Winged Post Volume 17 Issue 7

WINGED POST WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 17, NO. 7

| www.harkeraquila.com

EDITORIAL: We’re more than a map

Ground broken for campus development

though they’ll attend colleges all around the world, the class of 2015 will always be an

eagle nation washington

by the num

SHARANYA BALAJI

WHITMAN COLLEGE jai ahuja

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE

bers: what 1 74 of the

DARTMOUTH UNIVERSITY laya indukuri

1

ASB and student council hosted a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day in Manzanita Hall last Friday.

Students greeted teachers at the doors of Manzanita, led them to their tables and served them plates of mashed potatoes, eggs, fruit and bacon.

Elections for class, honor councils held vivek bharadwaj editor-in-chief

Millie Lin, Rahul Bhethanbotla and Sohenee Banerjee were selected as honor council representatives for the sophomore class.

The class of 2017 elected Alex Youn (president), Srivatsav Pyda (vice president), Michael Tseitlin (secretary) and Haley Tran (spirit coordinator) as their class officers.

The class of 2018 selected Jimmy Lin (president), Darren Gu (vice president), Derek Kuo (secretary), Megan Huynh (treasurer) and Amitej Mehta (spirit coordinator) to lead their class.

The class of 2018 elected Kelsey Wu (president), Anjay Saklecha (vice president), Katherine Zhang (secretary), Shania Wang (treasurer) and Neil Ramaswamy (spirit coordinator).

At press time, the position of junior class treasurer was un-

DECA Champion, A2

chirag aswani gillian wallin neil sadhu

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

HARVARD COLLEGE

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY vishal vaidya

YALE COLLEGE agata sorotokin daniela lee jason chu kacey fang shreya dixit

maya nandakumar vivian isenberg

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

114

illinois

MICHIGAN

harry xu patrick lin richard gu serena wang

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR

STUDENTS PLAN TO STUDY ABROAD

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

austin lai jeffrey hsu juhi gupta juhi muthal karnika pombra safia khouja

HUMANITIES 17.3% BUSINESS 24.9% MATH 9.8%

christina andrus dylan patel madhavan nair siddhant jain sonali netke

SOCIAL SCIENCES 20.8% ENGINEERING 19.7% ARTS 13.3% UNDECIDED 9.8%

indiana

ohio

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

OBERLIN COLLEGE

alex jang kelly wang madhu nori rahul jayaraman

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN matthew ho

read more A6: staff editorial: more than a map B11: SENIORS TO PLAY SPORTS IN COLLEGE

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ST. LOUIS

tennessee

nikash shankar

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

DUKE UNIVERSITY

ishanya anthapur

mariam sulakian reena sandhu shrish dwivedi vivek sriram

maryland

dipam acharyya eugene gil jonathan lee justin yen nikhil reddy roshni pankhaniya sahana rangarajan sophia shatas zabin bashar

SAN JOSE CITY COLLEGE SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY jacqui villarreal sarah bean

SCRIPPS COLLEGE shreya basu

ashwini iyer

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

keanu forbes

jessica yang

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

andrew zhang cindy liu david lin nathan dalal neil movva nitya mani sidhart krishnamurthi stanley xie steven wang suzy lou

POMONA COLLEGE

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

felix wu

texas

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

arden hu

cheryl liu vivian jou

washington d.c.

georgia EMORY UNIVERSITY

california

katy sanchez sohil singh

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

glenn reddy

michael lin

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY

new jersey

north carolina

missouri

new mexico

rhode island

eric holt

abhi gupta leeza kuo

Data from 174 responses on a senior survey.

Participants could select multiple answers.

Data from 174 responses on a senior survey.

Participants could select multiple answers.

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

delaney martin julia wang navsher singh zoё woehrmann

BROWN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

COMPUTER SCIENCE 33.5%

CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS 30.1%

alex thomas madi lang-ree

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

hannah bollar leo yu pranav reddy sachin peddada sabrina sidhu savi joshi vedant thyagaraj

alyssa amick arjun ashok nikhil kishore sheridan tobin

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

aadyot bhatnagar billy bloomquist madelyn wang neha sunil

shikhar dixit

aaron huang ashwath thirumalai kevin zhang rachel wu samyu yagati

ashir bansal caroline howells megy appalaraju stacey chao

SCIENCES 43.4%

SPORTS 56.6% GREEK LIFE 26.6% COMMUNITY SERVICE 50.9% RESEARCH 60.7% JOBS 61.8% ARTS 38.7% PRE-PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES 43.4% STUDENT GOVERNMENT 13.3% PUBLICATIONS 27.7%

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ST. BONAVENTURE UNIVERSITY

allison kiang christopher hildum vamsi gadiraju vasudha rengarajan ankita pannu archana podury jackelyn shen jason jeong kevin su rishabh jain sanjana kaundinya shannon su shreya maheshwari

WELLESLEY COLLEGE

andrew jin apoorva rangan ayush midha corey gonzales helen wu matthew huang

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

nikita parulkar

pennsylvania

NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO

RICE UNIVERSITY

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

eric cheung

anokhi saklecha arya kaul nikita mittal samantha madala

florida

erika olsen

WESTMONT COLLEGE jeremiah anderson

ECKERD COLLEGE mishi vachev

WHITTIER COLLEGE noel banerjee

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA jeremy binkley

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ nick nguyen

UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS christian williams liz bettencourt

SINGAPORE

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS jeton gutierrez-bujari

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES nephele troullinos riya godbole srivinay irrinki

alan guo allen huang angeline pan anushka das ashin metha avik wadhwa avni barman briana liang eric wang eric yu

hemant kunda lekha chirala leon chin manthra panchapakesan neil chitkara priscilla pan ramzi jahshan ryan palmer simran singh suraya shivji

canada

hawaii

YALE-NUS COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

jessica fred chang

mohannad khadr sahiti avula

darby millard

new jersey PRINCETON UNIVERSITY Kevin Duraiswamy Avinash Nayak

connecticut YALE UNIVERSITY Christopher Fu Justin Young

new hampshire DARTMOUTH COLLEGE Wei Wei Buchsteiner Kimberly Ma Vikram Naidu Sebi Nakos Divya Kalidindi Sachin Vadodaria

new york

massachusetts AMHERST COLLEGE Areej Hasan

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Krish Sanghi

BOSTON UNIVERSITY Callie Ding Monika Lee

TUFTS UNIVERSITY Emily Lin Isaac Rothschild

HARVARD UNIVERSITY Angela Ma Vikram Sundar MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Rahul Sridhar Zareen Choudhury Kevin Zhu Anika Gupta Dora Tzeng Megan Prakash Varun Mohan

* 12 seniors did not report their college OR fill out the survey information.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Mercedes Chien Raymond Xu Sandra Yin Mabel Luo

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK - OSWEGO Laura Thacker RENNSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Christopher Zhang

CORNELL UNIVERSITY Regina Chen Aaron Lee Albert Chu Brinda Perumal

WELLESLEY COLLEGE Silpa Karipineni Maya Madhavan

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY - WEST POINT Mary Liu

HAMILTON COLLEGE Shenel Ekici

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Benjamin Huchley

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Damon Aitken • Anna Kendall Andrew Zhu

washington

Looking for for the the class class of of 2014 2014 inin these these states? states?

Looking

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Suraj Sean Pan Chandrasekhar Karan Kurbur Brian Chan Arthur Shau Arman Mortazavi

Youwon’t won’tfifind ndthem themhere. here.But Buthere’s here’s what what they’ll they’ll be be up up to: to: You

illinois

1

Intended majors: 24% other/ not reported

32% engineering

student plans to take a gap year

6% undecided 7% liberal arts/ humanities 9% business

21% science

Selected other majors:

pennsylvania

COLUMBIA COLLEGE Ian Richardson

wisconsin

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Allison Sun

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON Efrey Noten

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Raymond Cheng Anishka Agarwal Parth Kothari Sean Nachnani Christina Wong Jeffrey Hanke Pooja Chirala Varun Cherukuri Samir Chaudhry

88

7-YEAR CLASSICS MED PROGRAM

students plan to study abroad

california

KSHITHIJA MULAM

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Preethi Periyakoil Namita Ravi Albert Zhao

EDITORIAL

LAURA NAVARRO

THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST

The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of our campus, printed for for the people who walk through the halls, for those who teach us, and for the members of the faculty whom we encounter every day. We strive to tell the stories of the community we serve.

The last issue of every year attracts particular attention from both those within and without our community for one reason: the college map, an emblem of our seniors’ success and the tremendous expectations levelled on them.

Let’s be clear: we believe that the commodification of the college map — two pages intended to celebrate the achievements and hard work of the seniors — runs contrary to our values as a school.

Last year, the staff contended with the very publication of the college spread; while it was eventually published, then-editors of the Winged Post published an editorial about how each senior is more than the college they choose to attend. Reducing them, purposefully or implicitly, to a data point, is not the

kind of mindset we want to perpetuate as a publication.

The topic of the college map resurfaced again this year as we planned out this seventh issue, and we again debated the merits and demerits of its publication. Like last year, we concluded that the map is a service to both the seniors, the majority of whom are proud to report the colleges they will spend the next four years at, and the faculty, who also take pride in knowing the in-

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY - SAN LUIS OBISPO Anna Levine CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Nicholas Navarro LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY John Hughes POMONA COLLEGE Manon Audebert SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY Samar Malik Nithya Vemireddy Lea Daran Vincent Lin

Neil Khemani Zina Jawadi Trisha Jani Saachi Jain Stephanie Chen Sreyas Misra Urvi Gupta

Divyahans Gupta Brandon Yang Connie Li Katie Gu Meena Chetty Krishan Kumar

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY Leslie Tzeng William Deng Monica Kumaran Claudia Tischler Kristine Lin Nikhil Dilip Jennifer Dai Vikas Aditya Batra Bhetanabhotla Arjun Goyal Shazdeh Hussain Andy Wang Maneesha Panja Shreyas Parthasarathy UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS Huck Vaughan

BROWN UNIVERSITY Zoë Papakipos

washington d.c.

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Alana Shamlou Sean Knudsen

missouri

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Stephanie Lu Arjun Kumar

tennessee VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY Pranav Batra

texas

maryland

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN AUSTIN Apurva Gorti Apurva Gorti

georgia

north carolina

EMORY UNIVERSITY Elizabeth Teng

DUKE UNIVERSITY Srikar Pyda Shivani Chandrashekaran Daniel Pak Gaurav Kumar

TRINITY UNIVERSITY Kevin Moss UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Shivani Gillon Helena Huang Richard Min UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Kilian Burke Renu Singh UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA Saraí Rojas Jithin Vellian UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC Sina Mehran Ariana Shulman

undecided or not reported UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Stephan Pellissier Nathan Dhablania Sameer Vij Rebecca Chen Kevin Xue Monica Thukral Nikkan Ghosh Julia Fink Dennis Moon Adithram Arjun Mehta Rengaramchandran Ravi Bhandia

canada UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Camille Piazza Kianna Bisla

Samir Baz Lauren Cali Alicia Clark Alexander Johnson Varun Kamat Rohan Kapatkar Michael Kling Taylor Mahal Nishaant Murali Jeremy Pan Sravan Rajathilak Nihal Uppugunduri Kenneth Zhang

WRAPPED IN MAPS The college map has been a longstanding tradition of the Winged Post and other student newspapers nationwide.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE Sharon Babu

We want to emphasize: the college spread is intended for the upper school student body, the families of our seniors, our alumni and our dedicated faculty — nobody else.

The falling admissions rates at elite institutions correlates with an uptick in student stress - the American Psychological Association reports that 31 percent of teenagers feel “overwhelmed” and that 30 percent feel depressed and sad as a result of stress.

We’ve done away with the design of a map that categorizes, and thereby defines, students by the school they attend, separating them from and grouping them with one another on that basis. Readers can get a glimpse of the community as it looks best — all together. stitutions that their students attend. It stops being a service to the community when it is co-opted by those who simply see students and their colleges as statistics to be counted.

This over-glorification of the college map touches all members of our community — not just the seniors. When we asked a room full of freshman journalists if they had seen the college map during their time in the middle school, all of them raised their hands, having been shown the newspaper by parents. Middle school students as young as 11 and 12 are being exposed to pressure to attend a prestigious university.

rhode island

indiana PURDUE UNIVERSITY Avi Agarwal Nicky Semenza Katia Mironova

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY Rohith Bhethanabotla Allen Chen • Tiffany Chu

RICE UNIVERSITY Sapna Suresh Kevin Mohanram Sean Youn

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Sarika Bajaj Benjamin Chu Christine Lee Allen Cheng

FINE ARTS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

GLOBAL HEALTH

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Adarsh Battu Sahithya Prakash CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Gerry Zhou Alex Pei Nila Banerjee Anisha Padwekar

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Darian Edvalson Brian Tuan

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS Advaita Kanakamedala Jerry Shen Namrata Vakkalagadda

Teacher appreciation celebrated with breakfast

reporter

craig neubieser tiara bhatacharya

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

connecticut

reporter

tiffany wong

TUFTS UNIVERSITY

thyne boonmark

18 6 seniors plan to do

“I’m going to try to find some work and then go to South America hopefully. But it’s not 100% that I’ll be taking a gap year.”

Corey Gonzales

student is considering a gap year

rose guan

SHOWING GRATITUDE Student waiters at the teacher appreciation breakfast served the faculty last Friday.

AMHERST COLLEGE

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

matt bloch nikhil singh ryan pachauri

GOLDEN SHOVELS The upper school broke ground on the new gymnasium and performing arts center yesterday on Rosenthal Field.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new gymnasium and performing arts building took place on Rosenthal Field yesterday during extra help, having been moved from its original date of April 22.

“I’m a very small part of a very big team of people who put together the plans for the buildings,” Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal said. “Our entire advancement team is very involved in building a sense of community and the strategic planning of the needs and programs of the school based upon what students’ needs are and what parents’ feedback is. It’s a great way for us to be involved in this historic event.”

new york

massachusetts

new hampshire

A Wesleyan University honors thesis written by Laura Deborah Fields in 2011 attested that 61.1 percent of students believed that pressure for going to a prestigious college was a barrier to stress reduction.

In December of last year, the “Atlantic” published a long-form feature entitled “The Silicon Valley Suicides”, an account of the incredible pressure to succeed at several Bay Area high schools. While their communities are different from ours in many ways, the pressure to attend a prestigious “top 10” school is strikingly similar.

It’s time for us to change that narrative. When you open

the center spread this year, where the college map once was, you’ll to notice a few changes from previous years — for one, we’ve done away with the design of a map that categorizes, and thereby defines, students by the school they attend, separating them from and grouping them with one another on that basis.

Readers can get a glimpse of the community as it looks best — all together.

Most importantly, each senior has written a few words of advice to the community: parting shots, wisdom and words of reassurance to the next generation of students.

We’ve asked them to give back some of their hard-earned experience. We can’t stop those who would dissect the map and reduce us to statistics, but we can show them, in a few words, the hopes, dreams and advice of 187 graduating seniors from our school.

Every student, parent, and faculty member at our school has a choice: we can deify the college spread and chalk up each senior as a tally-mark under the institution of their choice. Or we can congratulate them as they move onto the next stage of their lives -tell them to explore, live life on their own terms and enjoy themselves. When you flip open to the pages of the college spread, the choice is yours.

Administration chooses 2016 valedictorian Anika Mohindra selected to give remarks at commencement exercises this May kavya ramakrishnan managing editor

Senior class dean Dr. Matthew Harley formally announced Anika Mohindra as the Class of 2016 valedictorian during the senior class meeting on April 26.

“I was surprised because I didn’t really expect it, but I don’t think I had a very dramatic reaction. I texted my mom right away, and she was very excited,” Anika said.

The title of valedictorian is bestowed every year upon the

Near and Mitra, A6

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE Senior Anika Mohindra was named Class of 2016 valedictorian on April 26. She had the highest cumulative GPA over four years of high school.

member of Harker’s senior class with the highest cumulative GPA throughout their four years at the upper school.

Research Symposium, A11

Reflecting on her high school career, Anika advised younger students to have a wholesome high school experience.

“Academics are great and very important, but don’t let them be your sole focus, which I think was a huge mistake I made during my freshman and sophomore years,” Anika said. “Put yourself out there more, make new friends, go all-out for spirit events, join a club for fun and find a class that feels more like hanging out with friends than

Spring Sports Update, A14

an academic requirement. It’s the little things that are really going to shape your high school experience.”

Though Anika has not yet begun writing her valedictory address, which she will deliver at the Class of 2016 graduation ceremony on May 19, she is looking forward to addressing the senior class at graduation.

“Right now, I’m thinking about talking about something not so academic,” she said.

