: longing, uncertainty, and searching for hope. Although she wasn’t able to bond with the seniors around her in the ways she anticipated, she found modes of staying connected with her friends, even if the experience wasn’t exactly the same as it could have been in previous years.

“I do remember seeing seniors rant together about how they have made no progress on their personal statements,” Stephanie said. “I feel like I did miss out a little bit on that but we did have some FaceTime [for] just struggling together, editing each other’s essays. It was a slightly more lonely process this year.”

For the first time, seniors have had to navigate the stress of college applications during a pandemic. As students like Stephanie have found ways to connect back with the world around them, Upper School Head College Counselor Nicole Burrell notes that the new circumstances of the pandemic have created additional unpredictability.

“There’s always uncertainty [regarding the college application process] when you come into it as a student or as a par-

ent or as a family because usually you’re going through it once: the first and only time you’ll ever do [them],” Burrell said.

“This last year has just exacerbated that uncertainty. Just because there’s so many unknown factors out there that no one knows the answers to.”

One aspect of the college admissions process that changed was the use of test scores, which Burrell mentions could create uncertainty for students.

“It’s the first time in the history of college admissions where test scores just aren’t being considered in the way that they have in the past,” Burrell said. “I think for a lot of students you’ve certainly heard about these [standardized tests] for many many years now and you’re expecting that to play a really important role to be told all of a sudden, ‘Whoops nope sorry. No they’re not anymore.’”

After the regular decision round has come out, Sydney Takemoto (12) has appreciated and found solace in her peers and their support.

“People have been grateful where they’ve gotten in and supported others where they’re getting in,” Sydney said.

“This year there were a ton of challenges, and I feel like everybody is just super proud and supportive of their classmates and themselves. I think that my grade has gone through a lot in general.”

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Students can still get a glimpse of their future college campus through online tools such as virtual tours.

Students have maintained friendships through phone calls during quarantine.

DESIGN BY ARELY SUN

ILLUSTRATIONS BY AASTHA MANGLA

sarah mohammed

WINGED POST 7

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 STEM VOLUME

WiSTEM Club hosts annual symposium

Speakers present on topics from robot intelligence to microscopy

DR. YI SUN ‘06 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

DR. CHELSEA FINN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

MARK HU MARK HU MARK HU

RYAN CALO, JD PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW

MARK HU

DR. BEN CHUNG ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF UROLOGY AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

mark hu

Chung said during his keynote. “Trying to do that type of maneuver laparoscopically can be extremely tough. The instruments move with such versatility that it’s never really a problem.”

The morning continued with student presentations as well as Student and Corporate Exhibitor Sessions, followed by the a keynote by Ryan Calo, JD, Professor at the University of Washington School of Law. Calo talked about the intersection between robots and the law and the decisions made by prior courts on automation.

Later in the morning, Cynthia Chen (‘20), 2020 Regeneron Finalist, spoke about her project that used computational methods to uncover patterns that predict cancer types. After a break at noon, Dr. Yi Sun (‘06), who received the Intel STS National second place award in 2006, presented on his work that uses data processing techniques for modern electron microscopy.

The afternoon keynote was presented

by Dr. Chelsea Finn, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, who spoke about how robots develop broad motor skills that lead to more sophisticated skills like using basic tools.

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The upper school WiSTEM Club held the sixteenth annual Harker Research Symposium virtually on April 9 and 10.

The event, titled “Robotics and Automation,” was headlined by five keynote speakers, in addition to student presentations in individual breakout rooms.

The symposium began Friday afternoon with an opening keynote address

by Dr. Wayne Liu, Senior Vice President at Perfect Corp., a company that uses Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide digital transformations in the beauty industry.

During the evening, student presenters led sessions on their research, ranging from topics such as astronomy, environmental science and engineering. The talks were held in ten minute intervals, running from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday.

The next morning began with an early morning keynote by Dr. Ben Chung, MD, who is the Associate Professor of Urology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He spoke about developments that have occurred in robotic surgery in the past 20 years, as well as future developments and possibilities in the field.

“Where the robotic platform really helps us is the ability to easily suture,”

HPC holds annual contest virtually

THOUGHTS ON THE HARKER PROGRAMMING INVITATIONAL

Over 170 students attend speaker events, talks

Biotechnology Club sabrina zhu The Biotechnology Club, a new organization started this year, investigates the intersection of biology, engineering and business. With over twenty active members, the club aims to prepare students for the annual Innovation Development Conference (IDC).

“The leadership team is getting oriented, but we’re going through some curriculum and posting extra resources on different topics, like biology, computer science [and] engineering,” Natasha Matta (11), Biotechnology Club co-president said. “We’re going to transition more to how you can actually pitch and write and more of a prototype type thing.”

“Even just pitching or starting to create your own biotech product is a pretty cool opportunity for high school students” PROVIDED BY NATASHA MATTA

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

NATASHA MATTA (12) BIOTECHNOLOGY CLUB PRESIDENT

Natasha and fellow co-president Anushka Mehrotra (10) are both members “HPI froze the standings, so the awards of the parent organization, Inno, and they ceremony was actually interesting since you decided to bring a new chapter to the Hardidn’t already know who won, and also they ker Upper School at the beginning of the year. While Inno offers large scale speakhad speaker events and panels which were both pretty cool. er events and organizes the IDC, the club also hopes to begin having Harker specific ANIKETH activities in the future.

“We were interested in forming a TUMMALA (9) chapter, so we decided to try it out. We’re ATTENDED HPI TU MM pretty interested in combining with the ALA more business aspect, like making and pitching a product, and entering a confer“Personally, I hope participants recognize ence,” Natasha said. that for the most part, working with other IDC, which drives most of the Biopeople, having strategies, has technology Club’s meetings, prompts value” students to design a biotechnology innovation that can address a modern day isSUSAN KING HARKER PROGRAMMING sue. Students work in teams to combine aspects of science with business and give K KO CLUB ADVISER CIN A a professional presentation. The club has prepared students to start brainstorming “I think that’s an aspect of the virtual in January, create the prototype in February and March and submit a final product environment that’s really nice, because we in April. can get people from the East “Students are coming up with a bioCoast or from wherever” technology innovation; it could be someALEXA LOWE (11) thing you wear or use to treat a medical HPC COMMUNICATIONS condition, and they’ll be recording a video,” Emily Zhou (11), vice president of reO OFFICER W E sources, said. “Real industry professionals will watch the video and give feedback, and because it’s a competition, there will be some sort of a ranking system.”

