Winged Post Volume 25, Issue 6

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Student-run boba sales fund canned food drive

jessica wang

Green Team hosted a boba tea fundraiser outside of Manzanita on April 22 to raise money for the Martha’s Kitchen Food Fight canned food drive. They offered Happy Lemon’s milk tea with boba pearls, which students could buy for $7 each. As they ran low on supplies, they began to auction off their few remaining cups of tea, even offering “front of lunch line” passes for an extra $3. Harker ended up winning second place in the 2024 Food Fight with a score of 6,468 points.

Seniors team up and compete in chicken assassin game

kinnera mulam

Class of 2024’s “Chicken Assassin” game began April 14 with 198 participating seniors and game rules changing every major round. As detailed in the initial rules, each senior received a target whom they had to “kill” by tapping the target with their chicken. However, targets visibly holding chickens wielded immunity and could not be eliminated. Before the semifinals round which started on April 25, 72 seniors remained. At the end of the game, which SAB predicts will finish today, two winners will emerge: the senior with the most eliminations and the last survivor, both of whom will receive prizes.

Students elect new class council leaders victor gong

Students from 9th, 10th and 11th grades gathered in the Auxiliary Gym, Patil Theater and Nichols Auditorium for class council Q&A sessions after 5th period on April 23. Candidates responded to various prompts with topics ranging from dealing with setbacks to listing extracurricular activities. Class deans, who hosted the discussions, sourced questions from survey responses. Besides verbal responses, each candidate also provided written statements and recorded a Flipgrid video to further communicate their goals and initiatives for the next school year.

THE UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE HARKER SCHOOL

ASB council makes history with gender diversity

jessica hu & lily shi

Upper school students elected juniors Sam Parupudi, Alicia Ran, Jia Jia Jiang and Daniel Chen and sophomore Ananya Pradhan for the positions of Associated Student Body president, vice president, secretary, spirit coordinator and treasurer respectively, last week as the ASB officers for the 202425 school year.

The newly elected ASB council is the first to have four non-male members out of five. According to Assistant to Upper School Dean of Students Kelley McCoy, 95% of students voted, one of the highest voting turnouts for an election at the upper school.

It cannot be the case that in nine consecutive years the most qualified candidate to lead the student body was a male-presenting person.”

English teacher and junior class dean Christopher Hurshman reflects on the increasing gender diversity of ASB officers. He notes that the trend of non-

male officers is becoming more prevalent, with this year representing the first instance of only one male officer. Sam’s role as president in the new student body also marks the first time in Harker history in which a non-binary individual has held the position.

“It cannot be the case that in nine consecutive years the most qualified candidate to lead the student body was a male-presenting person,” Hurshman said. “The more years a trend like that continues, the more you start to suspect that something other than merit is playing into it. I think that the best response to that is to do more student education about civics and civic responsibility.”

BREAKING BOUNDARIES The 2024-25 Associate Student Body officers are Sam Parapudi (11), Alicia Ran (11), Jia Jia Jiang (11), Daniel Chen (11) and Ananya Pradhan (10). The council breaks multiple gender precedents set by elected officers of the previous years.

Dance the night away: Students celebrate at prom

Juniors and seniors gathered at the Winchester Mystery House to dance, explore history and make memories at prom on April 20 from 8 to 11 p.m.

Students mingled around the 24,000 -square-feet venue, a national historic site that attracts flocks of tourists and is often booked for weddings and other events. The dance floor was located on the outdoor patio, where students danced among colorful lights and smoke generated by a fog machine. A DJ played songs suggested by students before the event, and students also had the opportunity to submit song requests live.

Next to the patio, the newly renovated greenhouse contained a mocktail bar, raffle prize boxes and a floral wall for taking photos. Students also played Jenga, took photo booth pictures and had their caricatures drawn by a professional artist.

Prom is a ritual of coming together in the upper classes and celebrating the end of the year, coming together as a community in a very formal and festive manner.”