“Probably [a speech about] self-identity and friendships.”

Earth Day, A16

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NEWS

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

DECA freshman wins top honors in Nashville melina nakos & shania wang

PROBLEM SOLVERS (TOP) Freshmen Kelly Shen, Taylor Lam, Tifany Wong and Sara Min perform their skit at the Future Problem Solvers state bowl. The four freshmen will be advancing to the international conference.

(LOWER) Members of Future Problem Solvers pose at a conference.

Members of the club traveled to St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel, California.

BIG BUSINESS (TOP) Enya Lu (9) receives a first place award for her event at the DECA International Conference. DECA members who placed in the top four in states were eligible to compete at the international conference. (RIGHT) DECA members pose at the International Conference at Nashville, Tennessee. DECA members who placed top four in states were eligible to compete at the international conference.

Sikand placed in the top 20 of the Independent Business Plan event.

The annual ICDC brings together nearly 18,000 high school DECA members from all over the world and acts as the last competitive conference of the DECA season. To qualify, students must place in the top four of their events at the States conference.

“It’s the pinnacle event for DECA,” said Juston Glass, DECA advisor and director of business and entrepreneurship. “The best of the best come to the event from all over the country, and you get to have a great cultural experience going to a different part of the nation and also interacting with students from all

PROVIDED BY ALISA SU

Twenty students and two advisors from the upper school’s DECA chapter traveled to the 2016 International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville, Tennessee, from April 22 to 27.

For the first time in chapter history, a member placed in a roleplay event. Freshman Enya Lu received first place in her competition, Principles of Finance.

“I was really surprised,” Enya said. “We all sat up on the third floor because we didn’t really think we’d make it [to the top 10,] and then they said my name, and we went running down to the first floor. It was really nerve-wracking, but in the end I was very happy, and it was very surprising.”

Enya also received first place at every competition she competed in, becoming the first person in California DECA to win in both written and roleplay events. In preparation for the competition, she completed past years’ tests and roleplays and studied her key performance indicators, which helped her in creating quality content during her actual presentation.

Enya will be a DECA officer as the Director of Roleplay Events next year.

Aside from Enya, the team of sophomores Dolan Dworak, Brandon Mo and Michael

PROVIDED BY CAROL GREEN

reporters

over every state, especially from all over the world.”

This year, the upper school DECA chapter sent 14 students to compete in addition to six students that attended the Emerging Leaders Series.

DECA anticipates to host next year’s ICDC in Anaheim, California.

Students qualify for National Olympiad reporter & business manager

PILE IT ON Students donate old AP books in the NHS book drive box from a few years ago. NHS began hosting a book drive this week.

PROVIDED BY DARIAN EDVALSON

Two Harker students, sophomores Linus Li and Derek Yen, competed at Las Positas College in Livermore, CA on April 23 for a chance to travel to the 28th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Tbilisi, Georgia from July 23 to August 1.

Selection for the U.S. team comprises two examinations.

Students first take the local Chemistry Olympiad exam, from which up to two students per school advance if they meet the qualification score. The next test qualified students take is the National Chemistry Olympiad exam. From that pool, 20 are picked to attend a two-week study camp at the United States

National Honor Society hosts book drive for AP test prep books ruhi sayana reporter

National Honor Society will host a book drive for used AP test preparation books from Tuesday to May 13. After students complete an AP exam or are finished using their books, they have the option to donate their books, which will be used fpr the Upper School Library and Better World Books.

“I think it’s valuable that we take these books that students are pretty much done with and are able to convert them and get them to people who really need them,” Nikhil Manglik (11) said, a member of the Honor Core Team of National Honor Society.

Students can drop off any used test preparation books in a box that will be located outside of the gym.

Air Force Academy in June, from which four will be selected to represent the U.S. Harker has traditionally

“The United States Department of State did not allow high school students to travel to Pakistan due to safety reasons.

Other Western Nations may have followed.”

ROBBIE KORIN CHEMISTRY TEACHER

performed well on the IChO. In 2009, the school sent three competitors to the national round, breaking the school limit of two qualifiers due to their outstanding performances.

The competition was initially scheduled to take place in Karachi, Pakistan, from July 20 to 29. This year would have been Pakistan’s first year of hosting the IChO. Due to concerns about safety in the country, the U.S. team originally chose not to compete. The government also withdrew its support of the competition, ultimately resulting in the location change.

“The United States Department of State did not allow high school students to travel to Pakistan due to safety reasons,” chemistry teacher Robbie Korin said. “Other western nations

ELECTRON PAIR Linus Li (10) and Derek Yen (10) pose after taking the National Chemistry Olympiad.

Both students qualfied for the exam after taking the local exam.

may have followed. Pakistan gave up the right to host, and Georgia was chosen.”

Linus and Derek will learn their scores on May 6 to see if they will advance to the two week study camp for the IChO.

katherine zhang reporter

Six upper school students attended the Future Problem Solvers (FPS) State Bowl from April 16-17 at St. Anne School.

The team consisting of freshmen Kelly Shen, Sara Min, Taylor Lam and Tiffany Wong placed first in the middle division for their presentation of an action plan and second for their written packet. Sophomore Aria Coalson placed third in the senior division for her written packet. Junior Evani Radiya-Dixit, who competed in the State Bowl as an alternate competitor, placed first in her division.

The freshman team also qualified for the International Conference, while Aria qualified as an alternate competitor.

“Before the competition, I hoped that we would do well, but I never really expected to go to internationals,” Kelly said.

The competition involves presenting a solution to a problem in a future scenario. This year, the scenarios centered around how a global workplace would affect workers, companies and the world economy in general. “[FPS] is one of those programs that truly embodies the idea of youth leadership and development because the students really run the show,” FPS advisor Carol Green said.

The International Conference will be held at Michigan State University from June 1-5.

Journalism students receive awards at convention kathering zhang reporter

Members of Harker Journalism attended the National High School Journalism Conference (NHSJC) to participate in workshops, attend learning sessions and keynote speeches and receive awards from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) from April 14 to April 17.

At the conference, Harker Aquila won a Pacemaker for online reporting.

The Pacemaker is an award presented annually to various types of publications (online, newspaper, yearbook, magazine and broadcast) for outstanding content and coverage as well as other defining characteristics.

“Aquila was up for Pacemaker for small schools with less than 1500 students. And I would say that we outperformed our size; we’re fewer than 800 students yet we produced a continuous stream of content day by day, week over week and that’s pretty surprising,” Ellen Austin, upper school journalism adviser, said. “I believe that we harnessed the entire power of the journalism staff to write, photograph and video and do podcasts for the website. The website is a voice of the entire

journalism program, and I think that is what makes it really amazing.”

The Winged Post placed third in the Best of Show competition for overall excellence.

The Best of Show competition occurs at all NSPA conventions, and publications are judged for their content, design, visuals and depth of coverage.

Schools can enter a variety of publications, such as websites, newspapers, yearbooks, news magazines, broadcast productions and literary arts magazines.

The 15 students who attended the trip included both reporters and editors. A number of reporters who attended had editorial positions for the 20162017 school year with the trip helping them bond with the rest of staff. Participants attended keynotes such as that of Pulitzer Prize winning Jose Antonio Vargas and workshops for budding reporters and editors.

During the convention, the Editor-In-Chief, News Editor, and Sports Editor of Harker Aquila provided their presentation “Putting the New in News.” The students discussed how the reporter of the day system worked to generate a high volume of articles per day.

“I thought it was a great ex-

KAITLIN HSU

shania wang & stanley zhao

PROVIDED BY DEREK YEN

Two sophomores compete in Livermore for International Chemistry Olympiad

Future Problem Solvers win at State Bowl

CAPTURE THE MOMENT Kshithija Mulam (11), an editor on the Winged Post, takes pictures at a keynote session featuring Jose Antonio Vargas. Members of Harker Journalism attended a convention in Los Angeles from April 14 to 17.

perience especially as a learning experience,” Raveena Kapatkar (11), the News Editor for Harker Aquila, said. “I personally never really presented in front of crowds before, and for me it was for my confidence, but as for the journalism program, to show other schools our process and what works for us, to know that our hard work did eventually pay off in the end.”

The students reacted positively to the keynotes, especially that of the aforementioned Vargas.

“We had one keynote that everyone went to on the first night and it was amazing,” Kait-

lin Hsu (10) said. “The speaker talked about his experience as an undocumented immigrant and he even came out as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times. That was a keynote that I believe everyone enjoyed because he breached topics people [in journalism] are going to be engaging in: cases about immigration, racism and addressing them in entirely new ways.”

NSPA plans to host the next annual meeting in Seattle for 2017. Plans to send journalism students have been discussed but not finalized.

NEWS

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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

Celebrating the creative minds of the Upper School

Students show their works at Artstravaganza nicole chen

ARTSTRAVAGANZA (TOP) Annie Zhou (12) looks at artwork during the event. Artstravaganza was held in Nichols during long lunch on Wednesday. (BOTTOM LEFT) Satchi Thockchom (10) plays the drums during the jazz band performance. The students played outside of Nichols during the event. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Kaity Gee (12) reads her work during the reading at the event. Two seniors, five juniors and one freshman read their work.

ALL PHOTOS KSHITHIJA MULAM

reporter

Students and faculty members attended the annual Artstravaganza during long lunch on April 27 in Nichols Atrium, which highlighted artistic achievements from the school year.

The exhibition featured a wide variety of art ranging from painting to poetry to film-making, created by students who have taken an art course during this school year, as well as award-winning art and writing submissions from the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

“The goal was to make it as big and exciting and circus-like as we could do it, so now we also have folded in the jazz band to play, just to try to get as many creative things happening at once,” said Joshua Martinez, photography and AP Studio Art 2D teacher.

Individuals in first semester were able to choose which piece would go in while teachers chose for second semester art students.

Artists had an extensive range of ideas to develop their projects from, giving them the opportunity to showcase pieces portraying different concepts.

Some students had come up with a collective theme that en-

compassed their art.

“My concentration is on fluidity and transformation, so all of my pieces had the idea behind both of those,” Chandler Nelson (12) said. “ A lot of times it’s solid turning into liquid or the idea of transformation, turning into something else.”

In addition to the exhibition, members of the Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM) sold their newly-designed volume 17 during lunch and had a record number of sales that outpaced the total copies printed last year.

There was also a reading held featuring HELM writers and Scholastic award winners.

An element that has changed this year is the way that the art is judged. Previously, a jury would be invited to give rankings for pieces in seven different categories; however, a different system was used for rating this year.

“Instead of ranking student work, we decided that we would ask the jury to just find one work from each category that they felt interested them and provide comments about it so that the artist could kind of hear what they were experiencing,” Martinez said.

Some art students plan on seriously pursuing art after high school, while others intend on keeping art as a passion.

Fungal infection spells death for campus oak maya valluru

Aquila copy editor & Aquila asst. news editor

On Monday, April 4, students and faculty returned from spring break to see that the oak tree in the Quad next to the kiosk had been cut down. The approximately 40 year old tree was deemed in distress almost 10 years ago, but curing it from a pervasive fungal infection proved impossible.

According to facilities manager Mike Bassoni, a certified arborist stated that the tree could not be salvaged from the fungus that had been growing on its roots. The particular fungus that

damaged the oak is a common threat to trees throughout California. “[The fungus] can lay dormant in the soil for decades before being triggered by specific environmental conditions,” he said. “Once it attacks a tree, it is virtually unstoppable. For the safety of the Harker community, we were forced to take the tree down.”

A colony of formica ants were seen swarming outside the freshly cut logs for a few days since the tree had been cut down. This kind of ant is named for the formic acid in its body, giving it a very distinct smell

when squashed.

Four other oak trees on campus, including the Black Oak that once stood near Mr. Williamson’s office and those behind Nichols, have been removed from the ground and boxed. These trees will be replanted in the same area that the original large oak once stood. New campus construction plans include bringing around 190 new trees to the quad.

The area in the Quad that has now been cleared and will soon be planted with other healthy oaks will be transformed into a place for students to convene.

ALEX YOUN

School tried to save 40-year-old plant deemed in distress from fungus

TIMBER The oak tree behind the library was cut down because of root fungus. The newly cleared land near the Quad where the 40-year-old oak tree used to stand will be transformed into a seating area.

JUSTIN SU

riety of rides available, which include roller coasters, carousels, swing rides and bumper cars.

“I’ve never been to Great America before, so I don’t really know what all the hype is about there,” Cedric Nowatzyk (9) said. “I guess it’s going to be an eye-opening experience hanging out with friends and exploring what this amusement park’s appeal is.”

Other students look forward to the lab assignment as well as the rides. “[I’m excited to] go on rides with my friends,” freshman Meghna Phalke said. “I think it’ll be really interesting to find out what [the physics teachers] FEEL THE FORCE Students ride the Vortex roller coaster as part of a gravitational force lab for class. Physics students will travel to California’s have in store for us.”

Great America on Friday to complete a physics lab and enjoy the park.

However, some students are attending mainly to have having fun and going on roller rose guan fun with their friends rather coasters and eating bad food, reporter than because they enjoy physics but hopefully [students will] or the various rides themselves.

Physics students will trav- also now think about it in terms “I am terrified of roller el to California’s Great America of forces.” coasters, and I hate the feeling amusement park to complete of being on a roller coaster,” a lab about roller coasters and Zachary Wong (9) said. “I didn’t gravitational force on Friday. want to be the only one not goStudents who attend, coming and miss all the other fun prising mostly freshmen but also with my friends.” including some students in othThe trip has taken place aner grades, will miss classes on nually since 2000. the day of the trip. Those who “It originally started bechose not to go or cannot attend cause the freshmen didn’t have due to scheduling conflicts will a class trip; there wasn’t sort complete an alternate lab asof a specific thing for freshmen signment at the upper school. other than orientation,” Radice “From a physics standpoint, said.

“So we thought we could [students are] going to be using get two things at once: we could themselves as an acceleromeget them to do physics and think ter to determine the number about the academic side but also of g’s they experience while have a group class bonding exriding roller coasters. From a LISA RADICE perience.” non-physics standpoint, they PHYSICS TEACHER All of the physics teachers will be enjoying Great America,” will chaperone the trip, along physics teacher Lisa Radice said.

Students are excited to visit with some teachers of other sub“When people think of going the amusement park for the vajects. to Great America, they think of

“When people think of going to Great America, they think of having fun and going on roller coasters and eating bad food, but hopefully [students will] also now think about it in terms of forces.”

DANCING QUEENS The junior varsity dance team poses for a picture along with the middle school dance troupe, Showstoppers, after their performance. The two dance groups performed at “Dance Days” at Great America for the park’s 40th anniversary.

PROVIDED BY SONAL MUTHAL

Gravity lab puts new spin on physics

Dance performs at Great America anjay saklecha reporter

Harker’s dance teams, junior varsity dance and Showstoppers, performed their routines at California’s Great America for its “Dance Days” show on April 9.

In total, JV Dance had six routines. One routine consisted of Christie Chen (9), Miranda Larsen (10) and juniors Noor Singh and Surabhi Rao presenting a jazz combination they developed at the USA Dance Camp they attended last summer. Showstoppers, the all-girls middle school troupe, performed three dances. Overall, the teams performed a variety of dances ranging from jazz to hip-hop to lyrical.

Great America hosts two “Dance Days” annually, both in April. ‘Dance Days’ offers different schools the opportunity to showcase their students’ dancing abilities on a professional stage in a non-competitive environment. Harker had the chance to attend Great

America’s most recent “Dance Days” show for the first time.

This year’s show was part of the celebration of the amusement park’s 40th anniversary.

“We contacted Great America for ‘Dance Days,’ a program that [the amusement park] does, and they have different dance companies and schools to go and perform at the park,” JV dance choreographer Rachelle Haun.

After the performance, the girls celebrated and enjoyed their day on rides.

Sonal Muthal (9), a member of JV dance, described her newfound experience by performing at the amusement park for the first time along with Showstoppers.

“It was actually amazing going there and performing for the crowd, but it wasn’t very busy, so that was kind of a letdown,” Sonal said.

The JV troupe performed for the final time this year on April 22 during the upper school’s annual spring rally.

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NEWS

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

Seniors vacation in Laguna Beach and Disneyland vivek bharadwaj & nicole chen & prameela kottapalli editor-in-chief & reporters

JOHNATHAN DAI

The class of 2016 will travel to the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, California, and Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, for its class trip from May 14 to May 17.

Trip adviser Anthony Silk organized the trip to celebrate graduation and to provide a last chance for the senior class to bond. The seniors will spend time at Laguna Beach on Saturday and Monday and will visit Disneyland on Sunday. The itinerary features an advisory dinner held on the first night, a pizza and ice cream party on Tuesday, and a movie showing with popcorn on the final night of the trip. Optional activities include morning yoga in front of the ocean, a sand castle building competition, and a beach volleyball competition.