Officers hope the Biotechnology Club can be a creative and learning space for members, where students focus more on the innovation instead of the competition.

“Hopefully, members are learning something new in biotech and getting the opportunity to participate in the conference,” Natasha said.

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the event took place on the upper school campus, with competitors and speakers arriving in-person.

This year, the theme of HPI was computer science (CS) and the arts, and professionals involved in the interdisciplinary field between CS and topics like music, literature, and graphics were invited to speak with participants. The problems, written by HPC officers, were also themed around the arts.

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UN

The Harker Programming Club (HPC) hosted the twelfth annual Harker Programming Invitational (HPI) virtually on April 3, with attendance from over 170 middle and high school students. The event consisted of a 90-minute-long coding contest, where competitors participated in teams of up to three, as well as multiple speaker activities.

Because of the pandemic, HPI was held virtually for the first time. Previously,

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sabrina zhu

SABRINA ZHU

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INTRODUCTIONS The Harker Programming Club (HPC) hosted the twelfth annual Harker Programming Invitational (HPI) virtually on April 3, with attendance from over 170 middle and high school students.

SARA YEN

PROVIDED BY EMILY ZHOU

Back on campus: Science classes enhance learning through outdoor classrooms

KEEP EXPLORING Dr. Kate Schafer, upper school biology teacher, teaches a class in person as students and teachers begin returning to campus. Dr. Schafer will be leaving Harker at the end of the year in a move to Southern California.

MISSION FOR GROWTH Officers hope the Biotechnology Club can be a creative and learning space for members, where students focus more on the innovation instead of the competition, which resonates through their mission statement.

DESIGN BY MARK HU

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 RETURN TO CAMPUS VOLUME

8 WINGED POST

BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPUS EDITION

“One of the largest reasons for having this is to remind ourselves that the light at the end of the tunnel D I V is almost here, and to give a cheerful ED B O PR Y S mood in a way that only Spirit can do”

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After over a year of waiting, uncertainty and Zoom, the student body reunited with faculty and staff on campus. With in-person classes and Harker lunch, our community has begun its return to normalcy, despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

ANNA VAZZHAEPARAMBIL

For the first week the community officially came on campus altogether, each class held its own spirit day full of advisory activities, competitions, chalk art and dunk tanks throughout the week of April 19.

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SPENCER CHA (11) STUDENT ACTIVITIES BOARD REPRESENTATIVE

“We could have planned a basic Spirit Week and it would still have been really fun — all the N Y E energy came from everyone around me” AN G H EL

LISA BAROOAH (12) PRESIDENT OF HARKER SPIRIT LEADERSHIP TEAM

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ANNA VAZZHAEPARAMBIL

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CARTER CHADWICK

ALYSA SULEIMAN

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1. Leah Anderson (12) represents her advisory during the hula hooping competition and earns first place on April 19.

8 ALYSA SULEIMAN

2. Senior class president Ethan Choi (12) makes announcements from the center of Davis Field about spirit activities for the day.

3. Junior Dawson Chen and junior advisor Samuel Lepler play in the final round of the juniors’ game of ultimate frisbee on April 20.

4. Junior Dylan Tse prepares to return a rally while playing with the ping pong tables placed on the field for Spirit Week.

“With the student activities, it just looked like everyone was having such a good time and smiling and talking to each other. We’ve been away for so long that it’s just so fun to have everyone back again” P R O VI D E D B E

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ERIC KALLBRIER DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSISTANT ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR

6. Freshmen gather on Davis Field and listen to freshman class dean Jeffrey Draper explain upcoming events on April 22.

SABRINA ZHU

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5. Juniors Catherine Feng and Ann Ryan work on their class chalk mural outside of the library.

7. Junior class dean Christopher Hurshman watches a ball fly as he prepares for being plunged into the dunk tank.

8. Alexander Lan (10) tosses a ball with other sophomores on Davis Field on April 21.

22 • ISSUE 6 RETURN TO CAMPUS VOLUME MAY 19, 2021

WINGED POST 9

+0*!!&1*2!&.-&+*/"3!

Class days on campus began on the week of April 26, allowing two grades to come to school at a time. On top of many academic classes transitioning into socially-distanced classroom setting, dance rehearsals, sports practices, art exhibits and performances have also begun, albeit with modifications like temperature checks and COVID testing due to the ongoing pandemic.

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CARTER CHADWICK

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“This year has been a hard year for everybody students and faculty alike. When the faculty and other adults get to see the positive effect, it VIDED B makes all that hard work worth it” PRO Y

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1. Dr. Mala Raghavan instructs an AP Chemistry lab. Students have recently been returning to campus for socially-distanced experiments.

2. Juniors Lucy Ge and Saumi Mehta attend class via Zoom using the same laptop while maintaining distance at a table in the orchard.

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JENNIFER GARGANO ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

3. Spencer Cha (11) and Irene Yuan (11) Zoom into their classes on individual laptops from the quad on April 20.

4. Nurse Jennifer Olson prepares a swab for a COVID test for the girls basketball team, per requirements for on-campus games.

5. Kitchen staff member Carlos Madrigal lays out bags of chips and packed lunches during the sophomore spirit day on April 20.

“Being able to see people on a daily basis is VIDED B amazing. On Zoom we can still talk PRO Y A to each other, but the in-person interaction is just different” N

6. Coach Joan Marciano performs a temperature check on Athena Wu (10) as she arrives for the girls basketball game on Friday, April 23.

IS H

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7. Wilson Zhang (12) and Varun Mangla (12) play in the trombone section of an outdoor jazz band practice on May 7.