PAUL BARSKY HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL

Attendees could take self-guided tours inside the house, where staff greeted them and answered questions about its history. The house was owned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Sarah Winchester, heiress to the wealth of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Winchester used her inheritance to begin construction of the house in 1886 and expanded it from eight rooms to 161 through her ownership, according to tour guide J.

“You can definitely see [the house] has a lot of history,” attendee Aishani Singh (11) added. “Especially within the

Silicon Valley, you don’t really see a lot of history. I think it’s really cool to see this preserved piece of history in time.”

J noted the house’s supposed paranormal activity and design abnormalities, such as interior barred windows and a staircase that leads to nowhere, which make it a unique venue for events.

“It’s not for everyone, but the people that come here do seem to enjoy it,” J said. “We’ve had weddings; we’ve had, of course, proms; there was a baby shower at some point as well. It just depends on what people are seeking.”

Upper School Division Head Paul Barsky commended Director of Upper School Student Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger and Assistant Upper School Student Activities Coordinator Eric Kallbrier for securing the house as this year’s prom venue. He expressed enthusiasm for exploring the house.

“We just wanted to add another element or layer of San Jose history to the prom, a different feel,” Barsky said. “Prom

is a ritual of coming together in the upper classes and celebrating the end of the year, coming together as a community in a very formal and festive manner.”

Students engaged in mock gambling inside the Estate Carriage House, a vintage venue on the south side of the estate originally used as a storage area for Winchester’s carriages. Two blackjack tables and one roulette table were set up inside the room, where students played for raffle tickets for gift cards. Winners of the gift cards were announced on Monday

Inside the Carriage House, tables contained snacks and food such as chocolate-covered strawberries, fruit and miniature wraps.

Students danced, took pictures, mock-gambled and participated in raffles throughout the night at the house, a national historic site often booked for weddings and other events.

The venue included a patio dance floor, a greenhouse and preserved gardens in addition to the house itself. Attendees could also take self-guided tours inside

the house, where staff greeted them and answered questions about its history.

“Prom is a ritual of coming together in the upper classes and celebrating the end of the year, coming together as a community in a very formal and festive manner,” Upper School Head Paul Barsky said. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

La Noche Cultural showcases vibrant Hispanic culture

Students performed Spanish songs, skits and dances to kick off the event. Five of 16 acts featured student-performed songs, like “Recuérdame” sung by Max Xing (12), accompanied by Carol Song (12) on the guitar. Faculty acts included “Asturiana,” sung by English teacher Beth Wahl. Students also performed dances, like “La Negra,” a traditional Spanish folk dance, and “Bum Bum Tam Tam,” a reggaeton dance. Several AP Spanish Language and Culture students performed a skit about a family scandal in the style of “Caso Cerrado,” a Spanish courtroom reality TV show students watched in the class.

remained. Bhavya and Sidak Sanghari (11) won the competition out of the remaining three pairs.

To finish the event, attendees formed a conga line and danced together as salsa music blasted through the speakers. The group dance was Spanish 4 student MacEnzie Blue (10)’s favorite part of the night.

Students and faculty gathered to celebrate La Noche Cultural, Spanish Culture Night, on April 19. Hosted by the Spanish National Honor Society, the annual event welcomes past and present Spanish students to enjoy a night of traditional Spanish food, performances and games.

“This year, we had more acts than ever, and we were slightly concerned about how it would feel for the audience to listen to that many,” Spanish teacher and Spanish National Honor Society faculty adviser Abel Olivas said. “But we mixed them up so that they remained engaged. Many of them wanted the participation of the audience, so that made [them] even richer. I was really impressed with the quality of the acts.”

“Watching everybody do their acts is really awesome because you see people you don’t really see every day, and you see what they’re capable of doing and their talents,” performer Bhavya Srinivasan (11) said. “When we’re all dancing together here, we’ve never really talked to each other, but we all form such a bond in the moment. We’re all kind of family here.”

All students participated in a salsa dancing competition, in which pairs were eliminated from the dance floor by teachers until all but three teams

“It was really fun because I got to participate in the dance with everyone, which was a mix of Spanish cultures,” MacEnzie said. “It was fun to just enjoy the moment because this happens only once a year. I really love the people, the music and the dances.” Bhavya reflected on how Spanish culture and language creates a strong sense of community.