Other activities offered at the Surf & Sand Resort include swimming, kayaking and surfing and seniors can also enjoy themselves shopping in the town of Laguna Beach.

Students will leave at 8 a.m. on May 14 by bus and will be back by the night of May 17.

The trip marks the conclusion of the seniors’ high school careers.

“I hope that [the seniors] spend the time reflecting on their last four years thinking about what’s been good about harker, what’s been lacking about harker, the friends they’ve made and perhaps reconnecting with friends they haven’t seen for whatever reason,” Silk said.

CAPS OFF Members of the Class of 2015 throws their caps into the air as they celebrate their graduation from high school. The seniors will graduate this year at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on May 19.

Graduation falls on weeknight, Priscilla Chan to be 2016 speaker tiffany wong reporter

The Class of 2016 will graduate at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on Thursday, May 19.

“Each class has their own personality; I have now seen 35 classes graduate and no two have been alike,” Butch Keller, Head of the Upper School, said.

“My special connection with student councils and teams that I have coached create a special bond.”

Unlike previous years, grad-

uation will take place on a weekday, as opposed to Saturday.

Priscilla Chan, former Harker teacher, pediatrician, philanthropist and co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will speak at the ceremony.

The seniors received their caps and gowns during their class meeting on Tuesday, April 2. Sahana Narayanan reflected on her high school journey and how she was looking forward to graduation.

“The whole experience of trying on my cap and gown was pretty surreal; it was one of those moments I thought would never arrive,” Sahana said. “I’m happy to move forward on to the next adventure and to see where everyone ends up in ten years.”

This year’s valedictorian, Anika Mohindra, will address the Class of 2016 at graduation.

“I was pretty surprised when I found out that I would be this year’s valedictorian,” Anika

said. “I think my speech is going to have a serious theme and perhaps overall tone, but that isn’t to say there won’t be any funny anecdotes.”

Baccalaureate this year will be on Wednesday, May 18. Seniors will vote on their speaker, who will be announced during the senior trip.

The Class of 2016 will participate in a graduation rehearsal on Wednesday, May 18, at the Mountain Winery.

michael sikand

KSHITHIJA MULAM

reporter

SENIOR TRIP Seniors shout in the senior rally. Just like rallies are a bonding experience for seniors, the senior trip is a time for seniors to come together.

The prom committee held this year’s prom at the GlassHouse in downtown San Jose on April 23 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight.

Upwards of 300 students attended the annual event in downtown San Jose. This year, the prom committee decided on the “after-party” theme, complete with a sleek decor, fancy settings and a night-life ambiance.

Included in the night were desserts supplied by Lovebites, and music curated and provided

by Elite Entertainment.

Originally being held at the smaller Silicon Valley Capital

Club, the large expected attendance led to the location change.

The GlassHouse is larger than the previous venue, capturing the essence of the Hollywood, exclusive theme.

Layla Walker (12), student leader for the prom committee and Spirit Club president, described the event.

“It took a lot of focused planning to give our seniors a truly amazing final dance in their high-school lives,” she said.

“I really think we accomplished our goal, and the event was an awesome success, the venue alone really invigorated the experience”.

Eric Kallbrier, Assistant Activities Coordinator, reflected on

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER Alayna Richmond (11) waits at the prom check-in table. This year, prom was held at the GlassHouse in San Jose instead of it’s usual venue, the Silicon Valley Capital Club in San Jose.

the event as a whole.

“We had an extraordinary prom, a new venue, a great DJ,

CATHERINE HUANG

attend “after-party” PROM: Students themed prom

the best part was that everybody left with smiles on their faces,” he said.

katherine zhang reporter

Three speakers from the speech and debate team competed in the California High School Speech Association State Championship tournament at Mission College in Santa Clara, California, from April 16-18.

Students Nikhil Dharmaraj (9), Sana Aladin (11) and Divya Rajasekharan (11) qualified for the tournament by placing in the top nine for their events at the Coast Forensic League State Quals Individual Events tournament. At the state qualifiers, Nikhil placed third out of 41 participants, while Sana and Divya, who competed together, placed fourth out of 27 duos.

“It’s very difficult to qualify for the state tournament because our region is very competitive, so for our students to qualify is a very big deal,” upper school speech coach Greg Achten said.

Nikhil participated in Oratorical Interpretation (OI), an event in which a participant must memorize and deliver 10 minutes of a publicly given speech of their choice. He chose to present the speech “Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career,” which was originally given as a TED Talk by writer Larry Smith.

“My OI this year is about finding our passions and how we so often create excuses to get out of pursuing them,” Nikhil said. “I’ve always been a strong believer that everyone needs to

find their passion to succeed.

This speech called to me, as I was excited by the prospect of motivating people to get up and actually start looking for their passions.”

Sana and Divya participated in Duo Interpretation, which involves memorizing and performing a 10-minute scene from a work of literature. The two chose to perform a scene from “The Accused”, a 1988 film that tells the story of a woman who is gang-raped and decides to prosecute her rapists in court. Sana portrays the woman in the piece, while Divya portrays her lawyer. “[The Accused] is a critically

“It’s very difficult to qualify for the state tournament because our region is very competitive so for our students to qualify is a very big deal.”

GREG ACHTEN SPEECH COACH acclaimed movie with two powerful female characters about a topic that’s super important,” Sana said. “We think that speech is a great platform for talking about things that are important to us, so this is something that

means a lot to us.”

The speakers have been preparing for the tournament since the beginning of the year and continue to polish their pieces and improve their delivery for future tournaments.

“I think if you really love the piece that you’re doing and the social message and the cause, you will inherently be more invested in the acting and the production of it,” Divya said. “That passion really comes through when you perform, and that’s what really helped us secure our position at the tournament.”

All three speakers have qualified for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC).

In order to qualify, speakers must have either received two bids from certain tournaments or submitted an at-large application listing the awards they have won this year. Sana and Divya received two bids, while Nikhil submitted an at-large application and was accepted. Nikhil also qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Championships by placing first in OI at the district tournament. All speakers who place in the top three in their events can attend the national championships.

The NIETOC will be held in Denver from May 13 to 15, while the NSDA National Championships will be in Salt Lake City from June 12 to 17.

ALL PHOTOS MEILAN STEIMLE

Upper school speakers compete in state championship tournament

SPEECH SHOWCASE (TOP) Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) gestures as he presents his Original Oratory, titled “Sinking, Sinking, Sunk!,” to an audience.

“The speech is focused on educating others about the positives of quitting and helping others realize that giving up is okay,” Nikhil said.

(BOTTOM) Sana Aladin (11) and Divya Rajasekharan (11) perform their Duo Interpretation “The Accused,” a ten-minute adaptation of the movie of the same name. “The Accused” centers around a victim of gang rape and her efforts to prosecute the men who sexually assualted her.

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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

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officeteam@danceacademyusa.com

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Fast Facts

• Rape of Nanjing: Mass slaughter and rape incident in Nanjing, China, during World War II. Estimates range from 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese dead.

• Former comfort women have been protesting in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for 25 years for legal reparations.

• Class A Japanese war criminals are still being honored at the Yasukuni Shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo in Japan.

• Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has visited Yasukuni Shrine multiple times to pay homage to the deceased.

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 7, 2016

KAITY GEE

FEATURES

brian park reporter

The Japanese government has continued to downplay or deny claims of sexual slavery and other crimes committed against humanity during World War II. Over 70 years later, they still have failed to resolve the issue, in spite of testimonies from several victims of Japanese sexual slavery.

After the Rape of Nanjing, the Japanese government sought to enforce discipline among soldiers. Deciding that their soldiers needed to redirect their sexual frustration in a more silent and covert way, the Japanese government abducted women or girls from their homes from various countries under imperial Japanese rule. Those who were not kidnapped were offered job opportunities in factories and restaurants.

In stark contrast to what they were promised, the women and girls were kept as sexual slaves in brutal conditions and tortured. Although women who survived were set free after World War II, they remained silent due to fear of social stig-

ma. These survivors came to be known as comfort women.

Lee Yong Soo, a former comfort woman known by many as Grandmother Lee, spoke at an event at the Santa Clara University campus with Esther Peralez-Dieckmann, the director of the Office of Women’s Policy of Santa Clara County, on March.

11.

States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and ended her testimony by directly addressing the Japanese government.

“If you cannot apologize, then give me back my youth,” she said.

There remain only approximately 50 known comfort women survivors from South Korea, a number that continues to slowly

“It is difficult for me to tell people exactly what happened; when I do, I must hold back my tears every time. For the women in this world, it is necessary that these sort of crimes are rooted out. It is necessary that I testify. “ LEE YONG SOO FORMER COMFORT WOMAN Because Japan has still yet to offer legal reparations comfort that women survivors deem satisfactory, Grandmother Lee continues to testify about her harrowing experiences as a comfort woman.

In 2007, she recounted her treatment at the hands of the Japanese military to the United

decrease.

“It is difficult for me to tell people exactly what happened; when I do, I must hold back my tears every time,” Grandmother Lee said. “For the women in this world, it is necessary that these sort of crimes are rooted out. It is necessary that I testify.”

The story of comfort wom-

en touches many, including students at the Harker School.

Ayla Ekici (12), a member of the Female Empowerment (FEM) Club, agreed with Grandmother Lee. “This doesn’t get much coverage in the Western world,” Ayla said. “We definitely need to do something about it and help these women who were used as sexual tools.”

Despite her patience for the past 25 years, Grandmother Lee has become increasingly frustrated with the waning interest on the issue of comfort women.

“There is evidence and testimony against Japan! I myself am a live witness, evidence, of their crimes,” Grandma Lee exclaimed. “And yet, they still deny it. They have been lying from the very beginning, and they are continuing to do so. They are determined to lie to the bitter end. We cannot stay beaten and continue to be beaten. I have remained alive for all these years for the sole purpose of revealing the truth. The day I die is the day the truth is revealed and recognized.”

maya kumar & nisha shankar asst. features editor & reporter

In January 1862, the French army invaded the Mexican state of Puebla. Unable to use the aid of the Civil War-stricken U.S. army, the Mexican army rounded up its troops to combat the French independently. They eventually defeated the French in a battle on May 5, 1886, now known as Cinco de Mayo.

In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is not a very widely celebrated holiday, but it is often celebrated within Mexican-American communities.

“Individually [Mexicans] don’t celebrate it, but there are times when the community itself has little parades and stuff,” Felix Roman (10) said. “And other times, [people from] mostly Hispanic neighborhoods, [in Mexico,] actually drive around for a little bit with the Mexican flags in their cars.”

Spanish teacher Diana Moss

Fast Facts

celebrates Cinco de Mayo by teaching students the history behind the holiday and bringing in piñatas for her classes.

“To me personally, I think it has become in the United States an opportunity to celebrate people of Hispanic background,” she said. “It has become an opportunity for Mexican-Americans to celebrate their roots.”

Many students confuse Cinco de Mayo with Mexico’s Independence Day, on Sept. 16, which is more widely celebrated in Mexico than Cinco de Mayo.

“For us Mexicans, September 15th and September 16th is the biggest event because it’s the Independence Day, and then [on] November 20th it’s a civil war [celebration],” catering director Gustavo Parra said. “It’s beautiful. We celebrate as you guys celebrate here. But really, in the school I never learned what’s the big deal Cinco de Mayo is. [It] doesn’t represent a lot for Mexicans.”

• Even though the Mexican army won the battle, the French still occupied Puebla for five years after the original Cinco de Mayo.

• Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated in Puebla itself, and it is not recognized as a federal holiday by the Mexican government.

ALL PHOTOS ASHLEY JIANG

Spanish classes celebrate Cinco de Mayo

NEAR THE END OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS (TOP) Natalie Simonian (12) goes on to stage with her research mentor, History Department Head Donna Gilbert to discuss the inspiration behind her research. (LEFT) The ceremony ended with each Near Mitra scholar signing their research paper.

Reception honors 8 Near, Mitra Scholars zachary hoffman reporter

Eight Harker seniors who received John Near and Mitra Family Scholar grants presented their papers to friends, teachers and family during a reception on April 25.

The John Near Endowment funds students whose research focuses on American History, while the Mitra Family Endowment supports topics in the humanities.

Elisabeth Siegel (12), a Mitra scholar, wrote on Palestinians and how they were perceived by the media.

“I started by reading a lot of background literature on postcolonial theory over the summer, and then I came up with an outline in the fall,” she said. “It involved a lot of first-hand research that I had to do, so I had to read a bunch of news articles.”

Many scholars enjoyed

spending their time writing about topics they were interested in.

“It took me a whole semester to finalize my thesis,” said Mitra scholar Natalie Simonian (12), who wrote about conspira-

“To have a chance to do this something like this, a formal project, on something that I’ve been really interested all my life is really cool.”

NATALIE SIMONIAN (12) cies concerning Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. “I’ve been really interested in the Romanov since I was six and I read a book about them, so to have a

chance to do this something like this on something that I’ve been really interested all my life is really cool.”

Kaity Gee (12) wrote about women in the punk rock movements during the 1970s and 1980s.

“Well I was always a little bit of a punk rocker,” she said. “I was really into the music genre in the fifth grade and it kind of grew from there.”

Scholars were also advised by various teachers from the history department.

“It was really based on my research mentors that helped me narrow it down into a topic that I could write a paper on because when I started out, I was pretty general, and I could have written a novel on what I wanted to write a paper on,” Elisabeth said.

“Mr. Halback and Ms. Smith have been really helpful in helping me do that.”

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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

“Everything is Rosie” at the spring musical, “Bye Bye Birdie” kaity gee & kaitlin hsu & maya kumar

Wingspan asst.editor & Aquila features editor & asst. features editor

“While the content of “Bye Bye Birdie” was charming and about love, nothing serious, it’s very hard to convey that sense of enthusiasm authentically.”

LAURA LANG-REE PREFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT HEAD production of “Bye, Bye Birdie.” “[My favorite aspect of the show] probably is the energy.

This show is very alive,” she said. “It’s not one that has boring parts. The whole thing is really vibrant at all times.”

When Conrad Birdie arrives, Sweet Apple, Ohio, is electrified – disgruntled parents, awestruck children and obsessive teenagers’ lives turn upside down.

“Hello, this is Harvey Johnson. Can I speak to Penelope

ALL PHOTOS MAYA KUMAR

The Upper School Conservatory took audiences on a jukebox jammin’ ride for this year’s annual spring musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie”, from April 12 to April 14 at the Blackford theater.

When rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob Conrad Birdie (Emre Ezer, 11) is drafted into the army, managers Albert Peterson (Kayvon Solaimanpour, 11) and Rosie Alvarez (Namitha Vellian, 12) organize a contest for one lucky girl, Kim MacAfee (Mia Giammona, 11), to receive his one last kiss. Hilarity ensues when her jealous lover, Hugo Peabody; disapproving parents and lovestruck fans prepare for Conrad’s appearance in the town.

The comedic plot and large cast of “Bye, Bye Birdie” lend a hand to the upbeat energy it brings to the audience, contrasting with last year’s dark, modern (spring?) musical, “Into the Woods.” “[The students] had not had a traditional old school musical with lots of song and dance, lots of choral enthusiasm and joy,” Performing Arts Department Head Laura Lang-Ree said. “It sounds very light and fluffy at first, and while the content of ‘Bye, Bye Birdie’ was charming and about love, nothing serious, it’s very hard to convey that sense of enthusiasm authentically.”

“Bye, Bye Birdie” is a jiving jitterbug performance. The show featured complex choreography, showcasing featured dancers like Hazal Gurcan (11), who also performed as a part of the teen ensemble. Though she has participated in dance, “Bye, Bye Birdie” was Hazal’s first musical.

“I think the hardest part was learning the songs and figuring out how to act without being obnoxious because I don’t normally act,” she said.

Rachel Renteria (12) belted out the overture, her voice ringing loud and clear through the Blackford theater. Rachel has participated in the (spring?) musical for three years, and she has also previously performed in a

Ann?” sang Johnny Trinh (12) as the awkward teenager, Harvey Johnson. In a broken voice, three-year musical veteran Johnny wails into a telephone.

“Perhaps the hardest part is intentionally trying to crack my voice,” he said. “I didn’t know how to do it before, but now I

6 sides of a Greek coin

nicole chen & aneesha kumar reporters

1

Despite the numerous tourist shops and multiple traditional Greek restaurants in Delphi, Greece, shopping on only two streets with shops filled with the same tourist souve-

NO DRACHMA ZONE

3 On the other side of the Athens city square is an enormous flea market.

Walking through the single street, you can

nirs can sometimes feel dreary. However, an unexpected turn into the streets can lead to you and your friends leaning across a ledge before the mountains to observe a goat migration. As we looked down, we saw over 200 goats of all shapes, sizes and colors trek in a long line across the mountains.

see a wide range of shops with numerous goods, including body yogurt, ten-euro sandals, honey and street art. Strolling through the flea market gives any tourist an authentic view of traditional Greek culture and goods.