ANISH JAIN (9) SYDNEY TAKEMOTO

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ALYSA SULEIMAN

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8. Cecilia Yang (9) shines a flashlight during a dance choreographed

by Elaine Xiao (12) as part of dance production rehearsals on April 28.

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Members of the class of 2021 walked through a wreathed archway to enter a seniors-only prom on April 24. Despite being restricted to only 45-minute time slots, seniors had the chance to celebrate with a photo booth, raffle, goodie bags, mini-paintings and music.

“When you’re graduating in a few weeks, I think [senior prom] kind of marks and celebrates your journey through high school and how momentous and big a high VI D E D B PRO Y school graduation is” E

EMMA ANDREWS (12) ATTENDED SENIOR PROM

“It was really special to do this for the senior class. My advisees were saying that they were really only in school for two and a half years, so they missed a lot. Seeing them have some sort of prom just makes me really happy” R O VI D E D B P

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“I think [having a prom is] especially important when you’re a young person going through this stage of high school where, once the window to have these special A MALY UG IR I N events has gone, you can’t really recover it” I A

1. Elvin Chen (12) and Amar Karoshi (12) look at the display of raffle prizes available.

2. Maya Franz (12), Julia Biswas (12) and Betsy Tian (12) pose at the photo booth, one of the stations at prom.

3. Seniors Michelle Si, Betsy Tian and Sidra Xu pose for a photo under an arch of flowers on the red carpet.

PHOTOS BY NICOLE TIAN

CHRISTOPHER HURSHMAN JUNIOR CLASS DEAN AND PROM CHAPERONE DESIGN BY ARYA MAHESHWARI

10 WINGED POST ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 STEM VOLUME

STEM UPDATE sabrina zhu

Horizon online issue Harker Horizon releases student research online

catalyzes

CLIMATE CHANGE

Green Team hosts EcoChallenge for Earth Day, encourages school members to complete environmentally conscious tasks

Every year, $936 billion worth of food is wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These 1.3 billion tonnes, equivalent to one third of all food produced, can be used to feed over two billion people. However, the uneven distribution of resources across the world means the lost waste ends up in landfills, instead of going to the impoverished and malnourished.

Furthermore, the agricultural sector and food production have severely harmful effects on the environment and climate change. Global food loss accounts for 8 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and the emissions cost up to $411 billion annually. In North America, each person releases 860 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere every year; in Asia, each person releases 810 kg; in Europe, 680 kg; and in Latin America, 540 kg.

Food can be wasted at a variety of stages within the production process, which includes agricultural production, handling, storage, processing, distribution, and finally, consumption. However, the meat industry, though not as large as other sectors, may contribute the most to climate change. Animals, like cows, produce the greenhouse gas methane, and the use of fertilizer in their food and ma-

nure management can also harm the environment.

“One of the things the government can do is, we subsidize farmers for producing corn. And as a result of that, we grow more corn than we need, and a lot of that corn goes to feeding cows. And the production of beef is one of the more harmful products that we produce, so if we can ask our government to stop subsidizing corn but rather start subsidizing the

“Especially when you go back on campus, grab as much as you need and not more; take everything in moderation” PROVIDED BY PAULINA GICQEAU

sabrina zhu & mark hu

PAULINA GICQUEAU (10) GREEN TEAM MEMBER

healthy vegetables,” Diana Moss, upper school spanish teacher and Green Team adviser said.

The United Nations aims to cut back on food waste by one half by 2030, and although world governments have a large responsibility in this issue, there is still much individuals can do. As our community celebrated Earth Day this past week, we should recognize that our own deci-

$936 billion

sions can help or harm our planet as well.

“It’s much better to consume as much as you can and not overbuy and waste the food because other people might profit off of the food more than you can if you wasted it. So just be conscious of the food you consume and what you purchase,” Paulina Gicqueau (10), a Green Team member said. “Especially when you go back on campus, grab as much as you need and not more. Take everything in moderation.”

Some food waste is inevitable, but the scraps can be turned into compost for soil.

Moss recommends that families set up a composting system at home.

“If you do toss your food, consider composting. I would love to see a student-led initiative to see if we can get a sort of composting system at Harker, because that food waste could be turned into soil and enrich the soil,” Moss said.

Other solutions include eating more sustainable foods, buying locally grown produce, saving leftovers, and avoiding putting harmful substances into the soil.

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, Green Team hosted the multi-day long Harker EcoChallenge. Students and faculty members completed environmentally responsible tasks, like consuming meatless meals or travelling by bike, and submitted their accomplishments for points.

A total of 415 pounds of CO2 and 388 gallons of water were saved throughout the challenge.

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

1/3 of all food

food waste annually

produced is wasted

8% of greenhouse

860 kg of CO2 gas

gases are from food waste

created by each American

In-person labs Science classes complete inperson experiments

As the campus has reopened up over the past few weeks, students in upper school science’s classes have completed labs in-person. These experiments, which include acid-base titrations and absorption spectroscopy, are conducted following social distancing protocols, with students at individual stations. Teachers set up the equipment for the students and sanitize them appropriately. Some classes have also performed lab practicals, where students complete experiments and data analysis without assistance.

Vaccine update Pfizer vaccine authorized for 12 to 15 years olds The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded Pfizer-BioNTech’s emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine to allow those 12 to 15 years old to be vaccinated starting last Monday, May 10. Pfizer said it would not be prepared to ask the FDA to approve its vaccine for those under 12 until September. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are also testing their vaccine’s efficacy in children.

NASA helicopter NASA successfully flies helicopter to Mars The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States successfully launched its mission, Ingenuity, last month onto Mars. As part of the Perseverance rover project, Ingenuity is the first machine to fly as an airplane outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. On May 7, the robot was launched for the fifth time and stayed on Mars in order to be a scouting accessory for Perseverance.

DESIGN BY SABRINA ZHU

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARELY SUN

FOOD WASTE

Harker Horizon, a science research journal run and edited by upper school students, publishes student-written articles or reports about experiments, perspectives on scientific trends, and briefs that summarize research projects.

