Winged Post Volume 18, Issue 1 by Harker Aquila

WINGED POST FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 18, NO. 1

| www.harkeraquila.com

KSHITHIJA MULAM

Campus construction heralds change RAINY SPIRIT The class of 2017 competes and wins the scream-off at last year’s Spring Rally, the last major spirit event of the previous academic year. Spirit Club kicks off this year’s spirit activities today.

Spirit hosts kickoff event today kshithija mulam editor-in-chief

Harker named a Certified Green Business kshithija mulam editor-in-chief

The Bay Area Green Business Program approved Harker as a Green Certified Business, following efforts by all four campuses beginning in 2012. This certification is expected to reduce costs and help Harker promote sustainability across the board. Feedback after the application’s submission in 2014 led to sustainable initiatives and policy changes across many departments.

Aquila co-features editor & Aquila multimedia editor

Construction of the Performing Arts and Athletics Centers continues at the upper school as school begins this fall. During the summer, construction consisted mainly of organizing underground infrastructure such as storm lines, sewage systems and electric banks. Currently, the construction team has dug two deep holes for the two buildings and will set the foundations. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place in early May, and the construction team, led by facility manager Mike Bassoni, commenced work later in the month. The main focus of the project in July was to dig two 15-foot-deep holes for rerouting utilities. Construction workers poured concrete to stabilize the athletics building in late

July, and the concrete slab for the floor of the gym will be placed in late September or early October. Athletics department head Daniel Molin hopes to take advantage of this gymnasium not just for invoking student participation in athletics. “You’ll notice more school spirit; people will rally around gymnasium events, and that really brings a lot of excitement,” Molin said. The performing arts center has multiple unique features, including the 60-foothigh fly wall, which will consist of an area above the theater to house curtains, lights and scenery for theatrical production. “Performing in an actual theater with everything that comes along with it, from fly space to wing space to just being able to actually rehearse in there before the show and to actually have classroom time in there too, is really a game changer for me professionally,” performing arts department head Laura Lang-Ree said. Continued on A2

ZACHARY HOFFMAN

nicole chen & zachary hoffman

NICOLE CHEN

BAY AREA GREEN BUSINESS PROGRAM

Spirit Club will host a kickoff event today at 3 p.m. in the gym to plan for the upcoming school year. The event will feature activities, such as dodgeball and board games, and free pizza. Attendees of the event will focus on planning for spirit events this year such as determining the themes for upcoming dances. “I hope to get a lot of support from the student body, more than last year, and I hope that a lot of the freshmen and some of the sophomores who didn’t join last year join this year,” Spirit Club president Maile Chung (12) said.

MAKING IT HAPPEN (TOP) Facility manager Mike Bassoni explains the changes and gives a tour of the construction site to athletic directors while construction continues before school. (BOTTOM) Workers excavate and set the foundation of the new buildings before school starts. Construction for both the new Performing Arts and Athletics centers at the upper school continues as the new academic year kicks off.

New parking procedures adopted

Administration pushes forward new campus traffic policies as a result of construction

To Northbound NO LEFT

280

• Aug. 27-28: Senior Portraits • Aug. 29-31: Fall Play Auditions • Sept. 5: Labor Day (No School) • Sept. 7: Club Fair • Sept. 9: Service Fair • Sept. 10: Back to School Day • Sept. 21: Photo Make-Up Day • Sept. 30: Fall Break Day (No School)

Bldg C Shah Hall

LEFT ONLY

Bldg F Art

Bldg M Main Academic

Bldg H Dance

Singh Aquatic Center

To Southbound

280

Block Schedule, A3

Morning Drop-off Zone

At Saratoga Ave

Bldg G Pool Bldg

Bldg P Manzanita Hall

Quad

Bldg J Fitness

Administration & Lobby Gymnasium

Library

College Counseling

Bldg T Dobbins Hall Overflow Parking

Closed During Construction

Bldg U Nichols Hall

PARKING PARAMETERS Parents and students must follow a new route in the morning when students arrive on campus, indicated above. Cars turn right upon entering campus, following the blue arrows, and arriving at the drop-off zone signified by the red arrows before continuing off jlr/S-Traffic Control Map Fall 16-17 ud 05 2016 campus by following the green arrows.

sahana srinivasan managing editor

The administration has implemented several new measures to regulate campus traffic flow and to aid students and faculty without parking spots, including an increased number

Heart of Harker, A5

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Upcoming Dates & Events

of intercampus shuttles and detailed guidelines for drop-off and pick-up. In the mornings, parents must drive through the school and around the construction site for drop-off, and the school recommends taking advantage of

TEAMS wins nationally, A7

the parking lot on Kiely Blvd in the afternoon. “That’s a great place that’s two minutes away from school [for parents] to just wait and hang out,” Assistant Head of School Greg Lawson said. “The Lion’s Center is not really a good place to do that. They’re pretty watchful of our overflow traffic and it’s also a much busier place in the afternoon to hang out.” A section of parking at Blackford has been set aside for students driving themselves, and currently, although students do not have to sign up for a parking spot, they must register their car with the school. In the future, the administration may turn to the School Pass application, already in use with the middle and lower schools, to ensure that there are enough shuttles available to transport all drivers. “Anybody that wants to give feedback about the process or the timetables or anything like that, please feel free to let me know,” Lawson said of the current transportation logistics.

Fall Sports Preview, A14

There will also be vans waiting at the middle and upper schools to help students who may, for example, need to leave campus in the middle of the academic day for an appointment or who need to access their car after school when a shuttle is unavailable. Lawson emphasized student safety and awareness while at the middle school. “Be safe. Mind the speed limit in the parking lot at Blackford. Be a good pedestrian. Take care; we want you to be safe,” Lawson said. “I really want to say thanks to every student that’s trying to utilize any different mode of travel here to school. We really do appreciate it because it’s going to be an interesting challenge, and we’ve got about 18 months to live with it, and we’re all in this together.” Lawson hopes that the parking lot will be available again by the second semester of the 2017-2018 school year, when the performing arts building is currently scheduled to finish construction.

Pokemon GO, A16

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

MEENA GUDAPATI

NEWS

The performing arts department has moved the instrumental program’s rehearsal room to the current gym due to construction taking over the old orchestra room’s building. Until the building is completed in January 2018, performing arts students will face numerous changes. Initially located on the far side of Rosenthal Field, the orchestra building can no longer house the instrumental program, which has its largest membership ever this year. The construction has moved performing arts teacher Chris Florio and his various ensembles to the gym stage, which is a much smaller space. “How it was configured wasn’t ideal, but it was still a lot space that we had all to ourselves,” Florio said. “It’s workable, but we’ve got these sightline problems in addition to what are likely to be some

In terms of morning dropoff and afternoon pick-up traffic, parents will have to take a longer route to their destination. “During the morning dropoff, all traffic will turn to the right and drive along the edge of Nichols Hall and past Dobbins Hall and down to the back driveway and drop off. Once you’re done, you’ll go out the back

interesting acoustic issues.” Between orchestra, jazz band, lab band and AP Music Theory, the gym stage will host six class periods, meaning that during lunch and before 4 p.m., the gym will not be open for recreational use. “I feel bad that we have to commandeer the gym during the day, but at the same time, I know that there’s around 130 students involved in the instrumental program this year,” Florio said. “We need to have a space that allows for that because that’s what we’ve always had, and that’s what we need to thrive.” The performing arts center has multiple unique features,

including the 60-foot-high fly wall, which will consist of an area above the theater to house curtains, lights and scenery for theatrical production. The main point both the administration and performing arts heads emphasize is that any inconveniences that construction may incur are temporary. “Both students and teachers, regardless of our circumstances, we’re just excited to see that it’s actually happening,” performing arts department head Laura Lang-Ree said. “It’s going to change everything that we do in everyday life and in performance life as well.”

INSIDE ART The rendering shows how the interior layout of the new center is planned to turn out. While construction for the performing arts center takes place, the instrumental program temporarily rehearses in the current gym.

PROVIDED BY KEVIN HART

NICOLE CHEN

between 10% and 20% of new materials used in the project will be manufactured within 500 miles of Harker in order to reduce transportation energy

the air conditioning system will provide 30% more outside air than the ASHRAE standard

95% of waste from construction will be recycled or salvaged

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Athletics accomodates construction changes The athletics department needs to accomodate the construction of the new gymnasium and the loss of Rosenthal field and the locker rooms. Teams can no longer practice on Rosenthal field or use the locker rooms situated next to Rosenthal field’s old location. Athletics department head Molin feels as if the features of the new gym will be worth the wait. “It’s going to bring about more excitement and more community [and], we think, more participants, but one of the bigger things will be about community,” Molin said. “A student can

solar panels will provide 22% of energy needed by the gym and 19% of energy needed by the theater

MEENA GUDAPATI

MIKE BASSONI FACILITIES MANAGER

gate,” Bassoni said. “After construction is finished, you’ll still come down the same path until the oak trees where you’ll do an 180 U-turn, and all along both buildings, there will be a drop off lane.” Maile Chung (12) who participates in both performing arts and athletics as a member of the jazz band and orchestra and a soccer player, will have graduated by the time the two buildings are complete. “I’m most excited to watch the underclassmen play in games at the upper school, especially basketball and volleyball,” Maile said. “I really wish I had the practice room and orchestra pit.” As a senior the construction is an impedance, for privileges such as on-campus parking have been rescinded. “If we had parking, I think we would have utilized our off campus privileges more and gone out for lunch at the mall rather than maybe just going across the street,” Maile said. “It’s a little bit of a hindrance, but for me, it’s a plus side because I see it as the future growing.”

the gym will be 26% more efficient and the theater will be 29% more efficient than the ASHRAE standard

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“This [building has] the kind of features you would see down in Hollywood, in Broadway and in the top theaters in San Francisco; this theater is going to have the same features.”

BUILDING IN PROGRESS (TOP) The digital rendering depicts the performing arts and athletics buildings to come with the new construction. (BOTTOM LEFT) Bassoni shows the new construction to soccer coach Brighid Wood. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Open space and the left side of the performing arts center are shown in the rendering.

walk by the new gym and hear some whistles going on and hop in and watch a practice or watch a game and support their teammates and support their friends.” The construction of the building will reach completion in June of 2017. Facility manager Mike Bassoni expects construction for the gym will take approximately six months less than the theater. “Right now, because of the intricacy of the theater, we’re trying to get a push on that foundation,” Bassoni said. “This foundation [of the gym] is simpler and the engineering is mostly straighter lines and a lot less transitional levels or what not. While the new athletics center serves as a place for sports games and practices, some teams will still occasionally be commuting to the Blackford campus for events.

PROVIDED BY KEVIN HART

Orchestra room moved to gymnasium stage

academic building and through the art building,” Bassoni said. “Moving back and forth between classes is going to be a challenge this year.” The construction team has blocked the walkway in Manzanita Hall from the Edge to the area food is distributed and built a staircase between the same area and the main room in the building. As the construction takes up a large portion of the student and faculty parking area, parking spaces during construction will decrease about 50 percent, according to Bassoni. However, after construction is complete, there will be four or five more parking spaces on campus than there were originally.