“We’re bonding over something we’re all learning and we all love, or we’ve learned in the past,” Bhavya said. “I think it’s really important because although our school is small compared to other schools, we’re a huge group of students, so finding some kind of community in such a huge group is really an awesome thing. We all work together to make this happen, and it’s really inspiring.”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

LILY SHI

MUSIC AND MEMORIES (TOP) Cynthia Wang (12) dances with other seniors on the patio dance floor. Prom was held at the Winchester Mystery House, a national historic site. STRIKE A POSE (BOTTOM RIGHT) Sofie Marino (11) poses for a caricature drawing. Besides dancing, students mock-gambled, played Jenga and had their caricatures drawn. The venue itself had a dance floor as well as gardens.

¡BAILA CONMIGO! (TOP) Spanish teachers Diana Moss and Isabel García dance the cumbia to “Baila Esta Cumbia” by Selena. Attendees also danced in a salsa competition. CHORDS OF MEMORY (RIGHT) Carol Song (12) plays the guitar during her performance of “Recuérdame” with Max Xing (12). Students and faculty performed 16 acts.

jessica hu & lily shi

ashley mo & lily shi

JESSICA HU

New ASB leadership takes charge

Upper school hires new DEI director

In the 2024-25 ASB election, Sam ran against Aaron Bao (11), Alicia ran against Luke Wu (10), Jia Jia ran against Kairui Sun (10), Ananya ran against Gabe Li (11) and Daniel ran against Charlotte Ludlow (10).

ASB primary elections took place on March 22, where students elected two candidates from each office to move on to the final runoff. The final round of voting took place during advisory on April 11, and McCoy announced the results through a Schoology post on April 12.

Candidates that advanced from the preliminary voting round gave speeches and participated in a Q&A session in front of students and staff at a special school meeting on April 9 in the Athletic Center.

Before the event officially began, the 2023-2024 school year ASB officers Daniel Lin, Ella Lan, Gordy Sun, Cynthia Wang, and Luke Mehta reminded candidates and voters of the most important qualities in a successful ASB cabinet, such as maintaining communication and taking charge.

After hearing the advice from the former ASB council, candidates prepared to address the crowd. Speeches sought to creatively represent candidates’ ambitions for the position. Charlotte performed a rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” using lyrics to get her points

I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be ASB president, and for everyone who voted for me, I’ll make sure to get what they want them.”

SAM PARUPUDI ASB PRESIDENT

In class council, we mostly focused on systems we already had in place, but now I’m excited to actually make change to how things are done.”

ALICIA RAN ASB VICE PRESIDENT

across while Kairui donned sunglasses for his speech.

“I loved looking at what the other candidates were proposing and hearing all their ideas,” Jia Jia said. “I really enjoyed listening to their speeches and their answers to the Q&A because I think all of them have a lot to bring to this school and the potential to make a difference on the student council.”

Hurshman pointed out that many events and improvements unique to the

I’m really looking forward to the school wide events that we will put on, for example fundraisers or even just free time activities.”

JIA JIA JIANG ASB SECRETARY

Improving the health and well-being as well as the lifestyle on campus is something that I really want to focus on as treasurer.”

ANANYA PRADHAN ASB TREASURER

upper school, like Quadchella, happened with the help of ASB.

“I think sometimes there’s a natural tendency among teenagers to be either really exaggerated in your idea of what a student leader could do, or really dismissive of anything that a student could do,” Hurshman said. “And the reality is in between: you can accomplish meaningful things, you just can’t accomplish worldchanging things overnight.”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

I’m excited to meet with this new diverse group of people that I haven’t had the opportunity to work with in three years.”

DANIEL CHEN ASB SPIRIT COORDINATOR

The reality is in between: you can accomplish meaningful things, you just can’t accomplish world-changing things overnight.”

CHRISTOPHER HURSHMAN JUNIOR CLASS DEAN

Near Mitra reception honors past and future scholars

Five Near Mitra scholars presented their year-long research projects to an audience of over 40 students, teachers and family members and honored incoming Near Mitra scholars on April 24 in the Nichols Auditorium.