Because of the pandemic, instead of having a print issue, Horizon decided to publish a virtual journal with the work of students from multiple grade levels on their website horizon.harker.org.

WINGED POST 11

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 OPINION VOLUME

Perspectives

In this repeater, two authors with contrasting viewpoints discuss the environmental effects of a rise in cryptocurrency and how it creates a decentralized monetary system.

Cryptocurrency promotes data security and protects user privacy aditya singhvi

When Bitcoin first emerged following the financial crisis of 2008, it offered promise as a decentralized, secure currency, held back by the risk of a lack of mainstream adoption. Now, as it trends toward widespread recognition as sports teams, real estate sellers, and prominent individuals have thrown their support behind its usage, its utility as a medium of exchange continues to grow.

The primary advantages of bitcoin come in its convenience and security. Unlike most traditional currencies, bitcoin can be freely and instantly exchanged across borders with no additional fees, making for much faster, cheaper transactions that facilitate globalization. It is far more durable than physical currency — which can be lost or stolen — and sig-

nificantly more difficult to counterfeit. Finally, bitcoin offers a degree of anonymity and privacy that cannot be realized through traditional currencies stored in banking systems. Although bitcoin flows can be tracked from one user to another, it remains incredibly difficult to link these users to their real-world identities. In a world that’s constantly evolving to become less private, with individuals being tracked by governments and corporations alike, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer a welcome reprieve.

One argument against bitcoin has been its historical volatility; however, I’d argue that this excessive volatility has been more a function of the slow exposure of bitcoin to the world than anything else.

Inherently, bitcoin is not a volatile currency; its supply, capped at 21 million BTC, is governed by a precise mathematical function, and it cannot be manipulated by authorities like banks or the federal gov-

ernment. As bitcoin grows more and more mainstream, these fluctuations based on media exposure will lose their impact on the price of bitcoin. Furthermore, bitcoin is also highly divisible with a minimum unit of a “Satoshi,” or 1/100,000,000 of a bitcoin; this ensures that even as demand increases and its price rises, bitcoin can continue to be used for small, everyday transactions.

Bitcoin — and cryptocurrency technology in general — is here to stay. Producers of bitcoin will continue to turn to renewable sources of power like hydroelectric and wind. Whether with the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or the promotion of initially-joke currencies like DogeCoin by figures like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, these technologies will certainly shape the financial landscape in the near future, changing it to be far more decentralized, secure, and convenient.

VA L U E O F B I T C O I N

today almost

$50,000 a year ago

$8,820

550.5% increase BITCOIN

Miners need to complete complex math algorithms to advance the blockchain

120

Global Bitcoin mining uses more energy than the entire country of ARGENTINA

years until Bitcoin supply will be completely mined

21 million posssible Bitcoins Mining one bitcoin takes around 72 trillion watts of energy = 720 billion lightbulbs

Mining cryptocurrency needs sustainable alternative nicole tian Thirteen years ago, the website “bitcoin.org” surreptitiously appeared online.

Two months later, a white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” began circulating from a mysterious author named Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was created with the intention of providing a secure method of sending money through the internet, free of government interference. Despite the decentralized system, the currency was designed to ful-

fill the three functions of money: store of value, unit of account, and medium of exchange.

In reality, Bitcoin has shown extreme volatility without backing from the Federal Reserve and lacks the authority to adjust for inflation and recessions with monetary policy. After peaking last month at a price of $64,800, it dropped over 23% in under two weeks. Bitcoin also varies based on the drop in the stock market as seen by the 33% drop in both the S&P index and the value of Bitcoin early last year.

Not only is Bitcoin a volatile currency, but it also leaves behind a massive carbon footprint. Only 21 million bitcoins can be

HASHBOARD

mined, and the remaining 2.5 million are predicted to be mined by 2100. Mining cryptocurrency starts with the blockchain, a decentralized system that keeps track of transactions, and the miner’s goal is to add blocks by completing extensive computational problems. The miner who solves the problem first successfully adds the block and obtains around 6.25 bitcoins in exchange. As a result, massive mining farms, warehouses filled with machines designated for mining, developed to generate profits. A 2018 study from the Oak Ridge Institute found that mining one dollar of bitcoin takes 17 megajoules of energy, or approximately the kinetic energy of a met-

2.5 million Bitcoins left to mine ric ton vehicle moving at 100 miles per hour. In total, bitcoin mining consumes more energy per year than the country of Argentina.

The development of an energy efficient solution to blockchain technology could also lead to the increased use of clean energy in other data centers. As of now, only around one fifth of the electricity used in global data centers is powered by renewable energy. Although the cheap energy costs of coal provide an enticing source of energy, the rise in cryptocurrency must be matched by equal investment in renewable sources.

ASIC ANTMINER S9

HASHBOARD C O O L I N G FA N

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY NICOLE TIAN

• Dissipates heat using heat sinks • Takes 30 days for a S9 Antminer to mine 1 BTC • Mines $1.50/day at electricity cost of $0.05/kWh • Consumes 1372 voltage watts of energy

• Efficient mining operates at lower temperatures • Cooling is necessary to cryptocurrency mining • A miner generates heat equal to a water heater • Mining farms often located in colder conditions DESIGN BY NICOLE TIAN

12 WINGED POST

Aquila Managing Editors Arushi Saxena Aditya Singhvi Aquila A&E Editor Alysa Suleiman Aquila Sports Team Vishnu Kannan Kushal Shah Muthu Panchanatham Saurav Tewari Humans of Harker Editor-inChief Saloni Shah Humans of Harker Managing Editors Erica Cai Esha Gohil Humans of Harker Team Nicholas Wei Sally Zhu Reporters Sriya Batchu Anmol Velagapudi Visit The Winged Post online at www.harkeraquila.com Follow us on Instagram with the handle @harkeraquila The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism: Newspaper Concentration and Advanced Journalism: Newspaper Concentration courses at Harker’s upper school, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, California 95129.

The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, sports and STEM articles in an unbiased and professional manner and serve as a public forum for the students of The Harker School. Editorials represent the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters represent the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Winged Post. All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Winged Post in no way reflects the official policy of The Harker School. The opinions expressed in this publication reflect those of the student writers and not the Harker board, administration, faculty or adviser.

Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to wingedpost2020@gmail.com and must be signed, legible and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to Post style. Baseless accusations, insults, libelous statements, obscenities and letters that call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to The Winged Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff.

The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of Harker’s upper school and is distributed free of cost to students.

2020-2021 NSPA Pacemaker Winner 2019-2020 Crown Recipient 2019-2020 NSPA Best-in-show newspaper 2019-2020 NSPA Pacemaker Winner 2018-2019 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist 2017-2018 NSPA Pacemaker Winner 2017-2018 NSPA Best-in-show publication 2017-2018 Gold Crown-winning publication 2016-2017 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist 2016-2017 Silver Crown-winning publication 2015-2016 Gold Crown-winning publication

Safety depends on accountability Staying Healthy Flouting rules damages campus community with Saloni How to adjust yourself back to social interaction saloni shah

NICOLE TIAN

EDITORIAL: THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST

editorial board Four weeks ago, our student body’s year long separation from the upper school campus finally came to an end.

Shortly after Santa Clara County restrictions eased restrictions, the senior class spirit day on April 19 marked the student return to campus — and after a year of tentative unmuting and WiFi disruptions, of clicking through pages of Zoom screens, the need to physically be together again burst into fulfillment.

during a pandemic. Santa Clara County is still under the orange tier, and 47.3% of individuals sixteen and older have yet to be fully vaccinated. The Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15 years olds last week will protect more of our community, but it has yet to happen. At school, tables are limited to a maximum of two individuals, buildings are marked with distinct entry and exit points and individuals must maintain six feet of distance.

Our desire to be together is expected, but our responsibility to maintain safety

Our responsibility to maintain a safe campus remains the most important. Being in the same friend group does not mean that the pandemic is over.

The transition back on campus has taken extensive efforts from our faculty and staff, from the facilities staff helping teachers space out their classrooms to the kitchen staff neatly packing hundreds of boxed lunches every day. Due to the efforts of our faculty and student leadership, seniors danced at prom on April 24 and will walk across the Mountain Winery stage in front of a socially-distanced auditorium of loved ones for a modified in-person graduation this Saturday.

From excited waves in hallways during passing periods to peals of laughter bursting out in front of Manzanita, we’re starting to remember the joys of growing together in the same space. We recognized the familiar joys of chatting in the lunch line or the simple comfort of watching classmates gesture to each other in class.

We’re glad to be back, but returning means abiding by the necessary protocols

remains more important. Being in the same friend group does not mean that the pandemic is over. Not all students on campus are fully vaccinated. Overstepping protocol, from hugging to sharing lunches and gathering in tight groups, could lead to dire consequences for others and perpetuates the actions that make our peers at home hesitant to return.

This pandemic isn’t behind us yet, so we take on the responsibility to assure each other through the simple actions of sitting two to a table or waiting a few more months for a hug. We hold ourselves accountable for our friends at home. For the freshman class, who have yet to fully experience the extent of the upper school. For the staff who have dedicated hours and hours to ensure our safe return. Practicing simple actions protects the community we have waited so long to meet again.

Signing off our last issue as seniors MICHELLE LIU

Editors-in-Chief Arya Maheshwari Sara Yen Managing Editor Srinath Somasundaram News Editor Lucy Ge Assistant News Editor Isha Moorjani Features Editor & Graphic Designer Emily Tan Assistant Features Editor Sarah Mohammed Lifestyle Editor & Social Media Editor & Graphic Designer Arely Sun Opinion Editor & Graphic Designer Nicole Tian STEM Editor Mark Hu Assistant STEM Editor Sabrina Zhu Sports Editors Vishnu Kannan Muthu Panchanatham Photo Editor Esha Gohil Multimedia Editors Michael Eng Irene Yuan Design Editor Michelle Liu Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Aquila Editor-in-Chiefs Varsha Rammohan Anna Vazhaeparambil

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 OPINION VOLUME

arya maheswari & sara yen We’ve finally done it. After months of waiting for walks between classes, inperson advisory and Harker’s chocolate chip cookies, our community is back on campus together. And although it’s not exactly the same and the pandemic isn’t over, we can experience near normalcy.

After going through so much, it’s easy to forget how much we’ve accomplished as a community, from Student Diversity Coalition and the LIFE Board inviting speakers centered around inclusion to performing arts transforming their shows to a virtual format. Despite the frenzy of exams, now is a time of celebra-

tion, especially for seniors. With administration, staff and student council working hard to create meaningful senior activities, we can stop counting down the days to graduation and just enjoy the ride.

As a program, we weren’t sure what this year would look like in journalism in the fall. We didn’t know if we would have to cancel issues of the paper or forgo major pieces of our coverage altogether due to the pandemic.

Now, six issues later, we’re incredibly grateful to our staff for their commitment to this paper and program. We simply would not be able to send each issue to press without the effort from each of our reporters, columnists, editors, illustrators, photographers and designers.

And we’re also grateful for you — our readers and our school community — for standing by us through this process. We hope that we’ve highlighted the issues and told the stories that matter to you this year, and, as graduating seniors, we can’t wait to see where the Winged Post will go in the years to come.

“Hey Saloni!” “Hi Saloni, how are you?” “Saloni! Happy belated birthday!”

On April 19, 2021, I stepped foot on campus for the first time in over a year.

Immediately, I was engulfed in an atmosphere of ebullient enthusiasm.

Having barely left my house for the past year, I grew anxious about seeing 200 of my classmates. With each email from the administration regarding the process of returning to normalcy, the idea of returning to campus suddenly felt daunting.

What if I forgot how to initiate small talk? What if my classmates don’t remember me? What if I say something awkward or stupid?

It’s not just me who has been through the ups and downs and uncertainty of COVID-19—it’s all of us. Whether it be our teachers or our friends or our parents, we all need to make the readjustment back to constant social interaction.

“Okay, thanks Saloni, but this column is titled ‘Staying Healthy with Saloni.’ Where’s my health advice?” Don’t worry, I’ve got you.