PROVIDED BY KEVIN HART

Continued from front page. As the city of San Jose only allows buildings with a maximum height of 35 feet, Bassoni had to obtain a variance to built the fly wall alone. This wall will be the tallest not only on campus but also within a four to five mile radius. “This [building has] the kind of features you would see down in Hollywood, in Broadway and in the top theaters in San Francisco; this theater is going to have the same features,” Bassoni said. “The flys in theaters have to be tall because what you do is you have big spools of canvas that roll up and down; that takes a lot of pulleys and other mechanisms, so we got a variance from the city that says only for that fly tower, we can build to 60 feet.” Lang-Ree expressed how the changes would assist performing arts groups. “To have a classroom that is equipped to handle everything from, for me personally, Downbeat dance rehearsal to after school dance classes to being able to host the whole musical in one space where I can actually see what they’re doing and see what they’re working on, help them and coach them in a way that is actually helpful is amazing,” she said. Construction has affected numerous aspects of the school, causing relocation of parking, longer routes between classes and changes to Manzanita Hall. During passing period, students will have to take longer routes from Shah Hall to Nichols building, as much of the space in front of the gym will be blocked due to construction. “Just walking from class to class, if you were leaving Dobbins Hall, you’ve kind of been able to take a line-of-sight [walk] to Shah, but now you’re going to have to walk behind very confined corridors or through the

PROVIDED BY KEVIN HART

Campus life changes with construction

GYM-AMAZE-IUM The inside of the gym/theater can be seen through the digital rendering. To accomodate for its construction, teams can no longer practice on Rosenthal field or utilize the nearby locker rooms.

NEWS

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

Capitol Hill:

What You Missed IK

O MM

KIM

Part one of a seven part series on American politics

Summer rolls out presidential candidates

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Tim Kaine is announced as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.

New block schedule implemented The upper school implemented a year-round block schedule year-round for the first time this school year. The administration had put together a steering committee for developing the schedule, and Mr. Daniel Hudkins headed the operations part of the committee that the administration had put to gether to develop the schedule. “There was a fairly strong feeling among many members of the faculty that we needed to do something to help students lead more balanced lives, ” he said, “whether that was how do we get out of monster Monday where you have homework for everything every weekend to how do we provide a little more sense of space,.” he said. During January and February of the 2015-16 school year, the administration scheduled a four-week pilot period to test during which the new

block schedule was tested. After receiving positive feedback, the pilot period was extended by two more weeks, and the schedule-planning committees decided to alter certain aspects of the schedulepoints based on [student?] suggestions forto continue implementation during the next school year. Members of the Challenge Success team, a group of faculty and students who that meets during the scholyear to discuss student well-being, discussed responses to the pilot schedule. “To get more input from students, we sent out a school-wide survey that asked respondents to reflect on sources of stress and see how a block bell schedule might help increase student well-being,” senior representative Sandip Nirmel said. The bell schedule officially began on the first day of school on Aug. 22, with periods one to four on the first day, five to seven on the second, and then alternating for the rest of the year.

BELL TALK Freshman walk from class at the end of the day on the first day of school. The new bell schedule was implemented on Aug. 22.

Donald Trump refuses to endorse John McCain and Paul Ryan.

nicole chen & tiffany wong aquila features editor & aquila copy editor

DANCE SHOW AUDITIONS The dance department will hold auditions for students in September for the annual dance show in January. Rehearsals for the show start shortly after the auditions in late September and early October. Auditions for Harker’s

dance teams, Varsity, Junior Varsity (JV) and Kinetic Krew, took place in April and May of the last school year. The upper school dance groups will perform for the first time at the annual Harker picnic on Oct. 9 at the Blackford campus.

TIFFANY WONG

aquila managing editor

Hillary Clinton accepts her presidential nomination.

Performing arts kicks off

ASHLEY JIANG

trisha dwivedi

WikiLeaks releases nearly 20,000 emails sent or recieved by officials.

MIX IT UP Dancers at last years dance show, “Mixed Tape: Songs to Dance to,” perform to the song “They Don’t Care About Us.”

FALL PLAY AUDITIONS This year’s Fall Play, Around the World in 80 Days, recounts the adventures of Phileas Fogg, a fictional character who accepts a bet to circumnavigate the globe in unAUTUMN ARENA Rishabh Chandra der 80 days. (16’), Naomi Molin (16’) and Marina “Last year’s play was all Newman (12) perform at last fall’s about subtle realism and emoshow of “The Laramie Project.”

tional truth,” performing arts teacher Jeffrey Draper said. “This year is all about teaching comic skills and facial expressions.” Students can audition in Draper’s room on Aug. 29 and 30, with callbacks scheduled for Aug. 31.

CONSERVATORY AND CERTIFICATE The Performing Arts department hosted their annual “Conservatory Kick-off” on Aug. 24, inviting students to attend an information session about Harker’s performing arts events for the year. On Sept. 9, performing arts teacher Susan Nace will

hold a workshop, dubbed “Effectively Preparing and Practicing for Performance.” Aspects of the workshop include the importance of studying a composer’s background, practice techniques and methods to portray the dramatic content of pieces.

SPRING OFF Students bow after the Harker Conservatory’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie” from spring of 2016.

TIFFANY WONG

Donald Trump accepts his presidential nomination.

KSHITHIJA MULAM

Donald Trump announces Governer Mike Pence as running mate.

JULY 22

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

JULY 21

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

• Walmart is a major sponsor of the Hillary Clinton campaign.

KAITLIN HSU

• Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention was the longest convention speech in history.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

• Mike Pence is a former talk show host for a conservative radio station.

JULY 22

• Tim Kaine was on Obama’s shortlist as a vice presidential nominee during the 2008 election.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

As the presidential election draws near, voters are keeping track of the candidates’ activities in order to determine who would be best suited to lead the country. This summer, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions took place after announcements of the vice presidential candidates. On July 15, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, announced Mike Pence as his running mate. Pence was a congressman in the House of Representatives and has served as governor of Indiana since 2012. The Republican National Convention took place from July 18 to July 22. Notable speakers such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined several of Trump’s former rivals in endorsing his policies. Controversy arose after former Republican nominee candidate Ted Cruz did not endorse Trump and instead urged viewers to “vote your conscience.” Cruz’s speech rekindled the media dispute between him and Trump. The next day, Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination. He promised voters that “the crime and violence

JULY 28

FAST FACTS

AUG. 2

asst. stem editor & aquila asst. features editor

mayun Khan, who posthumously received a Purple Heart for his bravery. Khizr Khan spoke out about his son’s bravery and called Trump’s idea of having all Muslims take a naturalization test unconstitutional. As the convention drew to a close, Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, vowing to address issues of national security and attempting to show working-class Americans that she understood their plights. The following day, Trump responded to Khizr Khan’s accusations, defending his own policies and stating that Khan’s claims were unfounded. “He was completely disrespectful to the family because their son had served and died in service, which is only the greatest sacrifice one can make,” said junior Sumi Wadhwa. “I found it unbelievable that he insulted them and even more unbelievable that he got away with it.” Trump’s statements sparked retaliation from many politicians and public figures, including Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who both emphasized the importance of the Khans’ sacrifice and criticized Trump’s anti-Muslim policies. On Aug. 2, Trump decided to withhold his endorsement of both McCain and Ryan, angering several high-profile Republicans. Three days later, Trump reinstated his endorsement at a rally, stating that they had his full support. The 2016 presidential election will occur on November 8.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end.” After the Republican National Convention drew to a close, Hillary Clinton announced Virginia senator Tim Kaine as her running mate. Kaine was previously Virginia’s governor, and he has also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “I thought it was interesting that she chose Kaine since Clinton opposes [the Trans-Pacific Partnership] while Kaine is for it,” said Anusha Kuppahally (10). “Especially because trade is such a large issue for voters, I assumed she would choose a vice president that sided with her on that issue.” Later that day, WikiLeaks released emails among members of the committee that revealed that they had worked to ensure that Clinton won the nomination instead of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Critics expressed their anger towards Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, causing Schultz to step down from her position. The Democratic National Convention occurred the following week, from July 25 to July 28. Notable speakers who presented alongside Clinton’s family included first lady Michelle Obama and president Barack Obama. Clinton also invited speakers representing law enforcement and the military, including Khizr Khan, the father of fallen Muslim-American soldier Hu-

katherine zhang & prameela kottapalli

JULY 15

KAITLIN HSU

OPINION Editors-in-Chief Kshithija Mulam Meilan Steimle

The politicized prioritization of STEM over the humanities is detrimental

Managing Editor Sahana Srinivasan News Editor Meena Gudapati Features Editor Maya Kumar Opinion Editors Vijay Bharadwaj Adrian Chu STEM Editor Derek Yen Asst. STEM Editor Katherine Zhang Sports Editors Justin Su Alex Wang Photo Editor Ashley Jiang Copy Editors Rose Guan Ruhi Sayana Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Wingspan Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Hsu Aquila Editors-in-Chief Raveena Kaptakar Tara Parimi Aquila Staff Neil Bai Vijay Bharadwaj Nicole Chen Adrian Chu Trisha Dwivedi Zachary Hoffman Prameela Kottapalli Anjay Saklecha

Michael Sikand Justin Su Maya Valluru Alex Wang Tiffany Wong Derek Yen Katherine Zhang

Reporters Anvi Banga Lauren Beede Eric Fang Kathy Fang Nina Gee Ria Gupta Rashmi Iyer Sofia Kassaras Aditi Khanna

Vani Mohindra Anika Rajamani Jenna Sadhu Nisha Shankar Neal Sidhu Jin Tuan Anya Weaver Angele Yang Gloria Zhang

Visit The Winged Post Online at www.harkeraquila.com Follow us on social media with the handle /harkeraquila

VOLUME 19 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

derek yen

STEM editor

Presidential candidate Marco Rubio boldly declared in November that “we need more welders and less philosophers. If we do this, we will be able to increase wages for millions of Americans and be able to leave everyone better off without making anyone worse off.” Factual inaccuracy about wages aside, Rubio’s sentiment – that the humanities are not as valuable as vocational training – is insidious and morally corrupt. Rubio exemplifies a growing political movement which unduly dismisses the humanities as impractical and prioritizes subjects with a clearer contribution to the economy. While Rubio only touches upon vocational training, others have also proposed cutting funding for the humanities in public schools and colleges and reallocating it to STEM subjects. Current academic policies echo this viewpoint. For instance, the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a set of educational standards adopted by all but eight states, under-

lines clear benchmarks for aptitude in mathematics and English but does not specify standards for the fine arts, philosophy or literature. It is tempting to argue that it is unproductive and fruitless to force everyone to try their hand at the humanities. After all, not everyone can be a great artist – why bother having them learn about the fine arts? The very same can be said of including any sort of course in a curriculum. Not everyone will become a great mathematician or physicist either. Including the humanities in school curricula enriches and diversifies students’ perspectives and allows them to develop skills in a multitude of fields. Even those who seem the most dedicated to STEM subjects need the humanities to succeed. What value is the research of a scientist if they lack the eloquence to explain it to their peers or pitch their project to potential funders? Can a startup become successful with inept lawyers and ineffective salespeople? I personally have found the humanities very useful for studies in STEM fields. There are more interdisciplinary links than may be initially apparent, and many subjects straddle the border between them. For instance, game

theory, the mathematical modeling of interactions between players, can be applied to politics, economics and biology. But it can also create interesting moral and psychological quandaries when there are disparities between theoretically optimal and real, observed behaviors. This introduces another major problem with Rubio’s mindset. It conceptualizes STEM and the humanities as competing, mutually exclusive forces vying for territory. But that is patently false – principles from STEM are often applied to the humanities, and vice-versa.

“Including the humanities in school curricula enriches and diversifies students’ perspectives and allows them to develop skills in a multitude of fields.”