ITS MALL GREEK TO ME 5

Near the center city square with the Metropolis Cathedral of Athens is the main shopping street, Athinas Street. The street contains shops ranging from American

stores, such as H&M, to stores only in Europe, such as Pull and Bear. Moreover, numerous restaurants filled with natives as well as tourists, line the streets. You can spend hours on this expansive street, which is conveniently located.

ALL PHOTOS PRAMEELA KOTTAPALI

Over Spring Break, 15 Harker students participated in the Italy and Greece trip, marking the first time this opportunity was open to students. Students had the chance to participate in and observe all aspects of the big Greek cities.

LET’S GOAT CRAZY

CRUISIN’ WITH THE COOL CATS (TOP) Matthew Hajjar (9), Markus Wong (10), and Mathew Mammen (9) perform in a scene called “Telephone Hour.” (LEFT) The “Teen Ensemble” serenades rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob Conrad Birdie, (RIGHT) Kayvon Solaimanpour (11) and Namitha Vellian (12) sing in the final scene of the musical.

do. That basically the hardest part for me personally, but it’s fun, so that trumps everything.”

The cast performed four shows, one on each evening, and an additional matinee show on April 14.

PARTHE-NOT TO MISS 2

The Parthenon is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Athens, the capital of Greece. Known as the temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess, Athena,

OLIVE YOU

4 Many individuals recognize different European cuisines; however, much of traditional Greek food is unfamiliar for Americans. Ranging from

MESMER-EYES 6

As you walk down the busy streets of Athens, you will see many interesting street performers. Athens is full of unique artists with various different crafts

the Parthenon is a magnificent historical site.

However, moving one’s eye away from the temple and towards the other direction is a bigger amazement. Due to the outcrop that the Parthenon sits on, the entire city of Athens is visible from it. The white buildings throughout the city run until the horizon.

Greek salad to spanakopita, a spinach-filled puff pastry, to gyros, roasted meat served in pita bread, Greek food is for everyone and is an integral part of Greek culture. Greek salad is one of the most famous Greek dishes Additionally, Greece is famous for its thick honey and rich olive oil.

such as musical instruments, dancing, painting and magic shows.

Examples we saw on the main street, Athinas Street, included a dancer with a clear glass ball performing an intricate, mesmerizing routine and a mime performance.

POEM IN YOUR POCKET (TOP) students exchange poems for Poem in Your Pocket day on April 21. (LEFT) A student’s pocket holds Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem Afternoon on a Hill. “Poetry is a pure expression of emotion and thought,” Nikhil Ramgiri (12) said.

Students celebrate Poetry Month prameela kottapalli reporter

A poet sits in a silent room, a notebook open to a fresh page perched on her lap. A pen is poised in her hand, hovering inches above the blank sheet of paper. She has so much to say, but she has yet to know where to start. Suddenly, an idea pops into her mind, almost like a cartoon lightbulb being illuminated atop her head. She begins to write, the words of her soul flowing out in black ink, contrasting sharply with the white emptiness of the paper. It is as if her hand is an extension of her heart.

Poets and readers across the globe commemorated poetry this April, which marked the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month, the largest annual literary celebration in the world.

The Academy of American Poets (AAP) founded National Poetry Month in 1996 after witnessing the success of February’s celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month in March.

Students are encouraged to become a part of the Academy of American poets to show their year-round support for poets and

poetry. Vivian Nguyen, a sophomore at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose and a member of AAP, shared her favorite part about being involved in the world of poetry.

“I love how, when I analyze the content of poems, I can see how much they apply to my own life,” Vivian said. “It’s really fascinating.”

Despite poetry being recognized in English classes, each day, fewer and fewer people read poetry for leisure and truly appreciate the creative inspiration that it has to offer. Amelia Huchley (9), a subscriber to poetry forums and a reader through websites such as Wattpad and Ao3, expressed her thoughts on why poetry is the “invisible horse” of literature.

“I think that the reason why people don’t pay much attention to poetry is because it’s difficult to grasp the underlying feeling,” she said. “Poetry is condensed and very figurative in how it expresses things, so I think people tend to choose prose or music instead because they don’t require as much thought in terms of what it might mean.”

A8

FEATURES • VOLUME 17 ISSUE 7 • MAY 4, 2016

Game Theory and Honors US History offered as part of 2016-2017 course list vignesh panchanatham reporter

Upper school students have the option of taking Game Theory and Honors US History next year, adding new classes to the Business and Entrepreneurship (B&E) and History departments.

The B&E department added the Game Theory course as another academic option postAP. Students will be able to take Game Theory after completing AP Microeconomics.

Sam Lepler, the B&E department head and current teacher of the economics courses and advisor to Oeconomia, will teach the course next year.

PROVIDED BY ALISA SU

JENNA SADHU

SELFIE Alisa Su (10), the designer of the Geotags, poses in a selfie marked with her creation. Alisa created two unique geofilters for Snapchat that show up only on the Harker campus.

Harker Snapchat geotag hits campus jenna sadhu reporter

Upper school student Alisa Su created two Geofilters on Snapchat that can only be accessed on the Saratoga campus.

According to Snapchat, Geofilters appear in thousands of places around the world.

Geofilters are designs that indicate the area someone is in when they take a “Snap.” Swipe right or left on the screen to add colored filters, the current time, weather, speed overlays or Geofilters to pictures and videos.

Alisa Su (10), designer of both geotag filters, submitted her designs and received approval for her creations.

“It’s a fairly simple process” Alisa said. “I created different designs using the app Illustrator

on my laptop. First, you need to create your own artwork that has no copyrighted logos or anything. Then you submit it on the Snapchat site and you need to answer a few simple questions.

It took about a month for mine to get approved.”

Snapchat states that Geofilter creators need to meet specific guidelines: the design cannot contain logos or unoriginal artwork, it needs to be visually appealing, and it cannot have photographs or hashtags.

“The rules that Snapchat enforced for Geofilters are pretty easy to meet” Alisa said. “I really like designing and creating little logos like this, so it was easy for my filter to get approved. Some people have to keep resubmitting in order to get a confirmation. I got lucky because both

my filters were accepted the first time around.”

Students around campus have been using Alisa’s Geofilters on campus by swiping left or right after taking a photograph or video on Snapchat.

Some send personal Snapchats with the filter to specific people, or post on their Snap Stories, which are visible to one’s friends for 24 hours.

“My friends from other schools are jealous of the Harker filters” Mitchell Kole (10) said.

“Most other schools’ filters aren’t as creative as ours. They’re usually just the school’s name in a common font. Ours are cool.”

Alisa plans to submit more Geofilters in the near future for students to enjoy.

TICK-TACK-TOE SHOW ME ALL YOU KNOW Tic-tac-toe is an example of a solved game theory game, a post-AP economics course offered next year. Honors U.S. History and Game Theory will be new courses available for next school year.

“[Game theory] is unbelievably applicable to almost every facet of real life,” Lepler said. “From figuring out the strategy of dating to strategies in sports for penalty kicks or playing tennis, you try to find what is the strategy there. And it’s not always to got to your strengths.”

Arnav Tandon (11) looks forward to taking game theory next year for both the games and videos in the class as well as the subject material.

“When we learned about it in micro initially, I was very intrigued by the whole psychological aspect of game theory,

the behavioral prediction part.”

Arnav said. “I am looking forward to taking a much more detailed course regarding it.”

Honors US History will be available for juniors next year as a more challenging alternative to US History and a less intense option than AP US History. The course will be taught

by Katy Rees, Damon Halback, and Julie Wheeler, the current US history team.

“We thought there were and have been students at Harker who have, in their junior year, been really busy with things outside their history course, who may want an alternative, since APUSH is such an intense course,” Donna Gilbert, head of the history department said.

Evan Barth, the academic dean at the upper school, commented on the transition period to find the ideal honors class, referring to the feedback he received from the implementation of the Honors World History 2 course two years ago.

“Since every junior takes US History, having this new option is a game changer,” Barth said. “With a new core class, it takes a while to figure out what the perfect balance between honors and AP is, but I think we’re pretty good on that right now.”

Satchi Thockchom (10) reflected on the class that she plans to take for next year.

“I am looking forward to the more in depth view compared to [AP US History] and learning about my own country’s history,” Satchi said. “Regular is really slow-paced and deep, but not as challenging as honors and [AP US History] is really broad and very fast-paced and challenging, so there is a nice balance between the two.”

Game theory and Honors US History add additional variety to the plethora of options Harker students will have in the years to come.

Senior Shoutout:

HI JDASH HI JDASH!!

Thanks so much for being such amazing EICs for yearbook! We’ve watched you guys grow so much, from the evolution of Ashley’s winged eyeliner to JD’s hair shenanigans, and now you guys are leaving the TALON nest and going off into the world. It’s crazy to think that you guys are leaving us already, when there’s so much more mian bao to be eaten and more snapchat selfies to be screenshotted. You guys have left us with so many memories— Ashley dancing to K-pop (and now we know too much about korean dramas now—DotS??? Produce 101 is about groceries) and watching JD ball (shooting 3s on the daily?? You wish).

TALON FAM is the best fam, and anyone that disagrees is just jealous.

WE LOVE YOU GUYS! — TALON FAM

OPINION

A9

VOLUME 19 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

Editors-in-Chief Elisabeth Siegel & Vivek Bharadwaj Managing Editor Kavya Ramakrishnan Copy Editor Meena Gudapati News Editor Kshithija Mulam

Rising to the challenge:

Green Challenge encourages student body to rethink resource usage

Features Editor Meilan Steimle Asst. Features Editor Maya Kumar Opinion Editor Aditya Varshney

ROSE GUAN

Asst. Opinion Editor Vijay Bharadwaj STEM Editor Vineet Kosaraju

Sports Editor Trisha Dwivedi Asst. Sports Editor Justin Su Business Editor Stanley Zhao Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Wingspan Editor-in-Chief Shay Lari-Hosain Wingspan Staff Kaity Gee Kaitlin Hsu Vijay Bharadwaj Aquila Editor-in-Chief Sharanya Balaji Aquila Staff Trisha Dwivedi Kaitlin Hsu Ayushi Gautam Raveena Kapatkar Maya Valluru Vineet Kosaraju

Tara Parimi Sahana Srinivasan Justin Su Aditya Varshney Alex Wang

Reporters Neil Bai Brian Park Nicole Chen Anika Rajamani Adrian Chu Lauren Russell Rithika Devarakaonda Jenna Sadhu Rose Guan Anjay Saklecha Ria Gupta Ruhi Sayana Zachary Hoffman Nisha Shankar Ashley Jiang Michael Sikand Aneesha Kumar Shania Wang Prameela Kottapalli Tiffany Wong Melina Nakos Derek Yen Vignesh Panchanatham Katherine Zhang

GREEN POINTS Students earned points in the Upper School Green Team’s Green Challenge by reporting their eco-friendly activiities through the JouleBug app. Each action earned a certain number of points, and points earned went towards a class total.

EDITORIAL THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST Earth week featured the Upper School Green Team’s initiative to promote environmentally friendly practices through a class competition.

People from all grades buzzed in on the Joulebug app to earn points for their “green” actions. The Green Challenge aimed to inform us about our resource usage and how we could individually reduce our carbon footprints for a collective benefit.

And it succeeded, in more ways than one.

This “Green Challenge” brought forth high participation rates from all the classes.

Not just that, the contest heated up to spirit rally proportions; the

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handful of garbage is tedious work.

So if our daily inability to separate our trash is any indication, we’ll quickly forget the competition ever happened and resume wasteful habits now that the winning class has been decided.

But there is a chance that the people who took the initiative seriously found that their small inputs -- making sure that faucets don’t drip, carpooling more

“But how well would the individual actions enocuraged through the week-long contest translate to efficiecy habits in the long run? “ frequently, turning off appliances -- shrunk their carbon footprint.

As a publication, we have concentrated on climate change every issue of this year.

The monthly Global Reset column in the STEM pages featured subjects related to the issue.

Reporters discussed various contributors to global warming along with ways that companies and individuals are making a dent. The common thread: each approach starts small.

While student initiatives and class challenges help us develop a sense of ecological responsibility, we ultimately need to counter our individual apathy and accept responsibility for wasteful actions, even if it means sacrificing daily luxuries.

Everyone has the ability to contribute in some way every day, and we proved that in the Green Challenge.

But every step of the way matters, no matter how small or big, and we can conscientiously change our daily routines to support to benefit our earth.

Appreciation is the best path forward

Visit The Winged Post Online at www.harkeraquila.com

The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism and Advanced Journalism Newspaper Concentration courses of Harker Upper School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129.

The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, and sports in an unbiased and professional manner and serve as a public forum for the students of The Harker School. Editorials are the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion 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 advisor.

Advertisements are accepted in the Post. However, The Winged Post reserves the right to deny any ad. Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to wingedpost2016@harker. org 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 which call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication.

Letters sent to the Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff.

The Winged Post is the official student newspaper, and it is distributed free of cost to students.

winning class (Class of 2017) defeated the runner-up (Class of 2019) by just 14 points.

But how well would the individual actions encouraged through the week-long contest translate into efficiency habits in the long run?

Will we stop accelerating needlessly on the freeway, continue composting banana peels or refrain from using plastic water bottles?

Our ongoing longterm green efforts, such as the “Wet and Dry” garbage system, indicate that we each have to improve. Implemented at the end of the 2014 school year in all four campuses, “Wet and Dry” has the potential to eliminate Harker’s recyclable waste from landfills.

Yet, two years after its introduction, many Upper School students (inadvertently) throw garbage in the wrong receptacles. After all, scanning through our

tiffany wong reporter

The forecasted sunny, warm day turned stormy and gray after I misplaced my English essay and realized that I had forgotten to complete my physics homework the night before.

Dinnertime was quiet that night. I was attempting to tune out my parents’ questions about my day.

To me, silence was better than telling them that I’d bombed my math test, that someone had spilled food on my new sweater and that I’d tripped over a backpack in front of Dobbins.

It wasn’t until my mother dabbed at her eyes with a napkin and slammed the door to her bedroom that I realized how much I

had hurt her by not responding.

We take the time every day to care for ourselves. What am I wearing? How do I look? Who should I hang out with? As a result, we easily forget how our actions affect others, focusing on our own needs and interests instead.

When we fail to consider others, we weaken our relationships with the people in our lives.

“Appreciating those who care about our well-being helps us understand the importance of each person in our lives. “ As students, appreciation is the reason why some of us thank the kitchen staff for providing us with food every day; the librarians for helping us find books and research materials; and our teachers for their dedication

TIFFANY WONG

Asst. STEM Editor Sahana Srinivasan

THANK YOU Taking the time to appreciate the people in our lives can seem tedious and inconsequential, but a quick word of thankfulness can enhance almost every relationship.

to educating others.

When we attempt to show our appreciation, we often encounter the problem of finding the most appropriate way to do so. I typically show my appreciation by talking to other people about their concerns.

Our appreciation may not get recognition immediately, but the best way to show others we care is to simply keep trying. Ultimately, appreciation and patience go handin-hand.

Appreciating those who care about our well-being helps us

understand the importance of each person in our lives.

Who helped you out with math homework?

Did anyone make you smile recently?

By learning to recognize the little ways in which people express their concern for us, we begin to understand how we can appreciate them as well.

Personally, after that night, I understood that communication serves as appreciation in my family. And appreciation has turned a quiet, tense part of the day into a time for us to eat, talk and laugh together.

A10

OPINION • VOLUME 17 ISSUE 7 • MAY 4, 2016

eart of Harker: Being a Sikh at the Harker school

nirban singh guest writer

“What’s that ball on your head?” “Is that a rock on your head?” These are just some of the questions I have been asked during my nearly 11 years at Harker.

Initially, these questions made me feel uncomfortable, as though I was getting teased.

But I came to understand that these queries were genuine.

Although I was mostly asked about my identity in elementary school, my peers still remain curious and slightly confused as to why I look the way I do.

What are your plans for summer vacation?

How impactful was the Green Challenge on your energy usage habits?

It was not their fault. They were simply ignorant and did not know that Sikhism existed as a religion apart from others.

From then on, I have tried to educate as many as I can about the Sikh faith and my culture, making it clear that Sikhism is different from Islam, Hinduism and other things with which it is often confused.

Sikhism’s tenets are unique; worshippers believe in one god, universal equality, and maintaining an honest lifestyle.