The main tip I have regarding staying healthy in the transition back to normal life is to be understanding. While this may seem like fluff, listening to and reflecting upon others’ thoughts and reservations has been one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in high school.

Be understanding that your friends may not want to participate in every single event. Be understanding that you may have less capacity for social interaction, and that’s totally okay. Be understanding that your teachers also need time to reacclimate themselves to the classroom. And be understanding that everyone adjusts on their own time.

Make sure to also utilize the resources available to you, whether that be our counselors or even your parents!

And last but not least, don’t forget to leave time for yourself. We’ve been alone for so long that we feel we must do everything in order to gain back the experiences we lost. I’d caution you from overexerting yourself—take the time you need to recuperate so that you can truly enjoy the moments with the ones you love.

DIVE INTO MORE DISCOURSE For more opinion content, check out these excerpts from articles that can be read in full on harkeraquila.com.

Student representation split at the top varsha rammohan & anna vazhaeparambil Since the upper school’s Associated Student Body (ASB) was formed in 2000, the community has seen 21 students elected for the position of ASB president. Only four of those students were women. How is it possible for ASB to accurately represent the interests of the entire population?

Glimpse into the lives of others katelyn zhao One morning, I spent some time making meals for about twenty people. I placed ingredients next to each other in an assembly line on the kitchen counter and started to put together sandwiches. My mom drove us to the park to pass out water and the sandwiches that I made.

DESIGN BY NICOLE TIAN

WINGED POST 13

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 SPORTS VOLUME

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

The APEX repeater profiles Harker athletes who compete at the highest level in their respective sports. This installment features junior Tara Ozdemir’s journey overcoming her height disadvantage and committing to a D1 school.

Tara Ozdemir rises above her competition

OFFICE OF COMMUNCAITIONS ILLUSTRATION BY MUTHU PANCHANATHAM

muthu panchanatham

Kleos Beach Volleyball Club Stetson University Class of 2026

California Beach Volleyball Association AA Rating P1440 18-Under Qualifier 1st Place 2020 Club Challenge BVCA 2nd Place

Standing at a mere 5’ 5”, junior Tara Ozdemir’s size does not bode well for a game that involves reaching over a net and employing one’s length to cover greater distances in short amounts of time.

Her play, however, demonstrates that her height ultimately doesn’t matter.

Having played volleyball since the first grade, Tara has learned how to utilize precise decision making, her experience, and volleyball IQ to compensate for her stature. Although she plays both beach volleyball and indoor volleyball, Tara chose to focus on beach in 9th grade.

“I’m definitely one of the shorter people out there in beach volleyball. That makes me a primary defender. I’m a more strategic player, and I have to play smarter than a lot of other players to win,” Tara said. “Despite my height, I’m still able to win most of the tournaments I play in.”

Beach volleyball offers more freedom than indoor volleyball as each team only has two players on the court, as opposed to six. Although it is common for players to place an emphasis on finding the perfect partner, Tara instead aims to be that perfect partner, spurred on by the words of a previous coach.

“Everyone was always focused on finding the best partner for the tournament, and the coach asked us, “Why would you do that, when you can be that person yourself?” That shifted my mentality completely,” Tara said. “I have racks of medals in my room, because no matter who I play with, I can communicate with them and adjust to their playing style.”

As a result of her beach volleyball success, Tara committed to Stetson University, where she plans to display her

Racial disparity persists in NFL coaching

“Everyone was always focused on finding the best partner for the tournament, and the coach] asked us, ‘Why would you do that, when you can be that person yourself?’ That shifted my mentality completely. I have racks of medals in my room, because no matter who I am playing with, I can communicate with them and adjust to their style” “I asked myself, ‘There are taller players out there, why would they pick someone who is 5’ 5” to play this physical sport?’

A coach told me that if I put on weight and gained muscle that it wouldn’t be an issue, and so during my sophomore year, I did just that. I went from 99 to 125 pounds and added pure muscle,” Tara said. “When I committed, I thought to myself, ‘I finally did what people told me I couldn’t do for most of my life.’”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Rooney Rule

Only 5 of 32 NFL teams led by minority head coaches

EMILY TAN

vishnu kannnan Brian Flores, Ron Rivera, Robert Saleh, Mike Tomlin and David Culley. The names of the only non-white head coaches in the NFL. In a league where minorities make up the majority of the player pool, one would expect more than 13% of the NFL’s head coaches to be minorities.

The NFL has long faced the issue of a racial disparity in the coaching staffs and ownership of its 32 teams. According to the Institute For Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ 2020 NFL Gender and Racial Report Card, over 70% of NFL players are people of color. But as you move up the NFL’s organizational hierarchy, the percentage declines for each successive step.

Just over 35% of the NFL’s assistant coaches are minorities. That percentage drops to the aforementioned 13% for head coaches and to just 6% for owners.

The NFL has made attempts to address this widening gap in recent years, starting with the Rooney Rule, which was established in 2003 by the league’s diversity committee. The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and general manager vacancies in an effort to promote diversity throughout the league.

Loren Powers, who is the head coach of the Harker football team and identifies as white, views the Rooney Rule as a “double-edged sword”. While he appreciates its intentions and the fact the NFL is acknowledging and attempting to address the issue at hand, he feels that “rules shouldn’t have to be passed just to give people an equal shot.”

“It sucks that we have to implement a rule like that for people to get a shot, because every person deserves an opportunity,” Powers said. “But the one nice thing is that the NFL is saying that, ‘Hey, we do-

skills at the D1 collegiate level. Due to some coaches’ beliefs that her size would hinder her ability to commit to colleges, Tara engaged in a rigorous training regimen to increase her muscle mass, lifting weights throughout sophomore year. Her hard work resulted in a notable increase in her body strength, and she was able to prove her doubters wrong when she finally committed.

New Resolution

Brian Flores, Ron Rivera, Robert Saleh, Mike Tomlin, and David Culley are the only five minority head coaches in the NFL, heading in to the 2021–2022 NFL season. This translates to just 13% of the league’s 32 head coaches, which is surprising considering that over 70% of the NFL’s players are of color, according to The Institute For Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ 2020 NFL Gender and Racial Report Card.

realize that there is a huge racial disparity here.’ It shows that the NFL is aware of this and trying to make a difference, so I can see how it is advantageous.”