Can you imagine programming a lab for computer science with a language that looks like this? Debugging and coding would be a nightmare without highly specialized knowledge. But Grace Hopper had the novel idea of using English words in programming languages, and as a result, it is very easy for humans to read and interpret code. While it is true that STEM majors have

higher projected salaries than humanities majors on average, wages should not be the only incentive for pursuing a major. Higher education allows students to explore human culture and cultivate intelligence. Humanities vs. STEMDerek Yen But realistically, many disadvantaged students who favor the humanities may not have the liberty of pursuing their passion and will instead opt to enter STEM fields due to their promises of higher pay. This action creates problems that nobody benefits from: resources are spent educating an inevitably subpar STEM student, society loses a dedicated humanities student and the student may later regret the decision. Rather than criticize humanities majors’ choices as the cause of low wages, politicians should focus their efforts towards reducing the cost of living or increasing real wages so that every student is able to pursue their true interests. The college experience would again become an exercise in higher learning rather than a grueling prerequisite to a well-paying job. This is only possible if we as a society reject the notion of schooling as being merely a stepping stone to later jobs and cease to stigmatize the humanities.

Suicide squad storm

The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism: Newspaper Concentration and Advanced Journalism: Newspaper Concentration courses at The 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 represent the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters represent the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Winged Post. All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Winged Post in no way reflects the official policy of The Harker School. The opinions expressed in this publication reflect those of the student writers and not the Harker board, administration, faculty or adviser. Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to wingedpost2017@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 that call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to The Winged Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff. The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of The Harker School and is distributed free of cost to students.

2015-2016 Gold Crown-winning publication 2014-2015 Silver Crown-winning publication 2013-2014 Silver Crown-winning publication 2012-2013 Silver Crown-winning publication 2010-2011 Gold Crown-winning publication 2009-2010 Silver Crown-winning publication

adrian chu

opinion editor For the last two years before this summer, I have gone to every movie theater using pre-purchased tickets that I received as a birthday gift from a relative. If I wanted to see a film, all I needed to do was open a drawer with the small stack of golden slips of paper and exchange them for tickets at any time, no questions asked. But like all good things, my movie-watching bliss came to an end. When every trip to the theaters meant a nearly $15 ticket with an explicit monetary transaction, bad movies stung a bit more, and a forgettable movie’s only lasting impression was the memory of a waste of time. Soon enough I was browsing critical reviews before every movie I saw. Then came Suicide Squad, a movie with fan enthusiasm, effective marketing and promotional backing and a star-studded cast; a movie

that had the potential to be the savior for a rather disappointing summer season. Instead, movie-goers got a film that at best is a fun blockbuster with a simple plot and at worst a “double cop-out, disappointing both fans of the source material’s grown-up gloom-and-doom aesthetic and discerning adolescents,” according to Michael O’Sullivan from the Washington Post. With a 42 percent difference between critical and fan approval according to Rotten Tomatoes and a petition to take down the review aggregate site, viewer reviews were split,

“The narrative of the average viewer versus the critics is an wholly unnecessary and unproductive endeavour which defeats the purpose of crticial analysis.”

and many revolved around whether specific comments critics had made were right instead of their actual overall

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Understanding the role of professional criticsm in movie reviews

BOX OFFICE HIT Suicide squad had much fan enthusiasm and professional backing for a hit movie. Despite this, it recieved negative revews from professional critics

thoughts on the movie. The narrative of the average viewer versus the critics is a wholly unnecessary and unproductive endeavour which defeats the purpose of professional critical analysis. If people see critics and their reviews only as an avenue for self-validation of one’s own opinions or dismiss them as pretentious snobs with some sort of disconnect with what people like, they miss opportunities to gain or at least consider pursuing a deeper appreciation for films they already enjoy through the lens of professional film criticism while learning to enjoy other types of widely unknown films. By blindly defending our

film preferences and refusing to recognize problems in the works we may love, we become unable to differentiate truly great films from the rest, and slowly, every movie can become the same average experience. Going into a movie with the mindset that one needs to deflect every negative comment critics have made will often reduce one’s enjoyment of the movie and inhibits one’s ability to develop one’s own independent opinions. Having preferences which are fundamentally different from those of critics is OK. Just don’t go charging after critics with a vendetta every time a movie comes out.

OPINION 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 wingedpost2017@gmail.com.

eart of Harker:

sarisha kurup

VIJAY BHARAD-

Diversifying our interests

guest writer

I began my high school career feeling as though my interests and the prominent interests of the quintessential Harker student were entirely different. That I would have to carve out a little corner of the school for myself and not tread over the line that separated my artistic pursuits from scientific research and multivariable calculus. I never had a way with numbers, and the rules of chemistry had always seemed like science-fiction to me. And while my aptitude for the subjects never changed, my interests did. I didn’t become an ardent chemist or a biology devotee, but had it not been for my incessant exposure to the world of science, due to Harker curriculum and

the enthusiasm for science in the Harker population, I would not be the writer and artist that I am today. During the second half of my junior year, I became friends with two people in my grade who were physics aficionados. They let me talk about Kerouac and Matisse all I wanted, but they also took it upon themselves to explain to me Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, and the way Quantum mechanics, at its heart, is really about philosophy. I was hooked, and because science was never a professed interest of mine, I never found my lack of knowl-

edge embarrassing. I asked a myriad of questions. It felt as though a door to a world I had never known existed had finally been opened. I wasn’t suddenly grabbing graph paper and spewing out mathematical equations, but glimpsing at the world the way a physicist might—it changed the way that I wrote, and it changed the way that I approached art. I had never looked at the universe as a series of patterns and principles, only as a place of words and oil paint and stories. I spent much of my free time during my second semester in Mr. Spenner’s classroom.

GROWING HUMANITIES I had never looked at the universe

as a series of patterns and principles, only as a place of words and oil paint and stories.

I’ve found it’s a nice place to write. Harker often gets pigeonholed as a school for mathematicians and scientists. Despite our efforts to diversify, it’s a reputation that sticks. But in my three years at Harker, what I’ve found is that no passion exists in a vacuum. Every young writer is trying to find their voice, every young painter their aesthetic, every young actor the root of their performances. What helps Harker students who identify in these categories is their personal proximity to worlds and interests so unlike their own. Certainly Harker has the most resources, for now, for its science students, but this, I think, is what makes the experience for artists at Harker so unique. And maybe with the opening of the Performing Arts Building next year, the reverse will soon be true as well.

Welcome to a new volume of the Winged Post! With each new year, the Winged Post changes leadership and therefore some of its policies. This year, the Winged Post will no longer accept advertisements of any form in its pages. If you wish to advertise in a Harker publication, our longform feature magazine, Wingspan, published every three months, will accept advertisements in its issues. We would like to thank The Harker School for making this possible. We, as the official student newspaper of The Upper School, seek to serve as the voice of the student body, reflecting the opinions, beliefs, and issues that our community cares about. We want to further honor that mission by providing more opportunities for members of our community to contribute to the pages of our paper. As of this moment, the Winged Post has accepted guest submissions for one column, Heart of Harker, which runs in the Opinion section in every issue and explores positive aspects of the Harker community. However, we would like to open the door for further dialogue by allowing the student body to write on a more expansive range of topics within the paper by introducing more guest columns as the year proceeds. We would also like to encourage our readers to submit more letters to the editors; we, the staff of the Winged Post, welcome feedback and aim to deliver the content that the Harker community wants to see. If you wish to submit a letter to the editor, provide story or guest column suggestions, or inquire about opportunities to write for the Winged Post, contact us at wingedpost2017@gmail.com. We look forward to serving as your Winged Post leadership team in the upcoming school year.

VIJAY BHARADWAJ

meilan steimle editor-in-chief

The following are maxims I try to live by. Strive to be healthy. Love your body. The medical health movement and the body positivity movement are two causes that I believe address a prevalent issue in society and are extraordinarily important. But the two movements seem to be often at odds and difficult to reconcile. I don’t think they have to be. Health and body positivity, though intimately interconnected in our social consciousness, address completely disparate issues. The ideas that we should physically maintain our bodies to avoid disease and that we should love them no matter what are not irreconcilable. The conflict emerges in the intersection between the health movement and fat shaming. Metrics like BMI oversimplify what it means to be healthy and focus disproportionately on weight. Fat is not and should not be synonymous with unhealthiness. There is no one way to be physically healthy. Each body comes with its own limitations and predilections; there cannot be standardized weights at which health begins and ends. A myriad of factors contribute to physical health, including but not limited to blood pressure, bone density, cardiovascular strength and muscle development, etc. Calls to action for a healthier lifestyle apply to all of us, not just those perceived to be unhealthy because of their

Around

Campus

rose guan copy editor

What was your most memorable experience this summer? “I think going to Japan for two weeks, that was pretty cool.” Eric Tran (11)

Sarisha Kurup is a senior who enjoys writing and painting. In her free time she can be found roaming cities or furiously trying to finish her homework.

Balancing medical health and body positivity

Editor’s Note: Reaching out

Talk

weight. At the same time, a disregard for nutrition is not and should not be synonymous with body positivity. Self-love doesn’t preclude attention to scientific consensus on our physical needs. Issues with physical and mental health are not unfamiliar to me. There are times when I binge eat emotionally. There are also times when I hate my body and diet obsessively. These behaviors are equally destructive. Denouncing one extreme should not mean embracing the other. There is no shame in being physically unhealthy, just as there is no shame in not always loving your body. We are each works in progress; we forge forward and stumble often, but keep going. All any of us can do is

“Each body comes with its own limitations and predilections; there cannot be standardized weights at which health begins and ends.”

strive to be healthy - both in body and state of mind. For all their apparent differences, the health and body positivity movement have a common message: you only get one body. You only get one body, so take care of it. Give it the nutrients it needs, exercise and hone it, and it will last longer. But also, you only get one body, so love it. Your body is your home for the entirety of your life - it’s bumpy, it sometimes smells and it’s absolutely perfect because it’s yours.

Let us know by Got answering polls on Opinions? Harker Aquila!

Jauchy Juger Library assistant

Maile Chung (12)

Alisa Su (11)

Alex Mo (12)

Andrew Irvine Chemistry teacher

Matthew Hajjar (10)

“Going to Europe for my honeymoon. We went through France and Italy, and it was wonderful.”

“This summer, my most memorable experience was working at the Lower School with kindergarten.”

“I went to Georgetown for three weeks. I went to a business program.”

“I just came back from New York City, where I did training at the UNICEF headquarters for the National Council.”

“We saw wonderful places. Really recommend that people take advantage of this wonderful area they live in.

Probably my traveling to Vienna on vacation. We stopped at this really nice cafe which was part of the best restaurants in the world.”

STEM

Apple jacks jacks

aquila features editor

First they removed the floppy disk. Then they removed the USB port. Now Apple Inc. plans to do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack that has been on iPhones since their inception. With the release date of Apple’s next smartphone—the iPhone 7—being unveiled in a month, many different technology websites have published articles with confirmation from sources close to Apple that the new iPhone will not have a headphone port. For example, a report by Mark Sullivan for Fast Company, a monthly technology and business magazine, stated that “the new phone will rely on its Lightning cable port for sound output to wired headphones. That port has been used for power and data transfer in recent iPhones.”

There are multiple reasons that Apple thought intensively to remove the standard headphone jack. Smartphones without headphone ports would be more easily waterproofed, would gain more space for any new features Apple has been waiting to unveil and would become even thinner. However, one of the biggest reasons to knock the port away is to market wireless headphones, specifically those created by Apple’s ally, Beats Electronics. “I’m an Android user, where the phones have a headphone port and are waterproof, but you know, I agree with Apple’s decision to do this,” Rahul Goyal (10) said. “[Apple] keeps trying to revolutionize technology in this day and age, and by bringing in wireless earbuds into the mix, I think that would be doing it.” Meanwhile, students who don’t support have another

perspective on Apple’s sudden decision. Junior Jerry Chen thinks that there is no reason to not include the standard headphone port in the next invention. “Their decision removes compatibility with almost everything except wireless headphones or earphones, and they gain practically nothing from doing so,” he said. “I’ll definitely be interested in seeing how the company responds to the criticism and accommodates for the lack of a headphone jack, though.” Technology websites have been debating whether the headphone jack should be removed and whether a removal would benefit Apple’s reputation; however, Apple has pioneered new and improved technology, so the decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 could be another major step in the right direction for the company.