I strive to educate the Harker community on the identity of and values held by Sikhs in order to foster stronger bonds with all the people around me.

Outside of school, I work alongside the National Sikh Campaign that works solely to educate people about who Sikhs are through a large scale media campaign which ranges from social media to high level PR in

the form of advertisements.

The image of Sikhs has improved significantly from the post-9/11 period, but from my experiences and the accounts of Sikhs from around the nation, it’s clear that many still don’t understand Sikhism and how it differs from other faiths. However, I believe that this problem can be solved with continual ef-

forts from within the Sikh community to educate others.

Nirban Singh is a sophomore at the Harker Upper School.

During his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and watching the Baltimore Ravens.

Around

Campus vijay bharadwaj

asst. opinion editor

What has been your favorite moment so far from high school?

Logan Frank (9)

In this repeating guest column, we encourage all student writers from around the community to share their memorable experiences while at the Upper School.

Please email all column ideas to wingedpost2016@gmail.com.

“My friends and I decided to go after school one day to get a massage.”

LET’S TALK POLITICS What are your views on the current presidential candidates? adrian chu reporter

LAUREN RUSSElL

Got Opinions?

Being a Sikh, I came to realize from a young age that people of other faiths do not understand Sikhism.

It’s not rare for others to mistake us for violent extremists due to the apparent similarities between Sikhs wearing turbans and the notorious terrorist, Osama bin Laden. Sikhs have been escorted out of political events, shows and airplanes for this faulty association made by outsiders to our religion and lifestyle.

I’ve had my share of such experiences. For instance, back in middle school, I was sitting and talking to my friends at lunch when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A couple of students seated nearby were looking at me and laughing amongst themselves.

As I watched them, I was able to make out a word said by one to the other: “terrorist.”

Talk

Andrew Chang (9)

“This year’s pool is definitely weaker than what it was four years ago.”

“I personally support Bernie Sanders. His policies are much more inclusive than what I have seen from the other candidates. I don’t find Hillary Clinton very Sumati Wadhwa trustworthy because of the (10) email scandal.”

Tina Li (11)

“I think that more demographics of the US are being taken care of this year.”

Lauren Liu (11)

“The candidates make me worried.

Everyone who is running seems to be extreme in some way except Rahul Bhetanabotla for Kasich.”

(10)

“The regatta race last year, because I think it really represented the unity of our class.”

Let us know by answering polls on Harker Aquila!

ROSE GUAN

Haley Tran (11)

“The spirit rally, because it was a time where everyone got together and we competed as classes, but it was still pretty fun.”

Tong Wu (12) “My advanced programming class, because I found out that I really liked [computer science], and now I’m planning to major in [it].”

Kevin Xu (10) “Spirit week, because it’s a time for all the classes to finally take a break from academics and get together and do things for their classes.”

Journalism and the high school journey Our entire experience as editors of the Winged Post can be accurately summed up in a strange trip to a decrepit Austrian salt mine.

That’s Austrian, not Australian.

As newly-minted editors partaking in the annual journalism retreat, we took a whirlwind tour of the country’s culture, history, and food, part of which included plunging into the bowels of a centuries-old mine in the little town of Hallstatt. Suited up in loosely-fitting orange visitors’ overalls and oversized shoe covers, we filed like ducklings into a dark tunnel leading into the sheer face of a mountain. As we descended into the mine, the air grew chillier, the sounds echoed off the walls, and the light from our flashlights grew eerie as it played on the underground rock walls.

That experience reminds us of our first feelings as editors the departing upperclassmen had left us big shoes and loose trappings to fill, and both of us were apprehensive as we began adjusting to our new roles. As new leaders, we shouldered the responsibility of overseeing ev-

erything printed in our publication, guiding every issue of the Winged Post from conception to incubation and eventual release.

After a lengthy walk, we arrived at a precipitous wooden slide several meters long. The only way forward was down. We hesitated. Then, each of us held our breath, straddled the slide’s center rail, and pushed off.

It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. It was exactly like putting out our first issue of the newspaper, the product of weeks of frenzied work for both us and our staff-in-training.

All of us were were uncertain and stressed as we raced against the clock to put the issue to bed, but we still enjoyed the tasks of reporting, editing and designing — so much, in fact, that at the end, we wondered why we had worried so much to begin with.

The tour continued, and we passed through miles of shaft and interminable rock walls, taking us lower and lower into the depths of the mine, just as we immersed ourselves further and further into making each issue better and better, longer and longer. We encountered two other slides — during these times,

the apprehension had already melted away. Ready to face the challenge ahead, we slid in excesses of 20 kmph into the lower reaches of the mine, enjoying every second of the brief thrillrides. In the same way, every subsequent issue of the Post was a little easier than the last, as our experience compounded and our confidence grew.

By exploring the Salzwelten, we learned much more than we could have ever expected about salt and mining. Similarly, our experience leading the Winged Post helped us understand more about our community. We didn’t know that Mr. Irvine made pottery with depleted uranium, and we learned about the incredible talent of self-taught student rappers at Harker. Our editorial experience allowed us to delve deep into the community — to see our peers in a dimension that we never would have encountered far above on the surface.

Yes, we just compared the school to a salt mine — but ASB candidates have done worse in their campaign speeches.

This journey didn’t only feature smoothly sliding into the depths of salt mine; it involved

COURTESTY OF ELLEN AUSTIN

Winged Post editors-in-chief comment on their experience

WELL-SEASONED Vivek Bharadwaj (12) and Elisabeth Siegel (12) attach a lock to the Salzburg bridge in Austria. Thirteen Upper School students went on the 10-day trip to learn about journalism in Europe.

some chafing clothes and the unfortunate loss of an iPhone to an underground salt pool. At times this year, we’ve been stressed, sleepless, and anxious, but we wouldn’t have traded our jobs for anything.

So we’re not salty at all — just well-seasoned.

To our loyal readers: thank you for giving us the privilege to

inform the student body, to educate our community and to represent your voice. We are confident that the new staff of the Winged Post will continue our tradition of journalistic excellence.

Vivek & Liz The Editors-in-Chief

STEM

A11

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

MELISSA KWAN

Video games: an immersive new art form

EN-GENDER-ING TREATMENTS Seniors Sadhika Malladi and Jonathan Ma present their research. They studied how gender affects cancer treatment.

Synopsys winners advance brian park

ROSE GUAN

reporter

reporter

In an endless expanse of sun-scorched sand lingers a faceless figure cloaked in crimson samite. The vastness of the desert only yields to scattered stone ruins and a vast mountain cleaved by a pillar of light. The figure slowly walks. And so its pilgrimage begins.

This scene comes not from any book, painting or movie.

The artist has chosen, deliberately, to realize these dreams in the unconventional medium of a video game.

“Journey,” ($14.99) the third title by independent video game developer thatgamecompany, is but one of many games comprising a growing movement to create video games played and appreciated not only as entertainment, but also as works of art. While the application of games as an art medium may seem baffling at first, the practice is actually quite common.

“That’s the thing with the realm of art – you can’t put limitations on what medium you can use,” AP studio art teacher Pilar Agüero–Esparza said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that artists are now seeing the digital medium of video games as artistic.”

Because video games allow the player to interact with the depicted environment and

influence events, they can offer fuller immersive experiences than other media.

“There’s not that much of a difference between a movie or TV show and a video game,” Andrew Rule (11), Junior CoEditor of Harker’s Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM), said.

“All art is a conversation between the writer and the reader: this is just a more interactive version of that conversation.”

ALEX YOUN

derek yen

“The user can go in here under these set parameters – ‘what is it like to be an African American in this country?’ – and be able to hopefully have a better understanding of what that is like: socioeconomically, cultural biases, stereotypes,” Agüero-Esparza said. “[The developer] wants a certain amount of empathy and understanding with the users being able to interface with this game.”

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that artists are now seeing the digital medium of video games as artistic.”

PILAR AGÜERO-ESPARZA AP STUDIO ART TEACHER

Art games come in many forms with different goals. While some, such as “Journey,” create sublime, evocative locations for the player to explore, others focus on experiences.

Agüero-Esparza brought up the example of a game created by a graduate of the University of California Santa Cruz called “...&maybetheywontkillyou.”

The game tries to simulate the experience of being an African American by constraining the player’s actions and subjecting them to humiliating ordeals.

But art games have several obstacles to surmount before they can become as prolific as other media.

“From what I understand about the [video game] industry, it’s sort of grappling with [its] consumer base not being very accepting of alternatives to the standard,” Media Arts instructor Joshua Martinez said. “As an outsider [to the video game community], it appears to me to be very similar to the Hollywood film industry, where there’s a kind of formula, and the way that

people consume that formula very much behooves the producers to adhere to that formula.”

And while video games’ interactive features grant the video game a unique edge over orthodox media, developers may not be currently utilizing their full potential. “[Art games are] kind of like between a movie and a game but not using the better parts of each,” Game Development Club president Nikita Kosolobov (12) said. “If you really want to take the whole game medium to its maximum potential, then you should really do interactions.”

Though the art games movement is fledgling, it may only be years until video games are accepted as a serious art medium comparable to sculpture or photography.

“From the creative side, I don’t really see there being a limit [to video games’ potential]. I think [a video game] has all of the basic factors necessary to be a great art medium,” Martinez said. “It’s experiential, so you have somebody going in and actually interacting with the material. It’s narrative, which provides really fantastic platform for stories from different perspectives to be told. And they can be very, very beautiful.”

The results of the Synopsys Science and Technology Championship were announced on March 26, with 34 Harker students receiving prizes at the awards ceremony on April 3. Sixteen out of the 34 have qualified to enter the 2016 California State Science Fair.

Those among the qualified students who received Grand Prizes in the Synopsys Championship also awarded the opportunity to participate in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Grand prize winners include Amy Dunphy (10), Manan Shah (11) and Rishab Gargeya (11), who all received Grand Prizes in physical sciences, and Sadhika Malladi (12) and Jonathan Ma (12), who both received a Grand Prize in the biological sciences.

Amy received a Grand Prize for the first time for her Synopsys project, “Preventing Urushiol (Poison Oak)-Induced Dermatitis by Deactivating the Allergen.”

“I wasn’t expecting to receive the Grand Prize, so I was really surprised, but also really excited at the same time.

I’m really grateful for this opportunity, and I’m planning on continuing to use my project at Intel,” Amy said.

The California State Science Fair will be held in the California Science Center on May 23 to 24, and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair will be held in Phoenix on May 8 to 13.

Rio Olympics fall short Zika virus and political turmoil decrease attendance at the Olympics sahana srinivasan

AMID RESEARCH Middle school students talk to a representative at a booth at the annual Harker Research Symposium. The 11th annual research symposium was held on April 9.

11th Research Symposium introduces workshops katherine zhang reporter

Around 650 students, parents, alumni and visitors attended the 11th annual Harker research symposium, which centered around machine learning, predictive analytics and data science, on April 9.

The Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) club hosted the symposium. At the symposium, students presented research, corporate exhibitors showcased products and keynote speakers lectured on topics pertaining to the symposium’s themes.

Unlike previous years, this year’s symposium also offered four pre-registered, interactive workshops.

“The vision of the symposium has always been to mimic a real science conference that any scientist would attend,” said upper school science department chair and WiSTEM club adviser Anita Chetty. “I believe that by having workshops this year, our students can look on this as a true, complete science conference.”

Three of the workshops were geared towards upper and middle school students. These included an Introduction to

Bioinformatics workshop held

by Dr. Marcos Woehrmann, parent of Maxwell Woehrmann (10); a Make Your Own Speaker workshop held by upper school physics teacher Scott Pflaumer and a Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics workshop held

by Somnath Banerjee, parent of Sumantro Banerjee (9).

“I think it’s so much cooler to actually build a speaker yourself than to hear someone else talk about how it works,” Pflaumer said.

Younger children could participate in a variety of handson activities as well, such as an aquarium full of sea animals for students to touch.

“You have to show each person each creature, let them touch it and explain their significance, so that really contributed to the interactivity,” Raymond Banke (9), who managed the touch tank, said.

This year, attendees could also interact with student presenters and keynote speakers through Evenium’s ConnexMe app, which allowed audience members to submit and vote on questions.

Next year’s symposium will center around artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

The spread of the Zika virus, a financial downturn, pollution issues and the recent vote to impeach President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil have raised significant concerns regarding preparations for the 31st Olympic Games, which Rio de Janeiro will host from Aug. 5 to 21.

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is closely monitoring the situation with Zika in Brazil,” the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission said in an official statement. “We are also in close communication with the WHO [World Health Organization] and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee on this topic…

We remain confident that there will be a safe environment for successful and enjoyable Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.”

Another concern for the Olympics in Rio is the state of the venues for water events.

According to water quality tests conducted by the Associated Press in 2015, Rio’s future Olympic waterways contain virus levels high enough that experts have expressed concerns over potential health repercussions for athletes.

In addition to health concerns, Brazil is currently experiencing its worst financial downturn since 1990. The Rio Olympic Organising Committee has cut their budget by approximately $500 million, although no cuts have been made to venues or athlete accommodations, according to the Associated Press.

Brazil has sold less than half of available tickets, although the Opening Ceremony is nearly sold out, according to Fortune.

“We remain confident that there will be a safe environment for successful and enjoyable Olympic Games in Rio.” IOC MEDICAL COMISSION OFFICIAL STATEMENT The Zika outbreak began in Brazil in April 2015, and the virus can be transmitted through mosquito bites or sexual contact.

Although the virus does not have significant symptoms in most cases, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) have confirmed that the Zika virus causes microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with unusually small heads.

SAHANA SRINIVASAN

NICOLE CHEN

assistant STEM editor

CDC has also issued travel alerts and precautions for those traveling to countries with Zika virus outbreaks, including Brazil.

The CDC has specifically recommended that pregnant women not travel to the Rio Olympics unless absolutely necessary.

However, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) will neither prevent any athletes from participating in the event nor recommend staying away from the event.

“Team USA looks forward to the Games and we did not, would not and will not prevent athletes from competing for their country should they qualify,” Patrick Sandusky, United States Olympic Committee (USOC) spokesperson said, in response to affirmations that the USOC has advised athletes against attending.

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GLOBAL

RESET

FACING OUR FUTURE

Part six of a six part series on climate change

SACRAMENTO

Glacial melting could cause a 10 foot sea level rise in 50 years, devestating coastlines.

Of the 466,486 people living in the city, 50% will fall below the tide line.

Climate change’s effect on coastal cities vineet kosaraju & sahana srinivasan STEM editor & asst. STEM editor

Torrential storms submerged Houston in two feet of rain last week, leading to flooding in the streets and forcing emergency personnel to rescue stranded citizens.

These floods could be a preview into future weather conditions, where climate change may cause coastal cities in states like Florida, Louisiana and California to lose land.

Rochelle Younan-Montgomery, the Associate Program Director for the Alliance for Climate Education, believes that California cities could face a variety of problems, including sea level rise, pollution, and heat waves.

“We might start seeing sea level rise in the Bay Area, also I know that specifically pregnant women who live near freeways are more susceptible to having complications in pregnancy,” she said. “Also with increased heat waves, children and elderly folks are the most vulnerable.”

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sea level rise will cover land where 6.2 million people live.

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

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Coastal cities especially are in danger of flooding due to sea level rise, creating an infrastrucSTOCKTON ture problem.

“Some of our neighborOf the 277,588 hoods are gopeople living in ing to have to turn into waterthe city, 50% will lands, and we fall below the tide are going to have to rebuild some of line. our neighborhoods and we are going to have to start building some buildings in a different way,” said Dr. Colin Polsky, DiRising tides could engulf rector of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies. “That’s a cities where 6.2 million big deal, and it’s going to have people currently live. to require a lot of collaboration.”

Although several coastal cities are in danger of flooding, the consequences can be curbed through reducing carbon emissions, with help from students.

“It’s just believing that LONG BEACH young people have the collective power to make a change, Of the 458,815 and that it’s happened before and will happen again, and dopeople living in ing one thing in a small way in the city, 25% will your own life can actually make a huge difference if enough of us fall below the tide are doing it,” Younan-Montgomline. ery said.

3 TOP CITIES AFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

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Data from a study pulblished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and another study conducted by the National Research Council.

LIFE HACK: Students participate in hackathons

Teams interested in programming software and applications compete in a test of coding creativity

nicole chen reporter

Hackathons, also known as hack days, hack fests or codefests, are events in which teams from various schools use limited time to develop software projects such as applications and websites.

Some students think of ideas for projects before the actual event, and they implement and develop them further during the hackathon. However, some choose to network and start ideas at the event rather than before it.