One caveat to the Rooney Rule, however, is that it does not require teams to actually hire the minority candidates they interview, simply just to interview or consider them. Brian Pinkston (12), an African American and varsity volleyball athlete, fears that this can lead to teams beginning to lose sight of the intentions behind the rule, perhaps causing them to view the Rooney Rule as “just another box to check off.”

“The Rooney Rule probably comes from a place of good intentions, but I just wonder what the actual effects are,” Brian said. “Teams could just include a minority candidate in their interviewing process to fill that quota, to check that box, when, in reality, they may not even have the intention of actually hiring that candidate.”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Implemented in 2003, the Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching vacancies.

It does not, however, require the team to hire that candidate.

Teams that lose a minority coach to a head coaching or general manager position with another team will be granted a third round compensatory pick in back to back years.

NFL Racial Breakdown By Position (2019 - 2020 Season) BRIAN PINKSTON (12) VOLLEYBALL PLAYER

As you move up the NFL’s organizational hierarchy, the percentage of minorities in each position declines, for each successive step.

“These rules require revisiting if the league wants to prove their intent. Every few years, the league has to go back and see how these measures have helped since their implementation.

It’s important to consider not just intentions, but also consequences, as well”

DESIGN BY VISHNU KANNAN AND MUTHU PANCHANATHAM

14 WINGED POST

22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021 SPORTS VOLUME

ALYSA SULEIMAN

ALYSA SULEIMAN

PICTURE PERFECT BAT ON BALL Austin Wang (11) swings at the

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“Our biggest strength has definitely been pitching. We have a couple really good pitchers, and we’re also trying to develop some new pitchers and catchers. The team has also been really good at hitting and taking walks and capitalizing off what’s available” CE

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“I think we’re honestly just going to enjoy every moment of it. We are going to keep working towards improving on and off the field, so that we can do well in our games this season, while also working towards developing players for the next couple years” FI

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“Our first couple games weren’t the best for us, but it was still a lot of fun. Our softball team is always super supportive of each other, and so even though we have lost every league match so far, everyone is still really optimistic about the rest of the season” YA

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visit harkeraquila.com for information regarding sports Senior Nights

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“It’s been a breath of fresh air. I don’t take any minute of practice or prep for granted because we weren’t able to do any of this [for the past year]. We didn’t have the typical summer league or preseason, so the growth is much more incremental than it is normally”

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“Our season has been off to a little bit of a rough start, but we have definitely we have improved in each of our games. I am really ooking forward to our team being completely healthy, since we haven’t been able to play with our complete roster yet”

May 18 - Girls Golf WBAL Championships at 1:00 P.M. May 18 - Varsity Boys Soccer vs. Sacred Heart at 4:00 P.M. May 18 - Varsity Girls Water Polo vs. Gunn 4:30 P.M. May 18 - Varsity Boys Water Polo vs. Lynbrook at 5:45 P.M. May 19 - Varsity Boys Volleyball vs. Los Gatos at 6:00 P.M. May 20 - Varsity Girls Basketball vs. Mercy at 6:00 P.M.

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HEART AND HUSTLE Arjun Virmani (12) fights to steal the basketball during the basketball team’s Crystal Springs match.

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performs the breaststroke during the swim team’s meet against King’s Academy.

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ALEXA LOWE (11) VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM MEMBER

SMOOTH SAILING Matthew Chung (12)

ADITYA SINGHVI

PROVIDED BY ZOE SANDERS

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT The varsity girls lacrosse team poses for a photo on Davis Field after their practice on May 13.

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ball to a teammate during the water polo team’s league match against Homestead on April 20.

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With less than a month remaining in this school year, upper school sports seasons are now in full swing, and with them, come the triumphs, defeats, and tension that characterize high school sports. There are 15 different teams competing in their regular seasons currently, with the Central Coast Section playoffs for qualifying teams set to begin in late May or early June.

All volleyball, basketball, soccer, and water polo home games are live-streamed on “The Harker School’’ YouTube Channel. In addition, parents and siblings of athletes have been allowed to attend athletic contests hosted in the Athletics Center (basketball and volleyball matches) and on Davis Field (soccer games).

To maintain the safety of those participating in athletics, each upper school athlete performs a COVID-19 nasal swab test on a weekly basis. Masks must be worn by coaches and athletes at all times, and the parents of athletes are required to complete a preliminary Magnus Health on a daily basis confirming that their child has not been in close contact with or exhibited any symptoms of COVID-19.

The baseball team currently has a record of 8-4, with their only losses coming in non-league matches. The team is firmly in control of the number one spot in

their league. Meanwhile, the softball team looks to get their first victory of the season in their last league match against Notre Dame Belmont on May 14.

After a victory in their season opener, the girls soccer team fell in five consecutive matches, before bouncing back in a big way with back to back victories. Their league record is now 3-5. The boys soccer team has a 2-6 record on the season, with two matches left on their league schedule.

The boys water polo team has been dominant in league, with a 7-3 record and ten matches still left to play. The girls water polo team has a 2-7 league record, after defeating Los Altos 8-6 on May 11.

After a dominant 3-1 start to the season, the varsity boys basketball team fell in consecutives matches to Sacred Heart and Menlo, bringing their overall record to 3-5. The junior varsity boys basketball team has a league record of 5-1, with their only loss coming against Menlo on May 11. Meanwhile, the girls basketball team has a 3-2 league record, with six matches still left to play on their schedule.

The boys volleyball looks to secure their first victory of the season against Saratoga on May 13, with six matches still left to play on their league schedule.

The boys tennis lost four consecutive matches to start the season, but bounced back victories over Pinewood and Menlo.

Ramachandran (11) steals the ball from a defender during the Crystal Springs match.

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ball into the hole during the golf team’s 210-297 win against Notre-Dame Belmont on March 16.