Removing headphone jack on iPhone favors of wireless headphones, allows for thinner, waterproofable phones

anjay saklecha

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

photo editor

Google recently added two new features to its search engine to help people register to vote and keep up-to-date with political news. The company informed the public of this change on its official blog on July 15. One of the new tools is a step-by-step guide for the voter registration procedure. Because of the varied requirements and voting deadlines, this information is organized by state.

“We hope these new features in Search will help keep you informed this election season”

JACOB SCHONBERG GOOGLE PRODUCT MANAGER When someone searches “register to vote” or a similar inquiry using Google’s search engine, this feature will pop up above the search results, with three tabs: “How To,” “Requirements” and “Deadlines.” One can then view the prerequisites and deadlines for a state. “We hope these new features in Search will help keep you informed this election season and make it easier for you to make it to the ballot box in November,” Google’s product manager Jacob Schonberg wrote on the blog post. Google also provided event summaries, information about nominees and speaker lineups for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, as well as a live stream video on YouTube and associated social media posts.

Rishab Gargeya’s smartphone app diagnoses eye diseases neil bai & michael sikand

aquila copy editor & social media editor

Rishab Gargeya (12) was named a regional finalist in the 2016 Google Science Fair on July 18 for his development of a smartphone application capable of producing an instant diagnosis for common eye diseases. The Google Science Fair is a global science competition held online, open to anyone between the ages of 13 and 18. Participants have the opportunity to win different prizes including a $50,000 scholarship offered by Google. The application uses a deep-learning algorithm developed by Rishab. With the support of a low-cost external camera attachment, it scans the retina for irregularities, eliminating the need for clinical testing and producing an instant diagnosis. Rishab’s application is built to combat widespread vision-impairing diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, both of which lead to irreversible eyesight loss and are very common in underdeveloped regions. “An automated solution for the early detection of retinal diseases is of immediate need, providing patients with timely access to life-altering diagnostics without dependence on medical specialists in clinical settings,” he writes in his project report. “I hope this project can finally provide a low-cost, accessible solution for early detection of eye disease and blindness prevention.” Rishab began his research in freshman year. His interest in battling eye disease stemmed from a volunteer experience at an eye care clinic near his grandparents’ home in rural India. By shadowing expert

retinal specialists and ophthalmologists, Rishab observed clinical inefficiencies.

many patients undiagnosed and susceptible to vision loss over time.”

“Current diagnostic methods are time-consuming and expensive [. . .] leaving many patients undiagnosed and susceptible to vision loss.”

“Through [my] experience, I learned of the disparity between the number of doctors available and the large number of patients that needed medical attention,” he said. “Current diagnostic methods are time-consuming and expensive, … thereby leaving

RISHAB GARGEYA SENIOR Rishab worked with Dr. Sheila John, an ophthalmologist in the Teleophthalmology Department at the Sankara Nethralaya Eye Foundation, to adjust the algorithm and deploy the application at screening camps in rural areas. “While developing my

mobile application, I had to keep in constant contact with various clinicians and push multiple releases to their smartphones, gathering feedback and tweaking my application as well as the underlying algorithm to best fit their needs,” he said. Despite his success, Rishab still faces obstacles in the development process, most notably working to support the application on a diversity of smartphone devices and promoting usability in a clinical setting. “I am very grateful and honored to receive this recognition [of] my work,” he said. “I am very excited as to how far I have come, and I look forward to working on [the] next steps in my application.” To learn more about Rishab’s project, view his project link here: goo.gl/WDL6Bk.

iDIAGNOSIS Rishab Gargeya demonstrates how the phone and external camera would be used to scan a patient’s eyes. Rishab’s application quickly scans the retina and can identify vision-impairing diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Inset: An apparatus attached to the iPhone to enable diagnosis.

PROVIDED BY RISHAB GARGEYA

ashley jiang

Senior named Google Science Fair finalist

GOOGLE SCIENCE FAIR

Google Search feature helps voters register

STEM

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

GLOBAL

RESET

FACING OUR FUTURE

The darker side of light aquila copy editor

In the fight to protect the environment, countless organizations and groups have spoken out about the impacts of the pollution of air, water and chemicals on the natural world. But while light pollution has substantial environmental consequences for both humans and wildlife, it remains a topic often less acknowledged than other types of contamination. Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, occurs when natural levels of brightness are altered by sources of artificial light. As cities are often more illuminated than rural areas, light pollution is more commonly found in metropolitan regions. However, the reach of light pollution is surprisingly far; the International Dark-Sky Association reports that the lights of Los Angeles can be observed from an airplane up to 200 miles away from the city. Disruptions of normal light levels affect plants and animals. Both rely on the circadian cycle, an internal clock regulating biological processes such as brain wave activity, hormone production and cell regeneration, to function. While organisms living in environments with natural levels of light are able to thrive, the interference of artificial light can change the way they develop and reproduce. By altering organisms’ circadian clocks, artificial light can prevent nocturnal animals from being able to hunt effectively and cause trees to continue leaf growth throughout autumn, risking branch breakage caused by snow buildup in the winter. Animals that rely on natural sources of light for guidance, such as birds on migratory courses or baby sea turtles on their way to the ocean, can be driven off course by artificial light. The impacts of artificial light on humans include its negative effects on human behavior and sleep patterns. A 2015 Harvard University study discovered that blue light, which is emitted by many

digital devices, suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone that prepares the body for sleep. The study also reported that blue light wavelengths boost attention and mood, inhibiting an individual’s ability to fall asleep naturally. “Studies have shown that even if teenagers have an electronic device in their bedroom but are not using it, the presence of the device can affect their sleep because they’re constantly thinking about receiving notifications and texts,” pediatrician Dr. Karen Chiu said. “Teenagers’ brains naturally release melatonin later in the night in comparison to children, so screen time can further disrupt their circadian clocks.”

“Teenagers’ brains naturally release melatonin later in the night... so screen time can further disrupt their circadian clocks.” DR. KAREN CHIU PEDIATRICIAN Another of the many problems caused by light pollution is decreased star visibility, which is a direct result of skyglow. Skyglow is a phenomenon that occurs when light directed upwards is scattered and reflected back towards the ground by the atmosphere, reducing the contrast between stars and the sky and making it more difficult to see distant objects in the sky. According to the “World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness,” one-third of the world’s population is unable to see the Milky Way at night. Although light pollution is widespread, there are ways to mitigate its effects. People can reduce the negative impacts of artificial light on their health by increasing their exposure to natural light

during the daytime and by avoiding usage of electronic devices for two to three hours before bedtime. To prevent artificial sources of light from competing with the light of stars in the night sky, the International Dark-Sky Association recommends using fully shielded lights, or lights pointing straight downwards, with a warm yellow color. Nichols Hall was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status in 2009 by the United States Green Building Council, an organization dedicated towards promoting sustainable building and construction. Some of Nichols Hall’s light-friendly features include shielded lamps, low-temperature yellow lighting and a lighting calendar to turn off lights in rooms during school breaks. The upper school also hopes to achieve LEED Gold status for its new performing arts and athletics building, the construction of which began near the end of last school year. The new buildings will include low-energy LED lighting, high-performance window glass and quality wall and roof insulation to provide facilities with adequate lighting. “With regard to LEED requirements, I think the main lighting issue is exterior lighting, because what LEED is interested in is not adding light to the sky and not wasting the light by shining it upwards,” Kevin Hart, one of the architects designing the new performing arts and athletics build-

3 out of every 4 people are not able to see the stars at night.

ing, said. “We’re picking light fixtures that have a strict cutoff so that the light from the fixture is all directed at the ground rather than towards the horizon.” To reduce the amount of energy Harker would buy from energy companies, the new gymnasium will also feature solar panels on the roof, which will provide around 22 percent of the energy needed by the gym and 19 percent of the energy required by the theater. The new buildings will also be constructed using materials with low emissions of odors or contaminants to improve air quality inside the gymnasium and theater. Both facilities will utilize an air conditioning system designed to monitor carbon dioxide levels and provide 30 percent more outside air than the current American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard. Acquisition of LEED status on the new buildings will continue the building ideas first demonstrated in Nichols Hall and cement school policy of being environmentally conscious and responsible.

Lighting is responsible for at least 1/4 of all electricity consumption worldwide.

80% of the world’s population lives under skyglow.

Rising juniors succeed in TEAMS competition neil bai

aquila copy editor

PROVIDED BY JIMMY LIN

tiffany wong

KAITLIN HSU

Part one of a seven part series on the environment

TEAMING UP (TOP) Juniors Michael Kwan, Jerry Chen, Sahana Srinivasan, Shaya Zarkesh pose on stage after receiving their first place trophies on June 30. (RIGHT) The team discusses potential solutions during the problem-solving portion of the contest. The team placed third in presentation and problem solving and fourth in the essay.

The upper school’s underclassmen team was named Best in Nation in their age group at the annual Test of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) National Competition, held this year in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to June 30. The team consisted of juniors Michael Kwan, Jimmy Lin, Sahana Srinivasan, Justin Xie, Shaya Zarkesh, Randy Zhao and team captain Jerry Chen. “All of us have a passion for technology, and we were excited for this competition because it provided us with an opportunity to test our creativity and knowledge against others with similar interests,” Randy said. The TEAMS competition consists of three main parts: a prepared presentation, a written essay and a problem-solving section. This year, the theme of the presentation was space exploration while the essay was focused on optogenetics, a technique using light to activate certain neutrons in order to control living cells. The problem-solving portion contained both topics. The teams’ presentation was centered around the possibility of space colonization. As part of their research, they looked into past proposals and estimated the costs of sustaining civilization in space.

For the essay portion, the team researched optogenetics and explained potential applications for the technology in scientific fields. In preparation for the problem set, which included multiple-choice and free-response sections, students were given a hint by TEAMS that the problems were going to be more focused on optics, so they spent additional time studying and learning more about it. “We all researched different topics in our spare time and then gathered once a week over the summer to pool everyone’s research together and discuss our strategy going forward,” Jimmy said. “Our whole team learned a lot through working together on the group events, and it was definitely exciting to see our hard work pay off when we ultimately came out on top.” The team believes that traveling to Nashville was worthwhile not only from a competition standpoint but also because of the city’s atmosphere. The competition took up a relatively small amount of the three days they were there, and the team had a lot of chances to interact with other participants and make new friends. “The city was definitely a lot different from what we were used to, and the convention center where the competition was held was beautiful,” Jerry said. “We all had a great time, and I think we were all glad we could top off the experience with our win.”

TAKING THE TORCH RIO OLYMPICS LIGHTS UP THE WORLD

rose guan, ruhi sayana & tiffany wong copy editors & aquila copy editor

Rio hosts first refugee team The Olympic Games welcome athletes from all over the globe to participate in two weeks of sporting events. The International Olympic Committee, which organizes the games, has always sought to form friendly relationships in this way among people from different parts of the world. The Olympic Charter discusses this fundamental principle of “peace through sport,” describing the Olympics as an attempt to “create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal funding ethical principles.” However, conflict and internal turmoil have inhibited many countries from being able to maintain peaceful bonds with each other. From Russia’s recent doping scandal to arguments between Olympic swimmers Mack Horton of Australia and Sun Yang of China, the Olympics seemed to struggle this year in promoting its ideology of international peace. But this year, the IOC also sponsored ten athletes, all of whom had their refugee status verified by the United Nations before the Olympics. The refugee athletes competed in Rio under the Olympic flag because they could not do so in their own countries’ names.