“We started thinking of ideas beforehand, but I know a lot of people that just go individually, and they meet new people and then think of an idea at the event,” hackathon attendee Kedar Gupta (11) said. “So, I cre-

ated this app where you take a picture of your ingredients and it tells you what you can make.

Since I’m always home alone and I don’t know what to cook, I was thinking how do I solve that problem?”

Hackathon proposals can incorporate student creativity to improve a certain aspect of a community.

“We did a copyright infringement thing; we [took] any music or audio file, and we compared it with a list of known songs,” hackathon participant Sumer Kohli (10) said. “You can train it to a song database like YouTube or something to identify if you’ve used any part of other songs in your video.”

Although Harker does not have an official club for hackathon participants, the majority

COURTESY OF AKHIL ARUN (10)

COURTESY OF MAJOR LEAGUE HACKING

COURTESY OF MAJOR LEAGUE HACKING

FAST FACTS

HACKA GOOD (LEFT) Kedar Gupta (11) receives a medal at a recent hackathon. (TOP RIGHT) Kedar, Aashish Jain (11) and Srivatsav Pyda (11) develop their idea. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Sophmores Praveen Batra, Sumer Kohli, Shreyas Chandrasekaran, Akhil Arun, Vijay Bharadwaj receive awards. In hackathons, teams use limited time to develop software.

of students that attend are also members of Programming club, according to computer science teacher Anu Datar.

“I really like the entire experience of [...] spending the day making something.

When I’m done with it at the end, I have a finished product that I can look at.”

PARTH PENDURKAR (11) HACKATHON ATTENDEE “I don’t believe that any development that occurs in haste

is essentially good; sometimes that means a quick thought process, analyzing and developing,” Datar said. “Hackathons [are] more like you start jumping into things and start developing, but sometimes, that developing does make you do intense thinking, which makes a big difference.”

Most hackathon participants attend as many as four or five a year, according to Kedar. Past hackathons in the Bay Area have been held at the Microsoft headquarters as well as high school campuses. Most hackathons target students at the collegiate level, decreasing the opportunities for high school students to attend.

Students who have experience building and programming at hackathons have found them worthwhile experiences.

Hackathons give students opportunities to intensively develop software ideas.

Most Harker students who participate attend approximately four to five hackathons a year.

Teamwork is a significant part of hackathons, as teams are required to work together to produce a finished product.

Although there is no official club for hackathons, most students that participate are from the programming club.

“I really like the entire experience of going there and spending the day making something,” hackathon attendee Parth Pendurkar (11) said. “Then, when I’m done with it at the end, I have a finished product that I can look at.”

Students enjoy the teamwork element of the event as well.

“I definitely learn a lot, even from new teammates,” Kedar said. “Also, it’s nice to see how other people work, in stressful situations especially.”

The next hackathon for high school students is the Hackathon for Entrepreneurs 4.2, which will be held in San Francisco tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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UNDEFEATED

4 game win streak

22 match win streak consecutive 3 league title Dakota McNealy

Zarek Drozda

PROVIDED BY GOLF TEAM

kills per set

.167

Golf finishes season undefeated for second consecutive year sports editor & reporter

The varsity golf team finished the season off undefeated for the second consecutive year, with senior Dakota McNealy leading the team.

This season marks their third consecutive league title as well as a 22-game winning streak.

“We’re 29-1, which is pretty impressive, so it’s a pretty great feat next Monday we have the league championship at Half Moon Bay golf course, so we’re planning on getting the win there and then becoming league champs,” team member Victor Shin (10) said.

Having lost only one game in the past three years, Victor commented on how the team will be affected by the loss of Dakota next year. “[The streak] really boosts our confidence,” he said. “It’s going to be really good for next year because next year we’re only gonna be missing one key player, but then we get a couple more incoming freshmen.”

hitting %

Boys volleyball sweeps league with a 9-0 record

Junior Avi Khemani discussed the value of the seniors on the team and their contribution to the team’s victory.

“We only got one senior playing on the team competitively: Dakota,” Avi said. “Zarek’s playing just for fun, but he always brings smiles with his funny moments so it’s great to

“Everyone wants to learn from him [Dakota] since he’s always composed and confident.”

7.9

ALL PHOTOS BY DARREN GU

Varsity boys golf and volleyball teams end league undefeated and prepare for CCS

trisha dwivedi & alex wang

SPORTS

UNDEFEATED (TOP) Ray Song (11) spikes the ball toward an opposing defender. The boys are currently 9-0 in league. (BOTTOM) The boys’ volleyball team huddles during a match. The boys are currently 9-0 in league.

AVI KHEMANI (11) GOLF TEAM MEMBER

ruhi sayana & ria gupta

have him on the team.”

In spite of these undefeated streaks, Avi and the team hope to overcome one more feat.

“We’re just all practicing to hopefully win CCS for the first time in Harker history and advance to states,” he said.

The team played at the league championships at the Half Moon Bay golf course on Monday.

Varsity boys volleyball kicked off the season with strong wins in their first three games against Eastside College Prep on March 25, Adrian C. Wilcox High School on April 6, and Santa Clara High School on April 7.

“I think that [the team’s major strengths] are their work ethic and their willingness to work hard and get better every day,” assistant coach of the

reporters

boy’s volleyball team, Dan Molin said. “Their volleyball experience is at a fairly high level.”

So far, the team has a hitting percentage of .167, they average 7.9 kills per set, and 1.8 blocks per set.

“They can always improve on the fundamentals, whether it’s passing, serving or attacking and they’re realistic about that and have a good focus on that,” Molin said in regard to areas where the team can improve.

The team beat Santa Clara High School with an overall score of 3-1. Although they were down 11 points on their first set, Harker came back against Santa Clara with strong leads on their last three sets.

“Our pin hitters mainly [are our biggest strengths],” Chris Gong (9) said. “Our` passings have been pretty good so far, which lets us get in good situations.”

Molin explains the team’s goals and what they plan to do to improve.

“Their goal is just to take it one match at a time and try to get better every single match. If they do that, good things will

happen,” Molin said.

Luke Wu, a senior on the team, ideally hopes to continue volleyball in college.

“All the underclassmen are always watching you and looking at what you’re doing,”

“Their goal is just to take it one match at a time and try to get better every single match.”

DAN MOLIN ASST. VOLLEYBALL COACH Luke said. “You know that everything you do has to be as set as possible.”

Although the boys lost 3-1 on a non-conference match against Pacific Collegiate at home on April 13, they came back strong with a 3-0 win against King’s Academy on April 15. They currently are undefeated in their league at 9-0.

They play their last league game against King’s Academy today at home at 5:45 p.m.

Spring recap

Softball ends season with strong matches

BATTER, BATTER, SWING! (LEFT) Marita Del Alto (12) hits the ball during a softball league game this past season.

(RIGHT) Freshman Taylor Lam pitches the softball during a softball game.

asst. sports editor

The softball team has had an outstanding season this year so far, with an overall record of 7-5 while being 1-4 in league.

The girls have defeated many of their opponents in blowout wins, scoring as much as 11 points above their opponents.

“We have a lot of young

players and they are playing really well, a lot of the new players are learning the game, we’re being very competitive, even the games we do lose are pretty competitive,” head coach Raul Rios said.

The softball team this year consists of eight freshman, one sophomore, four juniors, and six seniors.

“This is my senior year and

this year out of all four years that I’ve played at Harker in high school, I think that we were able to start off where we left off last year,” team captain and senior Alisa Wakita (12) said.

The team won their first six matches of the season.

“In order for the team to work together the best and play the best they can in games I

The varsity girls lacrosse team is 2-9-1 overall and 0-4 in league. “We have a reputation of bringing games back in the second half and leveling the score a bit,” Ellen Minkin (10) said. The team faces Woodside in an away game on May 6.

think we have to keep the energy high from the start and just cheer each other on and give each other moral support and shake off all the errors and don’t blame anybody,” freshman Taylor Lam said.

The team now prepares for their match against King’s Academy on May 6 at the Blackford Campus.

Boys tennis

The varsity boys tennis team is 13-5 overall. “We faced two really challenging opponents, but we have handled our matches really well so far,” Randy Zhao (10) said.

The team competes next at CCS Play-offs Round 2.

Sophomore quickly rises from middle school P.E. runner to varsity track and field co-captain sports editor & reporter

As the track and field season comes to an end, the team enters upcoming WBAL and CCS meets with several runners breaking personal records and placing in several heats.

Star runners on the team include Anthony Contreras (10) and Niki Iyer (11) and thrower Demonte Aleem (9).

The coaches chose Gloria Guo (10) to be one of the co-captains of the team this season, even though she is only a sophomore.

The Winged Post sat down with Gloria to get a glimpse of her journey in track and what it is like to be a captain at such a young age.

Winged Post: Why did you start running track?

Gloria: I started running

track when I was in middle school because I actually realized in PE that I really enjoyed running, and then so I started running track in middle school and I ended up continuing into high school.

WP: You are one of the captains on the team. How does it feel to be the captain?

GG: Well, firstly, being one of the younger captains I was surprised that I was chosen as a captain. But then it really gave me the chance to show my leadership to the team. There’s a lot of responsibilities including leading warm-ups, as well as sending out emails and all those types of things. It has been a time where I can really communicate with my team and get to know them a lot better, so I really enjoy being captain this year.

WP: When did you specif-

ically start running in middle ally encouraged me to do track as a sport. Continuing on to school?

GG: I started running in PE high school, Coach Chisam has class and then I realized that I been the one pushing me and to really did enjoy running, so be- do even better every time.

Gloria and her teammates cause of that I started running on the track team in sixth grade. will compete at their next meet WP: You have been run- at Palo Alto High School on Satning track for almost 5 years urday. now. Why did you choose track over other sports?

GG: I think track is a sport that doesn’t really require many skills. I know a lot of people who find ways to get out of doing other kinds of sports because they don’t have the time or the equipment to do these kinds of sports. WIth track, there is really nothing that you need except shoes and you just go out running and that’s just it.

WP: Who is one of your mentors?

ON THE RIGHT TRACK Sarah Min GG: I think although it’s (9) and Gloria Guo (10) warm up more of my PE teachers who re- before their race.

Baseball

PLAY BALL! Matt Kennedy (10) hits the ball at Blackford.

The varsity boys baseball team is 4-9 overall and 1-7 in league. “The team faced some very tough teams in these past weeks,” Akhil Arun(10) said.

The team faces Pinewood in an away game today at 4 p.m.

Swimming VIJAY BHARADWAJ

trisha dwivedi & anika rajamani

LAX Taylor Iantosca (11) cradles the ball during a league game.

ELEANOR XIAO

justin su

TRISHA DWIVEDI

ANEESHA KUMAR

Lacrosse

Grace Guan (12), Michael Auld (11), Jack Farnham (11), Vivian Wang (10) and Angela Huang (12) qualified for CCS and Grace Guan, Taylor Kohlmann (10), Angela Li (9), Karen Tu (12) and Inhita Mandal (9) in relay. The team competes next at the West Bay Athletic League trials.

SPORTS

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IN THE MOMENT

VARUN BALDWA

SPLASH! Senior Philip Krause (12) performs the butterfly stroke during a league meet this season at the Singh Aquatics Center. The team now prepares to compete in the West Bay Athletic League trials.

Seniors commit to collegiate athletics

BEYOND THE GAME

Four seniors, Shannon Richardson, Johnathon Keller, Oisin Coveney and Dakota McNealy, will pursue athletics in college. These seniors captained their varsity squads this year during the regular season.

vignesh panchanatham & justin su & alex wang asst. sports editor & reporters

2016 NFL draft exposes college lifestyle debate

8-year volleyball career heads to Stanford

Shannon Richardson Total Blocks: 40 Aces: 161 Kills: 858

ber. I started volleyball in 4th grade, where my passion for the sport began. The opportunities I received in lower and middle school provided the foundation for my love of athletics,” Shannon said. During Shannon’s high school career, she eclipsed the national average with 853 kills, 159 aces and a .178 hitting percentage.

alex youn TALON sports editor

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Shannon Richardson (12) has committed to playing beach volleyball at Stanford University.

In addition to leading the girl’s volleyball team as a co-captain this year, Shannon also served as a director of the athletic affairs committee. Shannon has trained for beach volleyball at the City Beach Volleyball Club.

“I have played sports at Harker for as long as I can remem-

tion.

Shannon Richardson (12) jumps to spike a ball during a tournament match. She committed to play beach volleyball at Stanford Univesity.

Wide receiver reaches starting lineup

Total Receiving Yards: 454 Catches: 39 Receiving TDS: 6

big school, there has been a lot of opportunities for me to really learn from the coaches and individually learn what I was doing right and wrong.

Harker has helped me create a strong work ethic not only on the field, but more importantly, the classroom.” Johnathon will start his career off with the Claremont Stags against the Lewis and Clark Pioneers on Sept. 10.

JONATHAN DAI

Johnathon Keller

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Johnathon Keller (12) will join Claremont-McKenna University’s football team as a wide receiver starting this fall.

In his senior year, Johnathon accumulated 39 receptions for 454 yards and 6 touchdowns with an average of 50.4 yards per game. “Harker has helped me throughout high school a lot with a lot of one-on-one specific training,” Johnathan said.

“Because Harker is not such a

Johnathon Keller (12) runs into the endzone during a home football game. He committed to Claremont-McKenna University to play football.

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Oisin Coveney (12) will attempt to join Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) soccer team or football team as a walkon tryout. “After the football season this year, I think I did well enough that I could make a case for myself at a football team, and if not, I’m going to work on stuff this summer and see what I can do with the soccer team.” Oisin captained the

Oisin Coveney

PAT Made: 49 KO Yards: 2974

varsity soccer squad this year as well as playing for the football team and serving as a director of the athletic affairs committee. As kicker and punter on the football team, Oisin scored 49 extra point attempts and accumulated 2974 kickoff yards.

Oisin has played on the varsity soccer team for all four years, and started his soccer career at the young age of 2.

PROVIDED BY OISIN COVENEY

Soccer player seeks to compete at SMU

Oisin Coveney (12) kicks a soccer ball. He hopes to play as a walk-on for the soccer team at Southern Methodist University.

Scoring Average: 77.3 Birdies: 18

Dakota McNealy (12) will attend Stanford University in the fall to play golf. In addition to playing golf, Dakota also captained the Junior Sharks AA hockey team four times and received his first-degree black belt. “[My favorite part of golf at Harker] is just the overall experience of being with guys that you know and playing on the same team as them. It’s rare

in golf because it’s an individual sport, so I really enjoyed that part of it,” Dakota said. This year, Dakota played on Harker’s golf with his younger brothers Colt McNealy (11) and Scout McNealy (9), and will join his older brother, Maverick McNealy, another Harker alumnus, on the Stanford golf team for the 2016-2017 season.

PROVIDED BY AVI KHEMANI

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Black belt, hockey captain tees off at Stanford

Dakota McNealy (12) hits a golf ball during practice. He commtted to Stanford University to play on their golf team.

Lights. Camera. Ac-

Last fall, hundreds of men donned their helmets, then prepared for 60-minute wars on college turf.

Last week, 32 of these men dressed in suits and stepped onto the red carpet to start their NFL careers.

Although NFL prospects soak in the spotlight of fame while the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, reads their names and announces their future teams, these rookies face the spotlight of scrutiny that comes with fame, money and the profession.

Yet, when athletes sign multi-million dollar contracts, scrutiny is their ticket price.

When social media dominates the public arena, the line between privacy and publicity in the sports world also grows increasingly thin.

Last week, former Ole Miss Offensive Tackle Laremy Tunsil -- projected as a top 10 draft choice -- fell as a “sport stock” when a video of him allegedly smoking a bong from a gas mask was leaked from his hacked Twitter account less than 15 minutes before the draft began.

Immediately after the Miami Dolphins drafted Tunsil 13th overall, another hacker leaked an alleged text message chain suggesting that Tunsil had accepted money from an Ole Miss coach.

Admittedly, these actions do not necessarily define Tunsil as a person, nor indicate how he will mature in his football career. Whether draftees or multi-year veterans, the actions of professional athletes and the resulting consequences have repercussions that extend beyond themselves.

As Harker athletes leave this protected bubble and compete on the collegiate level, I hope that they flourish in the limelight.

Put your Eagles up.

For more of Beyond the Game columns, check out the sports section on harkeraquila.com.

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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

CLIMATE’S COOL (LEFT) Anuva Mittal (11) answers questions about the environment to win a water bottle at the green team booth during lunch. (RIGHT) The Green Challenge ends on April 20, with the class of 2017 as the winner and recipient of an ice cream party.

CONSERVED:

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GROWING GREEN Competition encourages eco-friendliness raveena kapatkar & meena gudapati & sahana srinivasan Aquila news editor & copy editor & asst.