“Our team’s biggest strength is that we are very positive and supportive. One area where we need to improve is setting the pace of the game and not allowing our opponent to dictate that pace. We need to be mindful of what we’re doing, instead of being reactive”

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IN AND OUT Cassie May (10) jukes past a defender in the soccer team’s match against King’s Academy on April 22. The girls soccer team currently has a league record of 3-5.

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Upper school sports teams resume competition after year-long hiatus

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CRAFTY CURVEBALL Katelyn Abellera (10) pitches during the softball team’s match against Notre Dame Belmont on April 15.

baseball during the baseball team’s season opener against Pinewood High School on Feb. 5.

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DESIGN BY VISHNU KANNAN AND MUTHU PANCHANATHAM

SPORTS

WINGED POST 15

VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 6 MAY 19, 2021

Reach for the stars

JESSICA TANG

In jumble of seasons and games, 11 sports return to campus with masks, testing, caution

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

SYDNEY TAKEMOTO

ALYSA SULEIMAN

JUST IN REACH Kevin Zhang (9) stretches his arm out to touch the ball in a boys JV basketball against Menlo-Atherton on May 7. The team’s record dropped to 4-1 overall.

OVER YOUR HEAD Nathan Ohana (12) lifts his leg to kick the ball in the boys varsity soccer match again Crystal Springs for a 6-0 win.

CARTER CHADWICK

vishnu kannan & muthu panchanatham

SMRITHI SAMBAMURTHY

SENDING RIPPLES Kathy Xu (10) swims freestyle, sending splashes through the water.

SMRITHI SAMBAMURTHY

NOT IN MY GOAL Rick Lu (10) guards the goal in a boys water polo match against Cupertino on May 4. The team has a 3-2 record.

JESSICA TANG

Junior pitches perfect game Mark Hu makes school history, ties CCS record with 18 strikeouts

BLOCK THE SHOT Junior Liza Shchegrov and senior Dylan Williams jump to block a swing from an opposing player in the second set.

GAME MODE ON Katelyn Abellera (10) pitches the ball in a varsity softball game against Notre Dame-Belmont on April 27.

STRIKEOUT Mark Hu (11) pitches a perfect game with 18 strikeouts against Priory. This win led boys baseball to be 9-0 in league.

ARMS UP Sinaya Joshi (11) reaches to block the ball in a girls water polo match against Los Gatos High School on May 4.

Mark Hu (11) pitched a perfect game for the Eagles against Priory on Tuesday, making Harker and Central Coast Section (CCS) history with a record-tying 18 strikeouts. A perfect pitching game in baseball involves not allowing any opposing batter to reach first base over the course of at least nine innings. Mark threw a total of 86 pitches in the Eagles’ 15-0 shutout victory, which brought the baseball team’s season record to 9-0 in league play and 11-4 overall.

Mark also played a crucial role in the game at bat, racking up three hits and a homerun that earned the Eagles two runs.

The team hopes to close out Priory again on Thursday and will face off against Crystal Springs at home on May 24.

“It was definitely a really fulfilling moment, knowing that the work I put in during practice paid off. However, I know that it’s just one step along the way and that I need to continue getting better and pushing myself forward,” Mark said.

Mark attributes his success to his consistency and resilience, as well as to the help of his catcher, Nick Coulter (12).

“I think my biggest strength is my consistency and being able to bounce back from mistakes. I think a big part of that is due to Nick, our catcher, who helps me stay on track and pitch the best I can through the entire game,” Mark said.

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

DESIGN BY EMILY TAN

22 • ISSUE 6 BACK PAGE VOLUME MAY 19, 2021

16 WINGED POST

DESIGNATED

BY CONGRESS IN

HERITAGE MONTH

1992

michelle liu

WHY MAY?

HOW TO CELEBRATE

May was chosen for its significance due to two reasons. On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States. More than 20 years later, on May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed, a project more than 20,000 Chinese workers participated in.

WHAT TO WATCH THE JOY LUCK CLUB 1993

Chinese-born, U.S.raised Billi reluctantly returns to Changchun to the family's beloved, dying matriarch Nai-Nai, uniting family members scattered among new homes abroad.

MINARI 2020

HISTORY

Based on Oaklandborn writer Amy Tan's 1989 novel, four young Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers, born in feudal China, explore their pasts and their identities.

THE FAREWELL 2019

A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of the elusive American dream, discovering the resilience of family and the meaning of home in the face of challenge.

BOOKS TO READ THE

SYMPATHIZER

BY VIET THANH

NGUYEN 2015

From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty.

MINOR FEELINGS

BY CATHY HONG

PARK 2020

A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War.

PACHINKO

BY MIN JIN LEE 2017

Hong blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consciousness in America, describing her theory of "minor feelings."

OF ASIAN AMERICANS IN THE US First official U.S. Japanese immigrant, 14-yr old fisherman Manjiro

MAY 10,

1869

MAY 7

1843

1ST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD COMPLETED

Chinese immigrants work in dangerous conditions for little pay

1875

Bars Chinese women from entering the U.S.

PAGE ACT

1882 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT More than 120,000 Japanese Americans forced into internment camps 1942 - 1945 WORLD WAR II U.S. Rep. DALIP SAUND of CA becomes first AsianAmerican and first Sikh to serve in Congress 1957 1959 1965

by President CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT 1988 Signed RONALD Bans Chinese immigrants to the U.S.

U.S. Rep. PATSY T. MINK of Hawaii become first Asian American woman to serve in Congress

Congress formally apologizes and grants reparations to Japanese Americans interned during WW II.

REAGAN

2021

BAY AREA

AAPI LEADERS MAKING HISTORY

KAMALA HARRIS

1st Asian American, 1st African American, and 1st female U.S. Vice President

JON M. CHU

Groundbreaking Asian-American film director known for 2018's Crazy Rich Asians

ERIC YUAN

CEO and Founder of Zoom Video Communications, Harker parent

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY MICHELLE LIU

HIRAM L. FONG becomes first AsianAmerican (and Hawaii’s first) U.S. Senator

DESIGN BY MICHELLE LIU