“This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis,” IOC President Thomas Bach said of the decision to include the athletes. The IOC identified 43 potential candidates for the team before announcing the final ten members, comprising two judoka, two swimmers and six runners, on June 23. The athletes

“Being from a refugee team, you’re basically doing everything on your own.” DAMON HALBACK HISTORY TEACHER originated from Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Syria, and they were sponsored by the National Olympic Committees of Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Kenya and Luxembourg. “Being from a refugee team, you’re basically doing everything on your own and doing it generally without infrastructure and the ability to train some days at all, so it’s great that the refugee team’s included, but it’s impossible for them to achieve at the same level,” Modern International Affairs teacher Damon

Halback said. “If you’re trying to compete at the highest level, while the other athletes will be proud that you’re there, they’re still after a medal, and they’re going to use every advantage that they have.” Developing countries are often dependent on foreign aid for funds, equipment and travel costs, while athletes from such countries can suffer from minimal or nonexistent training of sports coaches, physical education programs in schools and medical care for athletic injuries. “If you’re in a U.S. training facility, you have the best of advice on nutrition and training and recovery—often you have doctors on site to help with injuries—so athletes who are coming from developing countries have a much bigger hurdle to jump in order to prepare for the Olympics. Now, that’s not always true; there are some developing countries that do focus on their sports programs instead of other entities,” Halback said. “But that being said, if you’re coming from a country that doesn’t have that kind of nationalistic focus, it’s just so much harder to be successful.” None of the refugee athletes medaled in their events, although Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini won her heat of the women’s 100 butterfly.

MEI

Yiech Pur Biel James Chiengjiek Anjelina Nadai Lohalith Rose Nathike Lokonyen Paulo Amotun Lokoro

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Yonas Kinde

Athletes raise concerns about Zika virus in

Yusra Mardini Rami Anis NS

Yolande Bukasa Mabika Popole Misenga TWITTER @ HOPESOLO

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Economic impacts of the Rio Olympic games The country is in one of its worst recessions. According to economic statistics aggregator Trading Economics, its unemployment rate in June this year was 11.3 percent, a 66 percent increase from the 6.8 percent unemployment in June 2015. In addition, its gross domestic product declined by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of this year and 5.9 percent in the quarter before that. “A normal GDP growth when things are neither good nor bad can be in the two to three percent range, so even a zero percent range is bad, historically,” economics teacher Samuel Lepler said. “So when you have big, fast contractions, it threatens institutions, which can hurt long-term growth for a long and sustained period of time.” Brazil also encountered political turmoil leading up to the games. The Brazilian senate started the impeachment process against the country’s now-suspended president, Dilma Rousseff, three months before the games began. Rousseff’s vice president, Michel Temer, has taken over as interim president. Cabinet ministers from Rousseff’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party— Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, or PMDB—have also resigned. The sports minister, George Hilton, is among them, though he had a minimal role in preparation for the games. The Brazilian Supreme

The games’ host city of Rio de Janeiro raised safety concerns among some athletes about the likes of the Zika virus. The virus was first detected in the Western Hemisphere in Brazil in May 2015, although it may have been been present before then. Its symptoms are mild when they are present and include fever, joint pain, rash and red eyes. Zika is mainly spread through mosquito bites, as well as through blood transfusions and sex. The two mosquito species that spread Zika are carriers of the yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya viruses as well. “Zika is a virus that is a flavivirus, which is the same general family as the dengue virus,” said Dr. Paul Roepe, a biochemistry professor at Georgetown Univer-

Court is also investigating PMDB senators, including Renan Calheiros, the president of the National Congress and the Senate. “When you have a very significant, fast contraction in a country, there’s a lot of effects economically, but it tends to have political fallout as well,” Lepler said. “Brazil is undergoing a lot of political strain with corruption in the government and nationalization of a lot of industries—oil is a big one. So when things are going okay, people tend to be like, ‘Oh, the government’s doing pretty well!’ When things suddenly collapse, you get people kicked out of office; you get a lot of destabilization.” Another concern during the games was safety. The state of Rio de Janeiro experiences 28.3 homicides for every 100,000 people, and 10,000 robberies occurred there in May. Although Brazilian authorities stationed 85,000 security personnel around the city for the games, crimes still occurred. After the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Aug. 5, a 22-year-old Brazilian man was shot and killed by a security guard. According to Rio’s Civil Police Department, the man was assaulting people outside Maracana Stadium. Despite the high crime rate around the city, no Olympic competitors were seriously injured as a result of a crime during the games.

sity and co-director of Georgetown’s Center for Infectious Diseases. “If you look at what we’ve learned about dengue and how its pattern of transmission changed since 2007 to the present day, it’s a reasonable guess that Zika could follow a similar pattern, which means that we will expect to see it in pockets in the southern United States.” Pregnant women can also transfer the virus to their unborn babies. The Center for Disease Control has confirmed that infected fetuses can develop microcephaly, a congenital condition causing incomplete brain development and abnormally small heads. A link between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a potentially fatal autoimmune disease that causes temporary pa-

PROVIDED BY SCOTTY BARA

Covering the Olympics: Q&A with Scotty Bara

Scotty Bara is a 21-year-old Palo Alto native. He’s majoring in photo-journalism at Arizona State University. He had a chance to photograph the Olympics this summer as part of a collegiate journalism team from ASU. The Winged Post caught up with Scotty while he was still in Rio to get his perspective on the games.

ralysis, has been observed but not proven. According to the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee, over 10,500 athletes, coaches and trainers traveled to Rio for the Olympics, as well as over 500,000 tourists. Currently, at least 1.5 million people in Brazil are infected with the virus. A major concern for athletes was that travel to Rio could spread the Zika virus to previously unaffected parts of the world due to the risk of exposure to Zika-carrying mosquitoes. Most countries with active Zika transmission are in South America; however, countries in Central America and parts of the southern United States have recently been affected by Zika. “Almost 90% of all money

Winged Post: Did you get to shoot any of the events? Scotty Bara: All of our press passes were just for student media, so we did not have access to any of the events, which is a big shame to me because I really wanted to be in the photo pit with all the other photographers taking pictures of these amazing athletes. But I did get to go to practice and interview athletes outside of the venues, which is pretty cool. WP: What did it take to get credentialed just for those limited photo passes? SB: We had to interview PR people of every single team and athlete. We’re student journalists from the Arizona news division of PBS, so they maybe didn’t think that our news coverage would be valid enough for the athletes’ time. So it was really frustrating getting in contact with the athletes and getting access to these events and practices. WP: Have you ever shot an event like the Olympics before? SB: Not nearly at the same scale — I’ve never shot the Super Bowl or any event like that. but I have gone to professional sporting events where I’ve shot photos for class. But I’ve never done anything like the Olympics; I don’t think there’s anything as big as the Olympics. It is really the top sporting event in the whole entire world, so I’ve never done anything to this scale before. WP: There were a lot of concerns about infrastructure issues and the quality of facilities at Rio. What was your experience with that? SB: I did a lot of research about it, but I kind of took it all with a grain of salt. I knew that Brazil was a developing country, and there are going to be issues with the games, but I found a lot of those issues, Zika, infrastructure, political issues, the economic situation, sewage and pollution — it’s all blown out of proportion.

that [Brazil makes] from tourism is from domestic tourism, so in that regard, international tourism has an effect on the economy, but most of it comes from domestic visitors,” said Dr. Carolin Lusby, an assistant professor at the University of Florida. “Most people that are traveling are not going to have any impact whatsoever from Zika, so to me, I don’t see it really impacting travel that much.” Some top athletes, including tennis players Simona Halep and Milos Raonic, cyclist Tejay van Garderen and several golfers, chose not to attend the Rio games at least in part because of the Zika virus. Other Olympic competitors took extra precautions against Zika due to apprehension regarding the virus.

American soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo expressed concerns about the virus but attended the games anyway. “If anyone in the village forgets to pack repellent, come and see me,” she wrote on Twitter along with a picture of various insect repellents on July 21. Brazilians booed her during gameplay every time she had possession of the ball, but she defended her decision by stating that she wants to start a family with her husband, Jerramy Stevens, and that she did research about Zika before coming to Brazil. TWITTERS OF CONCERN Hope Solo, goalie for the American Olympic soccer team, posts a photo of herself in mosquitoavoidant attire on her personal twitter account.

A10

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

PULSE OF THE PEOPLE

FEATURES

In this repeating Features segment, the Winged Post will explore a social issue relevant to both the community and the time.

Black Lives Matter responds to summer shootings prameela kottapalli

aquila asst. features editor

center of the circle,” Wiehe said. “People all uniting to occupy and to protest peacefully and coming together-- it’s the only way to accomplish anything, and it has been accomplishing things.” The high-profile shootings of Sterling and Castile prompted demonstrations not only in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, but all over the nation. Black Lives Matter members organized a rally in Dallas on July 7, but the demonstration, which started out as peaceful with minimal conflict between officials and protesters, ended in an ambush.

“Your silence is violence. Just because internally you agree that it’s not okay for Black people to be treated this way, that doesn’t change anything. Get out there -- it makes such a difference.” SAIJEN WEIHE BLACK LIVES MATTER ACTIVIST Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Texan army reserve veteran, opened fire on a group of police officers, killing five and injuring nine others. “Our police have an extraordinarily difficult job and the vast majority of them do their job in outstanding fashion,” President Barack Obama said in a state-

ment released to the press.”We need to be supportive of those officers who do their job each and every day. Protecting us and protecting our communities. [Dallas] is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices that they make for us.” Like the deaths of Sterling and Castile, the attack on the police force engendered grief and fear in the general public. The officers were the victims of violence and unrest, and for many supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Dallas shooting demonstrated how both the law enforcement and African-American communities are afflicted by strife. “It sucks to see police officer shootings, violence, and riots, but also to see cities mourning losses, families crying and thinking about their child being killed,” said junior Angel Cervantes. “It’s hard, but I think we need to find a new way to handle these situations, because at the end of the day, we’re all human.” Since July of 2014, nearly 1500 Black Lives Matter protests have been held, and the movement gains a greater following on social media each and every day. “Your silence is violence,” Weihe said. “Just because internally you agree that it’s not okay for Black people to be treated this way, that doesn’t change anything. Get out there-- it makes such a difference.”