STEM editor

The upper school commemorated Earth Day with the help of the Green Team and the Green Committee by competing in the “Green Challenge,” a competition hosted by the SJ Environment application in which students could perform environmentally friendly actions to earn points for their grade level.

Earth Day, an international event celebrated by over 193 countries, aiming to promote awareness about environmental issues impacting the world, was celebrated on April 22 throughout all three campuses.

Earth Day was first coordinated in 1970 after being pro-

posed by John McConnell, a peace activist, at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference in San Francisco in 1969.

“The company that designed this [the SJ Environment application] actually contacted us and they offered to work with us to help customize it to Harker’s needs,” Green Team vice president Karen Tu (12) said. “It has that competition element which helps with participation.

The Green Team tried to incorporate its Earth Day activities into spirit week. For example, the regattas were made out of recyclable materials.

“In general a lot of what we do on campus, at least, has to do with awareness and helping people do things in their daily lives that are green,” Karen said. “Things people can change in their lives without dramatically overturning their life, and I think that’s an important thing to know because you don’t have to redesign yourself in order to be green.

The Green Team has publicized tips for how to be environmentally friendly throughout the year and has a board in main hall with information related to being green.

In the week before Earth Day, the Green Team invited Rochelle Younan-Montgomery, the Associate Program Director for the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) to speak to all upper school students at an assembly about the consequences of climate change and ways to get involved.

“We might start seeing sea level rise in the Bay Area, I know that specifically pregnant women who live near

CAPTION HEAD Each caption will begin with a short “hit phrase” or “hit word” in CAPS and bold. The entire caption is in Avenir Next size 9 font. Atiatur, te int eiusdae pa quidiati bla eliqui sitatiati ipsantin reptaturio ditatur sinis ab iuntoPa cus si

freeways are more susceptible to having complications in pregnancy and the infants in utero are at risk,” she said.

“Also increased heat waves, children and elderly folks are the most vulnerable.

Heat-related death, I think, is the number one reason folks are impacted.”

At the assembly, she also discussed ACE’s Get Loud Challenge, in which students participate in challenges to inspire more discussion about climate change in their community.

“I’m really inspired by the Green Team at the Harker School, I think they’re doing incredible things,” she said. “I’ve never seen a school with an app with simple ideas for taking action and sustainability, so I’d encourage everyone on campus to take advantage of that because it’s simple ways to take action at home, and it can benefit them in the Get Loud Challenge. It’s a simultaneous win-win.”

Kunal Bhandarkar (10), a member of the Green Team, worked with Green Team to organize a book drive at the upper school.

“Believe it or not, a lot of people throw out books, and that’s just a waste of a lot of paper,” he said. “Peo-

GREEN CHALLENGE TOP SCORERS SPEAK OUT KELSEY WU (9) 1st place “I liked how it was a class challenge so we all got people involved.

More people got more spirited about recycling and being green.”

EDWARD SHEU (12) 2nd place “It was a fun way to incentivize helping the environment. It turned into an experience that really made me aware of the impact [that] small actions [have].”

SHANIA WANG (9) 3rd place “It caused me to realize that there are even some simple everyday things that I could change, and that I can really make a huge difference.”

SHREYA NEOGI (11) 4th place “It really made me think about and question our treatment of the Earth and how selfish we are sometimes.”

ple need books, so we just donate them.”

The books from the book drive were given to the Santa Clara Public Library through the non-profit organization Empowering World Change. Kunal’s mother, Sushanta Bhandarkar, runs the organization and works to educate students about the environment. The book drive at Harker ended on April 22.

Head of Green Committee Kate Schafer advises students to become more aware of the organizations around them and to participate in their activities to help be more environmentally friendly.

“I think there’s tons of opportunities out there,” Schafer said. “I would encourage students to join the green team. There are lots of opportunities for student involvement that way. Definitely try to get informed about the issues and to link up with some of these national organizations like ACE that are really trying to get students’ voices heard.”

Green Team also partnered with the library, spirit club, the Art department and student council. Head of School Chris Nikoloff spoke on behalf of the Green Team at the spirit rally on April 22.

TOP THREE QUICK WAYS TO BE GREEN • Unplug and turn off all electronic devices when you aren’t using them.

• Carpool, or use a bicycle.

• Install low-flow faucets or showerheads.

Seniors

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The senior class screams during the regatta.

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Senior cheerleaders strike a pose at the fall rally.

Brenna Jenson, Ayla Ekici, and Chandler Nelson run onto Davis for the spring rally.

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Senior class dean Matthew Harley prepares to face the pie at homecoming.

Seniors rally around their class during homecoming week.

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Varsity dancer Allison Wang (12) performs in the annual dance show.

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The seniors prepare to compete in the homecoming tug of war.

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Dancer Ankita Sharma (12) strikes a pose at the dance show.

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The seniors ‘white out’ the stands to support the Eagles on Davis field.

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Madison Tomohiro (12) and the dance troupe perform at homecoming.

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| www.harkeraquila.com

ALL PHOTOS BY JONATHAN DAI

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 17, NO. 7

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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

A TIMELINE of the

SENIORS’ LIFETIMES

rose guan In fall, freshman year is the freezing, full-body shock of unfamiliarity when you leap headfirst into a cold pool. In winter, it’s never making it from Nichols to Shah in five minutes and not knowing that there are classrooms in the Edge or four bathrooms in Main. In spring, it’s not really understanding the frenzy and tumult that surround APs and college applications but still coming together as a class and bonding with students from every grade.

FRESHMEN

reporter

CLASS OF

asst. STEM Editor

Sophomore year is the bizarre limbo between plunging headfirst into high school and realizing that it’s nearly over.

Sophomores no longer have the excuse of being a freshman but haven’t yet attained the seniority of being an upperclassman. It’s rolling eyes at freshmen in Main, already knowing the shortest route from building to building, forming new friendships and trying to figure out one’s identity.

SOPHOMORES

sahana srinivasan

maya valluru

Junior year is receiving more than expected and realizing that while the continuous challenges fail to recede, the few subtle but sweet moments of the year prove to be the best of all experiences. It’s feeling unstoppable while being weighed down by the pressure to join the winner’s circle. It’s remembering the mundane moments which, in the end, turned out to be the only ones that mattered.

JUNIORS

Aquila asst. news editor

sharanya balaji There seems to be no real way to describe senior year. It starts like a tsunami: personal statement drafts, senior portraits, college interviews, academic coursework, and all those extracurricular activities you spent years crafting and molding. Right when the wave relaxes, you realize that everything is almost gone as you put together your senior collage, try on your graduation gown, and watch your series of “lasts” approach.

It’s the combination of wishing for more, savoring the old, and dreaming about the new.

SENIORS

Aquila editor-in-chief

Seniors’ upcoming schedule Senior collages are due, and Parent College Exchange will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in Nichols Hall.

May 6

May 13

Seniors leave for threeday Laguna Beach trip from the Blackford campus at 8:00 a.m.

May 14

Second week of AP examinations ends.

May 16

Seniors come back at 6 p.m. from Laguna Beach trip.

May 17

Senior Moms’ lunch will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Upper School campus.

May 18

Graduation will be held at the Saratoga Mountain Winery at 5 p.m. Attendees can arrive as early as 3:30 p.m.

May 19

Graduation rehearsal will take place in the morning, Alumni Induction Luncheon after lunch, and Baccalaureate at 6:30 p.m.

016

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PHOTO BY KSHITHIJA MULAM

FROM: Ms. Austin, TO: The Journalism Seniors

Thanks for carrying on the legacy of a great high school journalism program for your high school careers, no matter what you faced along the way. Who can forget deadline nights:“I don’t want to go to unicorn jail!” “It’s minty fresh!”

“The empty shoutout to the universe…” “) Or the smell of fresh yearbooks; Boba breaks; talking theme on Maui beaches. From our home newsroom San Diego, Washington, Hawaii, Los Angeles and Austria. It’s been a delight and a privilege to work with you, laugh with you, and see you become who you are. You are ausgezeichnet! Be well, be happy, stay kind.

FROM:Raveena Kapatkar & Trisha Dwivedi TO: Sahana Narayanan

Sahana!!! This past year in Spanish has been amazing with you <3 From talking about NYC to shopping for prom dresses. I’ve had so much fun with you. You are going to kill it at Columbia.

Don’t forget Period 3 :) -R I will miss you so much in Stats and our trio party with Ann. Just know that we will always be a normal distribution <3. I hope you party LOTS at Columbia! -T

FROM: Trisha Dwivedi & KJ Mulam TO: Annie Zhou HI ANNIE!!!!! We both just want to appreciate you.

You are so green (and blue!!!) and wonderful and kind and funny and one of our most favorite seniors.

We don’t know what Stats and Green Team would be without you <3 You are the dry bin to our wet bins, and we’re both going to miss you so much! <3

FROM:Medha Shah TO: All My Bye Bye Birdie Seniors!!!

You guys have been such amazing role models and friends. I really can’t imagine doing shows without all of you next year and I’m gonna miss you all so much when you go off to college. I love you Mary, Namitha, Helena, Helen, Akshaya, Naomi, Chandler, Rachel, Janet, Rishabh, Kaushik, Johnny, Philip, and Shilpa!

FROM:The Harker Speech Team TO: Lisa Liu Dear Lisa, Thank you so much for being an awesome teammate, captain, and friend to us all. You’re such a talented performer and we couldn’t have asked for a better senior to look up to. Our team wouldn’t be the same without your energy and humor, and we’ll miss you like crazy.

Glenbrooks, Murrieta, and (tbt!) Glendale was special because of your cheesecake-eating antics. Love you, Annie!

FROM:Kelsey Wu & Shania Wang TO: Sophia Luo, Michael Zhao, Shannon Hong, & Grace Guan

Thank you all for being such great role models and talking to us lowly freshmen :) We love you so, so, so much and will miss you next year. Michael- you will forever be our Philz-obsessed grumpy grandpa. Sophiathanks for ranting with us about our Fave ;) Shannon- thanks for being the sensible one and letting us take so much food. Grace- you were the best ASB secretary we could’ve asked for; thanks for keeping us sane. WE LOVE YOU ALL <3

Aarti Kheskani

New York University

Aashika Balaji

Carnegie Mellon University

Aathira Menon

University of Maryland College Park

Don’t worry, don’t stress, you’ll be fine no matter what

Amidst all the craziness, always make time for friends.

Make the most out of your four years, because it goes by before you know it.

Abhinav Ketineni Georgetown University

Take classes in subjects you don’t usually enjoy. You may not get the chance to take them again.

Adele Li

University of Pennsylvania

Be persistent and always advocate for yourself.

Aditya Varshney UC Berkeley

Stay organized but don’t forget to have fun.

Aishu Murari

University of Washington

Akshay Battu

UC Berkeley

Have fun and don’t worry about college so much.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help and advice when you need it.

Akshaya Premkumar Alex Henshall UC Santa Cruz

Do what you love to and nothing else. It’s a waste of time.

Alex Lyon

Don’t let others unduly influence your decisions in life.

Alex Sikand

Boston University

Do everything, experiment both intellectually and physically

Alexandra Dellar Tufts University Don’t just live for the weekend

Alice Wu Alisa Wakita Allison Wang

California Institute of Technology

Focus on what you enjoy, not what you think will look good.

Alyssa Crawford

Continue to explore everything available to you, and enjoy high school.

Amar Jain

St. Mary’s College of California

Ameek Singh Andrew Kim

UC Los Angeles

Aneri Mehta

New York University

Angela Huang

UC Berkeley

“Let your ambition carry you.” -Travis Scott Relax.

Do your homework. everything will be ok

BACK TO B(L)ACK Members of the senior class pose for a group photo. All 187 members of the Class of 2016 will graduate thi

XVI

Anika Mohindra

Hold the doors, smile at strangers, and talk to new people.

Anish Velagapudi University of Washington Don’t let your dreams be dreams.

Ankita Sharma Ankur Karwal

University of Southern California

Annie Zhou

University of Pennsylvania

Anthony Luo

Brown University

Be the best at what you do.

Don’t feel pressured to do something just because everyone else is doing it.

Sleep well.

Aparna Yellapragada Arjun Narayan University of Southern California MOO

Arthur Goldstein Santa Clara University Never vote for Trump.

Helen Xie

New York University

Helena Dworak

University College London

Life goes on

Arthur Ye Arun Shriram Ashley Zhong

Santa Clara University

Isaac Smith

Drexel University

Aumesh Misra

Washington University in St. Louis

Emory University

Ayla Ekici

Izzy Gross

Take time to appreciate the people here.

Emory University

Ayushi Gautam

Jackiel Rothschild Tufts University

Johns Hopkins University

Don’t spend all of high school worrying about college.

Belinda Yan

UC Berkeley

Makes sure to not stress too much over the little things

Brenna Jensen

Whitman College

Caitlin Benge

Whittier College

Calvin Kocienda

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Don’t miss the candy bar at prom two years in a row Don’t procrastinate Mr. Silk’s homework.

sleep is important

Challenge yourself to be better whenever and however you can.

Live in the now.

Hire someone else to read your college essays.

Cameron Palte

Buy a Razer laptop.

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Caroline Skrobak Hawaii Pacific University mind your biz

Chandini Thakur Chandler Nelson Salve Regina University Stop worrying. It will all work out.

Connor O’Neill Cynthia Hao

Stanford University

Past performance is not a predictor of future results.

Dakota McNealy Don’t screw up.

Daphne Liang

University of Southern California

Daphne Yang

Pomona College

Don’t overwork yourself and do things that make you happy.

Stay passionate and have fun!

Darius Yohannan University of Notre Dame

Get to know your teachers. They’re lit. Plus, you learn better.

David Jin

Try new things

Cornell University

Dhanush Madabusi Duke University Don’t get rescinded.

Divya Periyakoil UC Berkeley

Go to the library. It’s the best place in the whole school.

Doreene Kang

UC Berkeley

Edward Sheu

New York University

Eesha Chona

UC Berkeley

Time management

Go out and do everything you can, and never waste a moment.

Do not stress, things will work out!

Elijah Edgehill Elina Sendonaris Massachusetts Institute of Technology Don’t stress it (where “it” is everything).

Eliot Gruzman

De Anza College

Don’t slack off. All of high school counts. Not just junior or senior year...

Elisabeth Siegel Stay kind.

Elizabeth Edwards University of Pennsylvania Nothing is worth staying up past 1AM.

Emily Pan Emma Doherty Emma Sayiner

University of California, Berkeley

Esther Wang

University of Chicago

Evan Lohn

University of California at Berkeley

Grace Cao

Carnegie Mellon University

Grace Guan

Princeton University

ah i dont know!

It gets better... eventually.

Do your best to take nothing for granted.

Try your best and have no regrets.

“Anything lost can be found again, except for time wasted.”

-Christian K. Bonner

Gurutam Thockchom Helen Woodruff University of Puget Sound Chill out and have more fun!

Find some good music and dance more.

Do all your college apps ahead of time.

Don’t stress, it’s gonna work out!

It will work out in the end

Jacqueline Chen University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Janet Lee

Princeton University

Jasmine Liu Jason Lee

Stanford University Cornell University

IF YOU RE READING THIS WE MADE IT

W

e C o has decide Map” and e the achieve colleges. S untary surv leave behin university i

Stay calm and have fun, but don’t procrastinate!

Jonathan Ta

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jonathan Trinh

Santa Clara University

Don’t take things too seriously

Jonathan Yiu Joshua Hung

University of Southern California

Try new things.

Justan Su

Georgia Institute of Technology

Kaitlyn Gee

New York University

Karen Qi

Rice University

Everything will work out fine

Jenny Bourke

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Jessica Zhu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Be good at things Prioritize

John Nicolas Jerney

University of Toronto

Johnathon Keller Claremont McKenna College Jonathan Dai

Northwestern University

Be yourself and be confident.

Jonathan Hochberg University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Do everything available to you with all of your effort

Jonathan Ma

Follow your heart.

Harvard College

Make the most of your high school education, but also your relationshi you will have only one shot at each of them, after all.

You do you.

Free periods are for naps

Play at least one sport to meet new people

If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.”

Learn how to take constructive criticism.

Mary Najibi

Make as many memories as possible!

Maya Jeyendran

Yale University

Be sympathetic, don’t gossip, and always be proud of yourself.

MC Smitherman

Always try to find a reason to laugh, because laughter is pretty neat.

New York University

Mehul Khetrapal Melina Nakos

Harvard College

Melody Weber Michael Moncton Michael Zhao

Claremont Mckenna College

Miles DeWitt Mohnish Shah

Never be arrogant. Be humble and learn from those around you.

Don’t be afraid to fail miserably. That is how you succeed.

It’s important to challenge but not overwhelm yourself.

Nadia Palte

Cornell University

Butler University Chapman University

Work hard, play hard.