KAITLIN HSU - WINGED POST

Baton Rouge and St. Paul, Baltimore and Chicago. These cities may seem unrelated, yet they are all tied together by one determining factor: violence. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On July 5, officers pinned 37-yearold Alton Sterling to the ground in a parking lot and fired six bullets at him. St. Paul, Minnesota. On July 6, police officers pulled over 32-year-old teacher Philando Castile for a broken taillight and shot him. “As an African-American woman, every day I worry that someone who is in my life, that my person, my loved one, is going to be murdered by a police officer,” said Dr. Lola Muldrew, a faculty member of the diversity committee. “I think that every single day. Every time he leaves the house, I worry that he might not come back. Every single day. That’s stressful.” Houston and North Miami, Oakland and Los Angeles. All cities in which parents worry for their sons’ lives and take care to instill caution in their children. “It’s not something I think about on a day to day aspect because I like to go through life with a positive outlook,” said Jadan McDermott (11). “But my mom and my dad tend to see things in the more realistic way: as a Black teenager, you’ve got to be careful when you’re going out, you’ve got to conduct your-

self in the proper way, you’ve got to pay attention to what you’re doing or it could be easily misconstrued and you can end up as another headline in the newspaper.” Amidst the fear and anxiety, what happened this summer has also fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. Since its beginnings in 2012, the movement has not only sparked an ongoing discussion about law enforcement in the United States but has also taken root in countries all over the world, from Canada and England to France and South Africa. It has been recognized by presidential candidates, politicians, former civil rights leaders and celebrities. And most significantly, the activists behind the Black Lives Matter movement have protested the issues the Black community faces. 27-year-old Minnesota University alumni Saijen Weihe was part of the demonstrations held to object against Castile’s death, including a march outside the Minnesota governor’s residence. She was also an active member of the protests surrounding the killing of Jamar Clark, a 24-year old Black Minneapolis resident shot by cops in November. “One of the main tactics we had for when we got stormed by the cops was to make a giant circle. On the outside we would have clergymen, holy people from churches and of different religions. White people made up the second line of defense, and any Black people would be at the

jenna sadhu reporter

There have been 190 school shootings in America since 2013, according to Everytown Research. In recent years, schools across the country are working to prevent shootings by including more gun violence drills in their curriculums. According to the Education Department, 70 percent of schools now practice shooting drills, an increase from 53 percent in 2008. Shooting drills are almost as common as earthquake, fire and tornado drills, which are practiced at nearly 84 percent of schools. Shooting drills are held nationwide but are most popular in the suburbs, where 75 percent of schools held drills in 2013. “Every year, some students are threatened or injured with a weapon while they are on school property. The percentage of students victimized in this way provides a measure of how safe our schools are” states the Institution for Educational Sciences (IES). Some schools hold elaborate

shooting drills by having students sign up to be covered in fake blood and have police officers fire BB guns on campus to simulate an active shooter scenario. Other schools simply turn off all lights, stay quiet and lock all the doors. However, Vox reports that

“Every year, some students are threatened or injured with a weapon while they are on school property.” INSTITUTION OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES the intense and elaborate drills that some schools simulate have proven to be more distressing to students than helpful and informative. Statistics from the Bureau of Justice show that the chance of a mass shooting taking place at one’s school is one in five million. Concerned parents and teachers

may worry that allocating lots of time, money and effort into elaborate drills for an event that is unpredictable and unlikely can traumatize staff and students. “Violent deaths at schools are rare, but, tragic events [have] far-reaching effects on the school population and surrounding community” states the IES. Crimes such as robbery, sexual assault and abuse prove to be far more common than gun violence in schools. A higher percentage of students have reported being victimized at school than students who have experienced gun violence. “Any drill that we prepare for gun violence should never trade off with the types of strategies that we face, including cyberbullying and sexual assault,” Aliesa Bahri (11) said. “You’re more likely to commit a crime or acts of violence if you are engaged with that type of behavior when you are younger.” The upper school administration creates an annual presentation that outlines updates to

KAITLIN HSU - WINGED POST

Shootings prompt increase in gun violence

Code Red drills. Code Red drills are designed to familiarize students and staff with emergency response tactics for wild animals on campus, nearby robberies or assaults or gunmen on campus. During these drills, students and teachers are expected to turn

off all lights, barricade doors using furniture, tape pieces of paper to obscure windows and remain as quiet as possible. If students are not in a classroom when the Code Red announcement takes place, they must go to the nearest classroom and obey the teacher’s instructions immediately.

FEATURES

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VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

Speaking of music...

Senior hosts concert to raise money for speech therapy for autistic children

maya kumar features editor

After volunteering at Innovative Therapy Services (ITS), a speech therapy clinic for autistic children, for several years it occurred to Sana Aladin (12) that speech therapy can become expensive in the long term. She soon learned that many children have to stop speech therapy because their families cannot afford it, so she decided to start a fundraising initiative called Speech Therapy for All. Her goal is to raise $6000

talking to the kids and having them talk to someone who is not a teacher or a parent so they can get more social interaction in,” Sana said. Sana has been volunteering at ITS for over five years and has two autistic cousins who attend speech therapy, so she has witnessed firsthand the long term benefits of speech therapy on autistic children. “I think back on how they were then versus now and it’s just such a striking difference in that so many of them are much more comfortable talking, not

“I think back on how they were then versus now and it’s just such a striking difference in that so many of them are much more comfortable talking.”

MAYA KUMAR

SANA ALADIN (12)

MUSIC SPEAKS VOLUMES (TOP) Sara Pachauri (12) sings at the concert (MIDDLE LEFT) Ashwin Rao (12) plays Indian classical music on the violin. (MIDDLE RIGHT) Anahita Far (12) and Aryana Far (10) sing “Riptide” by Vance Joy, while Aryana also plays the guitar. (BOTTOM LEFT) Tamlyn Doll (12) performs an improvised dance. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Krishna Bheda (11) sings “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles.

aquila features editor & copy editor

PROVIDED BY TIFFANY WONG

Four sophomores placed second in the middle division at the Future Problem Solvers (FPS) international conference at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, from June 1 to June 5. Sophomores Sara Min, Kelly Shen, Taylor Lam and Tiffany Wong were the original team members, but because Taylor could not attend the international conference, Elaine Zhao (7) took her place in the team event. The team placed second out of 78 groups in the middle division with their packet for the conference’s topic, “energy of the future.” “The problems we were dealing with and the solution we were writing were aimed towards finding sources of renewable energy,” Tiffany said. “The energy of the future topic revolved around this island and this type of trees, e-daisies, and they were having some problem with generating power for the island because there was such

a large population, and there were environmentalists trying to move the trees.” To qualify for the international conference, teams had to place at least first or second in their respective age division at the regional level. An event consists of participants brainstorming potential problems and solutions dealing with the future scene, a story set in the future consisting of a main problem. “We had to read the future scene and identify 16 challenges that would be threats for the people on the island,” Tiffany said. “We had to pick a main challenge and write 16 solutions to that challenge and then pick one solution and write an action plan, an essay, detailing how that solution solves your challenges and benefits the people in the future scene.” While they placed second, some team members still had doubts about placing. “They called in ascending order, and we were always expecting to be the next name called, Tiffany said. “We weren’t called until second place, and we were really happy afterwards.”

PROBLEM SOLVED Kelly Shen (10), Elaine Zhao (7), Tiffany Wong (10), and Sara Min (10) placed second in the middle division.

each biosphere will be 100 feet tall

10 million square feet of office space

nicole chen & rose guan

just to me, but to any new volunteer who comes in,” she said. While planning the concert, Sana asked many of her friends to perform. Although he had not previously volunteered with autistic children, Ashwin Rao (12) immediately accepted her offer because he felt that the cause was very important, . “I’ve known a few people with mental diseases and i’ve seen how hard it is to interact with them and how hard it is for them to interact with other people,” he said. “We really need to get these kids who are disadvantaged in this world to be able to have some of the same things that neurotypical people do.”

Four sophomores place second at FPS international conference

by December 2016, which will fund therapy for three students. To reach this goal, she will be hosting a fundraising concert. The concert will take place on Aug. 20 from 3:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. at the Palo Alto Art Center Auditorium. Each ticket costs $10, and all proceeds go towards funding speech therapy for autistic children whose families cannot afford to pay for it. Speech therapy involves a customized mix of group interactions, in which children can play games and interact with one another, and individual sessions which usually focus on developing language skills through puzzles and word games. “It’s mostly just about

over 3000 plant species from 30 countries

three 38 story towers Sources: Bloomberg News, GeekWire. and Inhabitat

Amazon starts construction on biospheres katherine zhang asst. STEM editor

Amazon employees at the company’s Seattle headquarters will be able to meet, work and socialize amidst plant life inside massive biospheres. The spheres are part of a larger construction project by Amazon that also includes several high- and low-rise office buildings. When the spheres open after two years of construction, Amazon employees will be treated to a collection of over 3,000 plant species, some of them endangered. Workers will be able to wander through forest canopies, work beside indoor creeks and hold meetings in treehouses three stories above the ground. Like many other tech companies, Amazon is working to provide an environment that encourages innovation and inspires employees.

“I think the idea of the biosphere is to provide a workspace that connects people to the natural world, something missing in a typical workplace environment,” said upper school Spanish teach-

“The idea of the biosphere is to provide a workspace that connects people to the natural world, something missing in a typical workplace environment” DIANA MOSS UPPER SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHER er and Green Team advisor Diana Moss. “The idea of including certain endangered plant species is a conservation effort, which I also applaud.”

Amazon executives hope that the spheres will create a lasting impact on downtown Seattle in addition to promoting creativity and protecting endangered plants. John Schoettler, director of Amazon’s global real estate and facilities, called the spheres “a found treasure in the downtown neighborhood” in an interview with The New York Times. However, some Seattle residents have concerns about the scope of the project. Commuters are frustrated by traffic caused by the construction, and the owners of the Space Needle have stated that Amazon’s buildings will obscure the famous attraction. Despite such opposition, Seattle’s Downtown Design Review Board has approved the project the biospheres are beginning to take shape, and they are projected to open in 2018.

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Looking for the secret to “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”? (No spoilers here!)

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Do you plan to read it? “I have read all the other Harry Potter books and I am pretty excited for this one. I am really excited to learn about his son and the story beyond it.”

KARINA BUTANI (11)

“Maybe later, but probably not at this point. I am not really a big Harry Potter fan.”

ERIC TRAN (11) “Although Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is fraugt with plot holes and is written in a script setting, I feel like individuals should expect the discrepancy becuase it is a screenplay not completely written by J.K. Rowling.”

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nisha shankar reporter

Harry Potter fans impatiently waited for the release of the sequel to the series that supposedly ended on July 21, 2007. The play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” by Jack Thorne, was released worldwide on July 31 and is based on a story by Thorne, John Tiffany and J.K. Rowling, the author of the previous seven Harry Potter books. The Palace Theatre in London now plays the eighth Harry Potter story making it the first official story of the series played on stage. Also, Rowling did not write the book, another first. “I’d love people to see it, it’s better seen than read- plays are like sheet music, meant to be sung and we’ve a cast and crew of pure Beyonce,” Jack Thorne, the author of the play, wrote on Twitter. “But I recognise not everyone will get that chance, so

es:

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hope the script provides some substitute.” Upon release, readers had mixed reactions to the script. “I think it is going to be

“I enjoyed it as a stand-alone experience, but as part of the rest of the series, it was OK. I think maybe it would be better to see the in play in person.” SANA ALADIN (12) kind of harder to adapt it as a play because [of] all the magicky stuff,” Michael Auld (12) said. “It works for movies because they have Computer-generated imagery (CGI) and stuff; with

Tired of schoolwork already?

ALEXIS GAUBA (12)

Five upcoming events in the entertainment world to look forward to

A Sophomore’s Guide torequired freshman classes rose guan

copy editor

I’m sure this has been drilled into every freshman’s head already, but high school is a big step up from eighth grade: if you don’t think the stairs in Shah are tall now, wait until you’ve sprinted there from Dobbins for the nth time. So here are some tips that I hope will help you survive at least some of your freshman classes, from one ex-middle schooler to another.

used to them, since you’ll be writing for your next four years here. Welcome to high school English club; the first rule is not to talk about high school English club. If you guessed that the second rule is to understand that every teacher has slightly different expectations for an essay and it’s important to learn where your first papers fall short, you’re right on the money. If not, well, now’s as good a time as ever to start learning from your mistakes.

English 1: Study of Literary World History 1 Genres You know Yeah, I know “The Odyssey” sometimes seems like the unfunny punchline to a joke about what you get when you cross an obscure Shakespeare play with a poem so long it has chapters. (You’ll be reading an actual Shakespeare play in English 1, too, so don’t get your hopes up about that first one.) But do yourself a favor and toss the time-honored technique of skimming the reading, or the SparkNotes, in the last 30 seconds of passing period right before your class. If you actually do the reading, you’ll pick up the details you need to know for reading quizzes, and when it’s time to write the all-important essay, you won’t be wondering whether it was Alcinous or Antinous who did that thing with the guy in chapter nine. Speaking of essays, get

that huge textbook you bought for this class? You’ll be reading from

prameela kottapalli

aquila asst. features editor

Shawn Mendes “Illuminate”- Sept. 23

ing. (Are y o u sensing a theme here?) And if you’re not planning to take AP European History next year, you’ll be taking another world history course. Pro tip: topics overlap between World History 1 and World History 2.

“The bottom line: pay attention in class and go to extra help so you fully understand the concepts, and remember to keep track of the actual bottom line during projectile motion problems.” that. But if you try to get away with not doing the reading, you’ll be lost during class, and if that class is in Shah in the afternoon, your only alternative to paying attention is enjoying the aromatic combination of slowly frying pine needles and freeway exhaust. Plus, most of the tests— including the finals—are reading-based. Don’t not do the read-

the play it starts to be harder. It will be sort of harder to read as a play as opposed to reading it as a book.” Other people thought it would be easier to see the play than to read the script. “[It is] definitely not like the typical Harry Potter writing,” senior Sana Aladin said. “I enjoyed it as a stand-alone experience, but as part of the rest of the series, it was OK. I think maybe it would be better to see the in play in person rather than just reading the script.” Many fans still read the “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” book albeit different from the other Harry Potter books. The play sold two million copies worldwide in the first two days after release. “However you engage with it, know that it was written by someone who loves and has always loved Harry Potter,” Thorne wrote on Twitter.

If you forget to read the homework, because we know by now that you’d never ignore it on purpose, you can find copies of the textbook in the library.

Physics

Luckily, you won’t have to read very much in physics. But at the same time, the assessments test your knowledge of how to solve problems more than just rote recall. More than 99 percent of sophomores recommend

practicing problems over memorizing facts when studying for a physics test, according to a recent survey of myself. The bottom line: pay attention in class and go to extra help so you fully understand the concepts, and remember to keep track of the actual bottom line during projectile motion problems. After all, if you don’t get how to solve those, you’ll have trouble with other problems that involve projectile motion concepts, since—spoiler alert—the units in physics build on one another. Understanding freshman physics will also help you in later science and math courses, especially if you take another physics course. In any case, have fun! And remember: 100 percent of sophomores want you to do well and get enough sleep this year. (Yeah, I polled myself for that one, too.)

The second studio pop album by Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes will include 15 songs, including the foot-stomping, chart-topping track “Treat You Better” and the heartfelt ballad “Mercy”.

“Grey’s Anatomy”- Sept. 22

According to the actors, the 13th season of Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC medical drama will focus on the remaining original cast members, and fans are anticipating the return of old character favorites.

“Snowden”- Sept. 16

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley star in this biographical thriller about ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden’s notorious leak of classified government information.

Leigh Bardugo “Crooked Kingdom”- Sept. 27

In this highly-anticipated sequel to young adult author Leigh Bardugo’s dark fantasy novel “Six of Crows”, the six main characters face old and new rivals in a war that will determine the fate of their world.

“FIFA 17”- Sept. 27

The 24th release in the FIFA video game series by EA Sports will comprise of an array of new features, including two additional leagues and new gameplay techniques.

FEATURES

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Alexander Lam (12), dressed as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, points during the Matriculation “Freshman 101” skit.

Riva Saksena (9) grips two beams to steady herself during the freshmen’s orientation day.

Freshmen Shomrik Mondal and Allison Jia try to balance a ball between three poles during the freshmen’s orientation day.

Freshman Thomas Rainow run while holding implements during their orientation day.

Freshmen Joel Morel and Chloe Chen try to move in unison while balancing on wooden stilts.

Raymond Xu (12) gestures to Rashmi Iyer (9) as they try to direct a ball with poles on orientation day.

Ethan Hu (9) balances atop a wooden beam during the freshmen’s orientation day.

Students listen in their seats as Head of School Christopher Nikoloff gives a speech during the Matriculation ceremony.

ASB President Sandip Nirmel (12), dressed as Bob the Builder, gestures during the Matriculation skit.

Members of Cantilena sing during the matriculation ceremony.

A student stands during the reading of the Matriculation oath.

Seniors Michael Tseitlin, Alex Youn and Ray Song pose during the Matriculation skit.

ALL PHOTOS KSHITHIJA MULAM

A look at our

freshmen Class of 2020 welcomed in orientation, Matriculation day

5 3

Matriculation commences new academic year ruhi sayana & katherine zhang copy editor & asst. stem editor

The freshman class of 2020 was officially welcomed into high school during the annual Matriculation ceremony on Aug. 19. The ceremony started on Friday morning with the processional of the teachers followed by incoming freshmen. After everyone was seated, Head of School Christopher Nikoloff opened the ceremony with introductory remarks that welcomed new students to the Harker community. Next, Cantilena, the all women upperclassmen chorus, performed the vocal piece “This Little Light of Mine” under the direction of vocal music teacher Susan Nace. “It was a good day, I got to see people, and for the performance for Cantilena, we messed up a bit, but it was okay,” Ary-

ana Far (10) said. “We got a lot of clapping and people received us well.” Their performance was followed by a speech from Upper School Division Head Butch Keller. During the speech, Keller addressed the values of respect, integrity and character while stepping out of his comfort zone by not speaking at the podium or looking at notes. “I was part of the freshman team, so I was welcomed with the freshmen. It was very warm and inviting, and I enjoyed it,” Chemistry teacher Dr. Koodanjeri said. “I also enjoyed Mr. Keller getting out of his element and being vulnerable and open to doing his speech a different way, which shows the entire student body that it’s okay to try new things.” Next, ASB president Sandip Nirmel addressed the construction going on at school and spoke to each individual class. “I enjoyed Sandip’s speech, especially his humor and the

random allusions kind of spiced it up a little bit,” David Zhu (12), senior class treasurer, said. “Mr. Keller’s as well, I was happy that I was here to listen to his speech. I liked the new approach.” Sandip then introduced the members of the 2016-17 ASB council. Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano then led a reading of the Matriculation oath and introduced the String Quartet, consisting of violinists May Gao (12), Cuebeom Choi (12) and Jerry Peng (10) as well as cellist Edward Oh (12).

The quartet performed the piece “Nothing Else Matters” originally by Metallica, led by Instrumental Music Teacher Chris Florio. Next, members of ASB and class student councils performed the annual “Freshman 101” skit, meant to humorously introduce life in high school to the freshmen. “I thought Freshman 101 was really fun, even though some of the skits were cheesy,” Cynthia Chen (9) said. The skit portrayed Bob the Builder as the main character and a freshmen and his humor-

ous interactions with various comic superhero groups that represented upperclassmen including the PowerPuff Girls, Captain America and Iron Man. “For the very first time, I saw Freshman 101 sitting in the audience,” Dr. Koodanjeri said. “As a teacher we always sit in the back and we only get to hear the skit, so this year, I enjoyed it much more this year than in previous years.” The ceremony closed with remarks by Nikoloff and the recessional of faculty.

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Girls’ Water Polo prepares for round robin

Team Eagle kicks off adrian chu & nisha shankar

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

opinion editor & reporter

ROSE GUAN

Girls’ Volleyball conditions during summer camp

SHOT Sumi Wadhwa (11) practices her shot technique during practice.

RETURN Kathleen Cheng (11) hits a backhand during practice. Girls’ tennis practices began for the season on Aug. 8.

CCS,” Elizabeth Schick (11) said. “I think our goal is just to improve as a team and improve our skill individually.” The girls practice together from Monday through Friday.

Boys’ Water Polo prepares for season

Girls’ water polo practice began Aug. 8. “Our goals this season are to continue to improve throughout the year,” Coach Lamb said. “We are lucky enough to do a double round rob-

in in our league. This gives us the opportunity to play the teams twice [and] see how much we are improving.” They play their first game on Sept. 6 at home.

Football practices through summer

SMASH Lindsey Trinh (11) prepares to spike the ball during a varsity girls volleyball game.

The Harker sports performance staff offered an optional six week program from June 13 to July 29 for girls to practice volleyball skills in a small group and open gyms. “During the summer opportunities the girls worked on conditioning their bodies for the season and improv-

ing their athleticism,” Coach Theresa Smith, the girl’s volleyball coach, said. “They also worked on getting in lots of correct muscle memory reps with hitting, setting, passing, serve receiving, blocking, etc.” Their first match is versus Homestead happens Aug. 25.

Girls’ Golf swings into action

PRACTICING PLAYS Angel Cervantes (11) runs the ball while Danny Reindenbach (12) blocks for him.

The Football team has been practicing throughout the offseason under the guidance of Coach Mike Tirabassi. Building team unity and working on the basics have been priorities.

JUSTIN SU

ASHLEY JIANG

PROVIDED BY TERESA CHENG

Girls’ Tennis begins practices

The Girl’s Tennis hav had two hour practices since Aug. 8 coached by John Fruttero. “Our team’s goal for the season is to do the best we can, trying to perform well, and hopefully qualify for

SPORTS

“We’re focusing on the fundamentals in preseason like basic tackling and running routes,” Rishabh Nijhawan (11) said. The first game is against Yerba Buena high school on Friday, Aug. 27.

The Boys Water Polo team has been practicing since Aug. 8 under the coaching of Ted Ujifusa. Many returning members of the team have played club water polo in between seasons to stay in shape and hone their skills.

“You tend to get rusty after not playing for a while,” Edgar Lin (11) said. Athletes have also been watching Water Polo at the olympics to learn new strategies and techniques from professional teams. The team’s first competes at Wilcox Great 8.

FOCUS Junior Katherine Zhu swinged her club in the bunker at the girls’ senior night game last year.

Girls’ golf practices began on Aug. 22. Tryouts also began Aug. 22 to separate the junior varsity and varsity teams. Girls’ golf has two teamcaptains, Vienna Wang (12) and Alexia Gauba (12). “A lot of people

think that golf is an individual sport and I really want our team to be super mindful and comfortable with each other this year so we can succeed,” Vienna said. The varsity team’s first match takes place on Aug. 30 at Silver

PRESERVERANCE Mishu Nitulescu (11) races across the track at Blackford during cross country practice.

The Cross Country team has been practicing since July under the coaching of Scott Chisam. “I’m personally looking forward to getting faster than I was

last year,” said Peter Connors (11). “My goal for the team is that everyone runs their heart out at every practice.” The team’s first meet is the G u n n - Pa l y - H a r k e r

Senior Rachel Cheng commits to Washington University in St. Louis maya valluru

aquila news editor

club teams consist of players from different schools across the Bay Area. “I feel a little more comfortable going into senior year even though I have volleyball season that’s starting and that’s pretty stressful, but I won’t have to worry about college and all that stuff,” she said. Rachel shared her hopes for her last year as a member of the varsity team at Harker. “As a senior, I want show the underclassmen how to be a good leader and be a role model while also having fun,” she said. “I want to keep making good memories with my teammates and friends. It’s not all about winning, it’s also about those little moHARD HITTER Rachel Cheng (12) hits ments we have together.” the ball.She committed to Washington University in Saint Louis.