Naman Jindal Namitha Vellian

Spend more time outdoors

Naomi Molin

Make friends with as many people as possible.

UC Berkeley

Natalie Simonian

Tufts University

Natasha Mayor

“Work smart, not hard.” -Irina Marutyan

Don’t spend high school focusing on college.

University of Chicago Natasha Santhanam

Don’t worry too much. Write what you want.

UT Austin

Nikhil Bopardikar

Don’t skip school meeting.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Nikhil Parmar

Don’t take all the APs, remember to enjoy your classes and friends

Emory University

Nikhil Ramgiri

Brown University

Nikita Kosolobov Nikita Ramoji

Southern Methodist University

Oisin Coveney

UC Berkeley

Omar Hamade Panny Shan

Washington University in St. Louis

Philip Krause

Carnegie Mellon University

Prithvi Gudapati

New York Film Academy

Rachel Renteria

Santa Clara University

Raghav Jain

Forge your own path, and you will never regret it

is year, with Anika Mohindra (12) as valedictorian for the graduation exercises at Saratoga Mountain Winery on May 19.

I

Enjoy the present, don’t just focus on the future.

You’ll only do well if you’re having fun inside and outside the classroom.

187 SENIORS TAKE FLIGHT

e’d like to dedicate this page to the Class of 2016.

Congratulations! We made it. As mentioned in our front page editorial (see A1), the Winged Post ed to change the format of the canonical “College explore ways to characterize and commemorate ements of the Class of 2016 in ways beyond simply Seniors received the opportunity to complete a volvey question, asking them what advice they would nd for later years, and the option of reporting the into which they plan to matriculate.

Don’t stress so much it’s not worth it

ips--

Brown University

Hang out in the college counseling room because the thermostat is really well adjusted there. (Also, Ms. Burrell might play Set with you.)

Kaushik Sankar University of Chicago Kavya Ramakrishnan

Go outside, smell the cherry blossoms, go to the farmer’s market, try ceramics.

UC Berkeley

Kaylan Huang

Enjoy high school. It may seem like the slowest years of your life but it’ll fly by.

University of Southern California

Kevin Chen Kevin Hu Kevin Ke

Try everything; you never know what you might find.

Rice University

Kevin Kim

Get plenty of sleep and take care of yourself

Have Fun

Relax. Have fun because it flies by.

Happiness is the most important thing.

UC Irvine

UC Santa Barbara

Kevin Wang

UC Berkeley Cornell University

Kevina Xiao Kristen Ko

Johns Hopkins University University of Michigan

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Rishabh Chandra

Get more sleep.

Kristen Park

Stanford University

Lawrence Li

Layla Walker

Don’t worry

Lev Sepetov

Stay classy, stay you.

Lisa Liu

Logan Drazovich

UC Los Angeles

Rohan Daran Rohan Desikan

Indiana University

Ronak Baldua

Purdue University

Ryan Fernandes

Sachit Agarwal Sadhika Malladi Columbia University Sahana Narayanan

Fine coffee and The Beatles make everything better.

UC San Diego Sai Shreya Sunkara

Read the news and indulge in whatever you find decadent.

University of Pennsylvania

Samali Sahoo

UC Berkeley

Sandhana Kannan Sanil Rajput

Duke University

Selin Ekici Selin Ozcelik

Duke University

Shalini Arimilli

UC Berkeley

Shannon Hong

Buy a handkerchief for someone who sweats more than Marco Rubio.

Luke Wu

Have a good balance of extra-curriculars and academic achievements.

Stanford University

If you’re not happy it’s not worth it

Go to a college that makes you happy, not necessarily the “best”

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing

University of the Pacific

Rishi Narain

New York University

Experience everything you possibly can.

Explore the Bay Area as much as you can.

Stevens Institute of Technology

Be happy and live life

“Be yourself — everyone else is taken.”

Kurt Schwartz

Do USA Computing Olympiad Chill

Mount Holyoke College

Richard Yi

Enjoy your time in high school and make the most of it.

Try to reach out to as many people as possible

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Rajiv Sancheti

Take a class with Docherty

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senioritis is definitely a thing.

University of Texas at Austin Karen Tu

Yolo

Madhu Karra

You choose.

Regret is worse than not trying.

Chapman University

Madison Tomihiro

Occidental College

Malvika Khanna

Pursue what you love and don’t apologize for who you are

Marita Del Alto

Go out with a Bang! Do stuff that matters and only stuff that matters.

Try new things and don’t let fear stop you from going outside of your comfort zone. learn to love yourself

Enjoy your time in high school and get involved.

It’s a crap shoot so be yourself. Also, learn to deal with ambiguity.

Shannon Richardson

Stanford University

Take advantage of the opportunities Harker provides you and the people here to support your pursuits.

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Sharanya Balaji

Never give up. Something amazing is always around the corner.

Shay Lari-Hosain

Genuinely loving what you do, having incredibly strong passions, things that fundamentally drive you, that’s paramount. You need that. To do great things. To live.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Shilpa Repakula

Enjoy the little things in life.

Yale University

Shivali Minocha

University of Southern California

Shreya Mathur

Do your hw and learn how to not procrastinate.

It’s really important to balance hard work and having fun in high school.

Sohil Patel

Columbia University

Avoid procrastination

Sophia Luo

Sleep is good.

Sorjo Banerjee

UC Berkeley

Do your homework.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Srivarsha Gulukota

Don’t be afraid to break the rules sometimes

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Stanley Zhao

Nothing is a better replacement than hard work.

Northwestern University

Stephanie Huang

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Suraj Jagadeesh Surya Solanki

Work hard, play hard

Make decisions that will benefit you and not others.

Tong Wu

Always stay true to your convictions

University of Redlands

Trenton Thomas

Stanford University

Victoria Ding

Stanford University

Vineet Kosaraju

California Institute of Technology

Vivek Bharadwaj

University of Chicago

Yasemin Narin Zarek Drozda

UC Berkeley

Zeyad El-arabaty

Calm down, it’s not that serious... calm down

Don’t be afraid to try new activities and follow your passions If you say you can’t, you won’t- so don’t. Say you can.

Have the courage to laugh at yourself. Like a lot. Almost constantly.

Do what you like not what’s best for college.

FROM: The Harker DECA Officers TO: Ankur Karwal, Sophia Luo, Shannon Hong, Sanil Rajput, & Logan Drazovich Dear DECA seniors, The officer team wants to sincerely thank you for your outstanding commitment and DECAcation to the program. Each one of you has shaped and influenced our chapter to make it what it is today. We’ll miss you and wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors. We know you’ll always #beDECAepic wherever you go :)

FROM: Taylor Iantosca TO: Aumesh Misra

AUMESH!!! Hopefully this was low-key unexpected :) but in all seriousness, I’m going to miss you like CRAZY next year! We’ve come a long way since we first met in Latin 2 back in ‘13, and I’ve grown to love you as much as you love your panda hoodie and Abe Lincoln $wag Money sweatshirt. We’ve been through thick and thin and several ups and downs together, but through it all, you were like the big brother I’ve always wished I had. I know how badly you wanted to be on my insta, but this is so much better (Now put me on yours)! Have a BLAST at WashU but please don’t forget about me, make good choices, and never stop Flim Flam the Zim Zam! -<3- Yours Truly, TayBae

FROM:Arnav Tandon TO: Edward Sheu

Edward, being a captain with you last season was one of the best experiences of my life. You taught me so much about leadership through water polo, and I’m so grateful for that experience. Love you bro!

20

SHOUT

FROM:Mr. Lawson TO: His Wonderfu

FROM:Maile Chung TO: Spirit Seniors Layla Walker, Alisa Wakita, Shannon Richardson, Oisin Coveney, Kurt Schwartz, Marita Del Alto, Helena Dworak, & Edward Sheu: Spirit’s not gonna be the same without you :( I’m going to miss you guys so much, but I know you’ll have fun in college :) Be sure to visit us & maybe drop in for some meetings :) I love you guys so much!

Shannon, Rohan, Suraj, Ani Dakota, Naomi, Elijah, and you for an incredible 3 year seriousness, game play,disc jokes, food, food, and more “old school” references. You young adults, and I wish yo

FROM:Timmy Chang TO: Edward Sheu & Jackiel Roths-

FROM:Andrea Sim TO: Natalie Simon

Hey! Thanks for being the chillest guys I know! You guys really made my freshman year fun and memorable. @ Edward: thanks for motivating me to get to the gym and eating more! Next year’s gonna suck without you tho.

no oak fur thy, pour soup th as i, hug oh tutor, has it rye heaved am it, youth i outwi soil, a duo envy oil.

FROM:Raveena Kapatkar & Trisha Dwivedi TO: Sharanya Balaji & Ashi Hey guys! Thanks for everything you guys have done for Aquila this past year!

Working with you guys has been so fun this year. We are really going to miss our Aquila parents! <3 Have fun in college and remember to always visit the site :)

FROM:Anjay Saklecha & Nei TO: Ronak Baldua

Happy Birthday Bobby! Thanks for everythin the tennis team. Thanks for being a great te great player, and a great Spanish student. In We honestly can’t believe you are already le We hope you enjoy Indiana. We’ll miss play you and we both know you’ll miss playing a greatest pusher on the team. Just don’t be t Eagle’s guy when the Raiders lose. When in out- don’t be like “Yüng Swap.” Good luck, K

SENIORS

B7

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

IF I COULD HAVE, I WOULD HAVE...

A senior retrospective on things not going as planned

melina nakos reporter

In high school, dozens of opportunities present themselves, and dozens of opportunities fall through the cracks.

Both failures and successes populate the everyday lives of students, and there is no way to avoid heartbreak, but there are different ways of looking at disappointing circumstances.

As seniors close out their final year at Harker, they look back at their wins and losses. They evaluate exactly what brought them to their position only a few weeks away from coveted graduation.

Senior Shannon Hong struggled with her decisions to either stick to the status quo, or to explore new and exciting avenues in her academic career.

In her Freshman year, Shannon joined a club named the Harker Business Club, a small Harker organization run by two Seniors in the class of 2013. She fell in love with the organization, the culture and her fellow mem-

bers.

This club later developed into the business department and Harker DECA. Shannon rose through the ranks in DECA, entering her Senior year as the Executive Vice President of Harker DECA. Soon she realized, however, that she no longer had anything to contribute to DECA and turned in her resignation.

“It was an interesting moment to be like, oh wow, I’ve reached the end of my path at this thing that I love so muchthat was something unexpected,” she said.

Karen Qi (12) is a high-achieving student that takes multiple APs each year in addition to being a star debater with several awards under her belt as well as qualifying for the Tournament of Champions in debate.

Her busy schedule and high standards resulted in compromising her physical health.

“I think probably being able to balance your health with academics, because in middle school it kind of was manageable, but in high school you realize that there are a lot of

things that you want to try, and you have to balance that with your schoolwork, and also your health, and getting very little sleep on some days makes your realize what is important to you and how important sleep is to function during the day.” said Karen. “Yes, that’s something I’m experiencing now. For me, it was with debate because I would have to miss sometimes four to five days just in a week and three of those days would be school days. And it wasn’t just that I had to catch up on schoolwork, it was only getting a maximum six hours of sleep at debate tournaments, so it ended up being hard when I got back to school to catch up. so doing that ended up being a really big commitment, not just as an activity but in terms of lifestyle.”

“It was an interesting moment to be like, oh wow, I’ve reached the end of my path at this thing that I love so much - that was something unexpected.”

SHANNON HONG (12) DECA VICE PRESIDENT High stress also arises from

college decisions releasing and students placing their deposits in certain schools. While the class of 2016 already passed the application process, the letters rolling in from Universities also causes doubt, fear, and anxiety in the name of possible happiness.

MC Smitherman (12), applied to eight schools for theater in Southern California as well as the Midwest and the East Coast.

He was not accepted to any of the schools and is planning to take a gap year where he will explore a multitude of other passions, such as starting a podcast.

“Getting rejected from all colleges was certainly unexpected but I’m not sure if it was something that went wrong, really.” he said. “A gap year was probably a good thing. I think that it will give me time to figure out what I really want to be doing, whether it be acting or directing or editing, or something else, or whether it be taking a second gap year at well. It also helps me grow as a person and move on from something. I’ve been looking forward to going college for most of my life, and when I can do it, when the first opportunity occurs then I think these experiences made me a better person in a way and sort of deal with something like that and.. push myself to be better because of it. One of the bad things was definitely that it was hard to get rejection after rejection and then hear about everyone else,

my friends and those who are not my friends who I just know are going to be going away next year and that aren’t going to be here. That was definitely a harder part of the process.”

The truth is that there is no one path for every student.

While students may have an idea of what they would like to do in their years of high school, there is no way of predicting the future and no way of controlling it either.

“I never really had much of a plan for high school, so it’s kinda hard to talk about things that went wrong, as I was never really thinking about plans in the first place.” said Evan Lohn (12).

“I didn’t do as well in research and science competitions as I wanted to. There are positives and negatives. A positive was that I enjoyed the work I was doing, regardless of how I ended up placing at competitions; the process was really fun and I learned a lot from it. And obviously the negatives are that it didn’t help me in college applications.”

So as the seniors walk across the stage at graduation to get their diploma, all of the unexpected events, late nights, fights, failures, and successes are suddenly left behind in a place that they spent their last four years.

The character they built and the skills they acquired through not only winning, but also losing, will carry with them.

THE HARKER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WECOMES

THE CLASS OF 2016 TO ITS RANKS.

Visit alumni.harker.org to look for alumni events and to network with other graduates!

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BACK PAGE

VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 7 MAY 4, 2016

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ALL PHOTOS BY KSHITHIJA MULAM

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SOARING SPIRITS

Drenched classes compete in pouring rain during rally kshithija mulam & kaitlin hsu news editor & Aquila features editor

Spirit rallies means sweaty crowds cheering under the unbearable heat of the sun, right?

Not so much. Students and faculty crowded under umbrellas and plastic bags to shield themselves from the pouring rain during the annual Spirit Rally on Davis Field on April 22.

“Looking back on it, I liked the rally in the rain. I didn’t like it that much in the moment, but now I think it’s fun,” Hazal Gurcan (11), a member of the varsity dance team, said. “It was pretty cool being with the elements, and I feel like it made us more spirited to be in the rain.”

This year, Harker’s Green Committee coordinated with the Spirit Club to celebrate Earth Day on the same day as the Spirit Rally.

“During first semester, we knew that [Spirit Week] was coming,” Green Team adviser Diana Moss said. “And also partly because the Green Committee wanted to make sure we acknowledged Earth Day because we haven’t in the past, in a very significant way, and it has always coincided with Spirit Week.”

During the rally, the junior class defeated the seniors in the scream contest. Overall, the juniors also won the spirit contest, with 54 points. The seniors earned second place with 51 points, while the freshmen came in third with 50 points. The sophomore class came in fourth place with 43 points.

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5

“I think my favorite part was winning the scream-off during the spirit rally while it was raining,” Maile Chung (11), Harker Spirit Competitive Events Committee director, said. “I thought it was really different because normally the spirit rally and all the rallies that we have, like homecoming, it’s always really hot but this one, since it was raining, it kind of gave a new sort of adrenaline and a new feeling that was really exciting.”

“[The rain] gave a new sort of adrenaline and a new feeling that was really exciting.”

MAILE CHUNG (11)

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While spirit week culminated in Friday’s rally, students and faculty dressed up all week according to various themes: Sports Madness Monday, Time Travel Tuesday and Wacky Wednesday. For Thursday’s class choice, the seniors chose red, white and blue; the juniors wore pajamas; the sophomores decided to host a twin day and the freshmen dressed up like greasers and socials.

“Even though we got fourth [in the regatta], everybody came together. Everybody was cheering, everybody helped out,” Neil Ramaswamy (9) said. “I felt that people who had spirit – you could really see it in them. It’s raining, it’s miserable, but they’re still repping their classes.”

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PROJECTILE MOTION Physics teacher Dr. Miriam Allersma belly-flops into the pool after the regatta.

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PRAISE THE CLOUDS Covered in plastic, Eddie Shiang (11) participates in the junior class dance.

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RAIN DANCE Mary Najibi (12) strikes a pose during the senior class dance.

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RALLY ‘ROUND THE FLAG Junior class dean Dr. Victor Adler hoists the class flag high.

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ROAR The freshman class gathers on the field to compete in the spirit rally.

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CAN’T TOUCH THIS Senior advisers show off their moves during the senior class dance.

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SMOOTH SAILING A student paddles across the water in a boat made of pool noodles during the regatta.

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USA! The seniors sport red white and blue as they cheer on their class in the regatta.

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GETTING PUMPED The juniors cheer on their teammates during the regatta.

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