ALL PHOTOS MEILAN STEIMLE

Varsity volleyball player Rachel Cheng (12) has committed to playing volleyball at Washington University in St. Louis. Rachel first started playing volleyball in the fifth grade at Harker. After playing on the volleyball team each year ever since, she chose to dedicate more time to the sport because she enjoyed it so much. “It’s just fun. As you get older, you really want to compete against other people and keep getting better and better,” she said. During her high school career, Rachel has accumulated 104 kills, 77 aces, and a .145 hitting percentage. She was named the Harker Volleyball Player of the Year by

MaxPreps in 2015. Rachel’s journey to committing to a school for volleyball began in her junior year, when she first made a list of around 50 schools that she was interested in. As she began to narrow down her options, she spent time on the campuses of her top choices to make her final decision. “I did college visits in spring of my junior year,” she said. “I did overnight visits, I saw the gym, I talked to the coach, and I sat in classes, and that really helped seal the deal in choosing Wash U.” Rachel has played on both the Harker varsity team as well as in clubs outside of school, including Vision Volleyball. She believes that the biggest difference between playing on a school team and on a club team is the dynamic among the players, since

CALL OUT Rachel Cheng (12) signals to her teammates on what is going on in the front row.

SIDE OUT Rachel Cheng (12) prepares to set up volleyballs that come over the net for her teammates. She committed to Washington University in St. Louis.

KJ MULAM

SPLASH Arnav Tandon (12) passes the ball to a partner during practice. Boys’ Water Polo have been practicing since Aug. 8

ADRIAN CHU

JUSTIN SU

Team prepares for meet

FOCUS Rachel Cheng (12) leans forward in order to prepares for the next rally. She committed to Washington University in St. Louis.

SPORTS

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VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

IN THE MOMENT

ASHLEY JIANG

SPLASH! Senior Arben GutierrezBujari prepares to throw the ball to one of his teammates during preseason practice. The varsity boys’ water polo team’s first game will be a home game against Lynbrook High School on Sept. 6.

Senior Niki Iyer earns national title, placing first in race at Junior Olympics

alex wang sports editor

Former Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant announced his decision to become independent of the Thunder organization and sign a two-year $54.3 million contract with the Golden State Warriors on July 4. Durant’s decision elicited a multitude of reactions, with some applauding Durant for his signing and others criticizing his move, seeing his decision as taking the easy way out and joining the team that beat him in the Western Conference Finals. Still others consider Durant’s projected effect on the Warriors next season and on the league in general, believing that Durant will only complement the Warriors’ lofty status at the top of the NBA. Amidst the hype surrounding Durant and the Warriors’ new “super team,” some people see the addition of Durant as somewhat detrimental to the team. “Most people will say that the Warriors are going to become a super team, but in order to get enough cap space [to pay] for Durant, they had to release [Harrison] Barnes, [Andrew] Bogut, [Festus] Ezeli and some other role players, so I would say the Warriors haven’t

NIKI IYER (12)

Sweating right into shape

actually become better, despite the hype,” Kevin Xu (11) said. To open up the portion of their spending needed to sign Durant, the Warriors needed to trade or elect to not resign many of the members of their record-breaking team from the previous season. The loss of these players to fill specific roles could create some difficult situations for the Warriors. “I think the Warriors will be even better now, and it’ll be fun to watch them destroy some other teams,” Arnav Tandon (12) said. Viewers have already received a taste of the Warriors’ level of play next season through the Olympic team, where they could see Durant playing with his future teammates, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

FREE AGENT Kevin Durant plays during a game for the Oklahoma City Thunders in 2015. He joined the Warriors this July as a free agent. down. He will be wrestling during the winter season.

“Don’t worry about the little steps - keep the long term picture in mind, and run fearlessly. The minute you tell yourself that you can’t do something, you’re putting an obstacle in your path. ”

being recruited not only by top track [and] cross--country colleges in the US but top academic colleges as well.” Niki will participate in cross country and track and field during her senior year, where she will represent both Harker and her running club on season. “Don’t worry about the little steps - keep the long term picture in mind, and run fearlessly. The minute you tell yourself that you can’t do something, you’re putting an obstacle in your path. You have to be free and open-minded, and go into every race and have fun. One thing I regret in freshman year was that I don’t think I had as much fun as I thought I did,” Niki said. Following her senior year career, Niki plans to participate in senior competitions at a national level, where she can eventually take part in world teams.

Athletes eat to gain an advantage justin su

sports editor

As school resumes this year, athletes begin preparation for their upcoming sports seasons by following rigorous diets to gain advantages once the season begins. Eating healthy is one of the most important parts of athletes’ lives, as it allows them to build and maintain muscle mass, stay energized during practice and perform at the highest competitive level. “I work out at Sparta Science, and along with physical training they work with me to develop good eating habits because I’m trying to put on more weight before I get into college. I try to eat as many grams of protein a day as I weigh,” soccer player Kailee Gifford (12) said. “In the morning I’ll have bacon and eggs, and for lunch I’ll have a sandwich or something with meat in it, and for dinner I’ll have steak or chicken or fish, something with a lot of protein. You wouldn’t be fueling a really nice car with bad gas, so if I want to be a good athlete, I need to be fueling my body with what’s going to help me put on the most muscle.” However, wrestler Shikhar Solanki (11), is trying to maintain his weight, if not lose some. “In order to build muscle, I have lots of protein: protein shakes, chicken, chicken and

PROVIDED BY SHIKHAR SOLANKI

Warriors win the Kevin Durant lottery

assisted her in competitions. “Niki works really hard every day and is a perfectionist,” Chen said. “She also is very self-driven and is good at balancing her rigorous school work with training, which is very hard to do. And thus that’s why she’s

PROVIDED BY KAILEE GIFFORD

opinion editor

In yet another feat of her career, senior Niki Iyer earned a national title by placing first in the women’s 3000 meter race at the Junior Olympics with a time of 10 minutes, 5.08 seconds on July 30. This year, Niki’s time during the regional competition automatically qualified her for the Junior Olympics. Despite this, she decided to participate in the regional qualifier on June 26 as well, taking first place in the event. “I’ve been blessed to be healthy, and I’ve been training all summer,” Niki said. “I think I achieved what my coach planned out, which was the importance of the race and feel good. I could have raced a lot better, like if I had more competition, or raced the few laps a little faster. I feel pretty good, but I’m not satisfied

-- I’m still very, very hungry.” Niki’s career in running started in sixth grade in Harker, when she joined the cross country team and participated in some club training. Her participation grew more serious in eighth grade, when she had a yearlong training regimen for practice. In her freshman year of high school, she branched out to more high school competitions. “The biggest change factor from sixth grade year would be that I’m a little more knowledgeable and experienced, and this sport isn’t about running hard all the time -- there are certain ways you need to do things and certain things you do,” Niki said. “Every time I go to the state championships, I learn something new. It’s a sport where you never achieve perfect.” Niki participated in the Junior Olympics with the Menlo iGreyHounds Track Club, where her private coach, Jorge Chen,

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

vijay bharadwaj

GAIN AND LOSS (LEFT) Kailee Gifford (12) has meat tacos and a smoothie infused with spinach in order to help her bulk up. She has committed to playing soccer at UC Berkeley. (RIGHT) Shikhar Solanki (11) has roti, paneer and saag for dinner in order to keep his weight down. He will be wrestling during the winter season.

curry, lamb curry, mutton curry and shrimp curry. [However,] the most important meal of the day is breakfast. I have myself two toasts, a glass of milk and Cheerios—honey nut.” Shikhar said. “While eating all that protein is good for my muscle mass, I have to make sure to work off the weight in order to maintain my pounds and stay in my weight class.” While changing weight is one of the products of many athletes’ diets, the biggest reason for athletes to eat healthy is to increase their energy.

“Diet is probably the most important factor in being healthy for games. When I eat too few calories, I feel lightheaded and dizzy due to constant sprints during practice and the many pounds of gear,” football linebacker Rishabh Nijhawan (12) said. “I try to eat starches and carbs the day before games in order to make sure I am ready to play at full capacity.” Practices for fall sports are already underway, so it won’t be long before these diets have an impact.

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BACK PAGE

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 26, 2016

GOing to be the very best

Pokemon GO captures interest of nation

LV 24

IonGrey1 Michael Wang HP 10/10

24 Level

Grade

Aug. 13 Date Checked

TEAM MYSTIC

LV 21

LV 11

Cmonitsvj

fakekathryn

Vishnu Jaisim

Kathryn Cole

HP 9/9

21 Level

Grade

HP 12/12

Aug. 15 Date Checked

Level

TEAM VALOR

HIGHEST CP POKEMON

Aug. 14

Grade

Date Checked

TEAM INSTINCT

VAPOREON, 1497

HIGHEST CP POKEMON

PIDGEOT, 497

ALL GRAPHICS KSHITHIJA MULAM

VICTREEBEL, 1565

HIGHEST CP POKEMON

KSHITHIJA MULAM

ROSE GUAN

Talk Around Campus “I went to China and I realized I couldn’t play ‘Pokemon Go’ there, so it was a month of Pokemon Go wasted.” -Enya Lu (10) “I was out for a run over the summer, and I ran into someone who was jaywalking because he was playing Pokemon Go.” -Amandeep Ahluwalia (11)

Find a Pokemon Gym near you!

INFORMATION AND MAP TAKEN FROM GOOGLE MAPS

1 LDS Church Spire

If you’ve recently noticed an increase in the number of people meandering about glued to their phones, you should know that catching ‘em all is the cause. The latest evolution in the Pokemon franchise’s long line of video games, “Pokemon Go” allows players to encounter the critters with their smartphones. While “Pokemon Go” is not the franchise’s first mobile game, it has enjoyed more popularity than its forerunners. Why has “Pokemon Go” become such a phenomenon? For one, it is the first Pokemon game to use augmented reality. Using the phone’s camera, the app superimposes animated 3-D models of encountered Pokemon onto images of the user’s surroundings to give the impression that the Pokemon are in the real world. Further intensifying immersion, the game designates real-world locations as PokeStops, where players can receive items, and Gyms, where players can battle each other’s Pokemon. These factors combined make “Pokemon Go” a unique gaming experience: rather than exploring a virtual world, players seek their objectives by walking around in real life. The game’s widespread platform also makes the already popular Pokemon series more accessible to users who lack the gaming consoles needed to play the main series games. “Catching the really high CP Pokemon was kind of cool, to like see something with like that high

ITL

copy editor & STEM editor

Players on Campus

of a CP just like running around,” said sophomore Michael Wang, referring to the game’s measurement of a Pokemon’s battle performance. And the app’s gameplay style has put players in interesting situations: one found a dead body while looking for aquatic monsters and another had his house labeled a Gym. “My dad’s more addicted [to the game] than I am, so we go around every city trying to catch ‘em all,” Amanda Cheung (9) said. “He made my mom emergency brake because he had to catch a new one and almost hit a bike.” The game was also used to lure players to armed robberies in O’Fallon, Missouri. “Using the geolocation feature of the ‘Pokemon Go’ app the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims,” the O’Fallon police department wrote in a press release. A vibrant culture has sprung up around the game’s ubiquity, with players teaming up with strangers to defeat Gyms and participating in the likes of impromptu “lure parties.” Students still remain responsible for their cell phones at school and may not use their cell phones in class without a teacher’s permission or disrupt class with their cell phones, as per the 2016-17 Upper School Student Handbook. But the popularity of “Pokemon Go” demonstrates that while our world may be increasingly driven by our smartphones and computers, we haven’t sacrificed interaction or leisure in pursuit of greater technological improvements.

rose guan & derek yen

2 Jungle Gym 3 Concrete Zen 4 Casino Spire 5 Bill of Fare Restaurant * The Harker Upper School