Overseen by the history department and librarians, the John Near & Mitra Family Scholar Grant program (Near/ Mitra) applications have been available for rising seniors for the past 15 years. Scholars work on an in-depth universitylevel history research paper. Near scholars study U.S.-related topics, while Mitra scholars focus on international subjects. Each scholar receives guidance from the librarians and a teacher who acts as their mentor.

Near Mitra Co-Director Donna Gilbert opened the reception by explaining the history of Near Mitra and thanking the current scholars for their dedication.

Near Scholar Andrew Smith (12) started the presentations by introducing

the origins of the Boston Freedom Trail. He continued with discussing why he decided on his research topic.

“The Near Mitra program has been a full circle experience for me this year because I was one of those tourists at seven years old, because when I was in

first grade, I went to Boston,” Andrew said.

“I fell in love with the history. I galloped along the streets of Boston with my brother and my cousins, as we visited, and I got so excited about all these stories of people in places that happened a long time ago.” Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

lily shi

Assistant Middle School Division Head Patricia Burrows will become the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Upper School, replacing current DEI Director Brian Davis. Joining Harker in August of 2004, Burrows taught as a middle school English teacher for 14 years and served as Assistant Middle School Division Head for six years.

DISCUSSING DEI Assistant Middle School Division Head Patricia Burrows attends the 2024 Student Diversity Leadership Gathering. Burrows will become the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the upper school.

Q: How and why did you become the new DEI director at the upper school?

A: “The opportunity came up because Mr. Davis got this great opportunity to be an assistant head at San Domenico School in Marin. I realized a lot of the work I do is through the lens of belonging and making sure that we are a community that invites voices from all members. I want to do that not just in middle school, but for the whole school K to 12.”

Q: What are your biggest goals as the DEI Director?

A: “My first goal is to listen and hear what people are wondering about regarding DEI, what they would like to see more of. I want to develop some tangible goals for us as a school. Some of that might be in representation in our student population or faculty and in having windows and mirrors within our community so that people aren’t feeling singled out.”

Q: What do you see as the biggest DEI-related challenges at Harker?

A: “The words DEI have been sort of hijacked and weaponized in media and politicized in a way. Some people have misconceptions about what this work is, that it’s forcing people to think or believe. A challenge would be how to depoliticize and focus on community engagement, inclusion and belonging and getting people to understand why that’s important.”

Q: Why do you think DEI work is important?

A: “When you feel good about who you are, and that other people value you too, it’s a great foundation for learning and productivity and creativity and innovation. But if you are hiding who you are, or feel like you can’t be yourself, then it stifles your own growth. It stifles our society from growing and changing and learning from each other. DEI work is about valuing the connections that we have with each other.”

A HEART-Y TEAM The ASB officers for the 2024-25 school year pose for a picture. The newly elected ASB council is the first to have four non-male members out of five.

FINAL TALK Daphne Avkarogullari (12) presents her research at the Near Mitra reception. Daphne explored W. E. B. Du Bois’ idea of double consciousness in Black Americans.

jessica hu & lily shi

margaret cartee & aishani singh

jessica hu & charlie wang

58 U.N. members pledge $2.1 billion in aid to Sudan

Fifty-eight U.N. member states have pledged over a combined $2.1 billion in aid for a civil war and famine-stricken Sudan, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on April 15. As of April 14, 25 million Sudanese people require humanitarian aid, 17.7 million are experiencing acute food insecurity and 8.6 million have been displaced due to the conflict, which broke out in April last year.

Indigenous Brazilians protest president's unkept land pledges

Around 8,000 Indigenous Brazilians began protesting in Brasilia on April 22 due to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s delays in removing land-grabbers and illegal miners from Indigenous land and establishing reserves. Lula promised he would create six new Indigenous reserves by April, but only two have been announced so far. Currently, the Brazilian agribusiness sector, which is allied with many legislators, is preventing Lula from carrying out his pledges.

UK Parliament passes deportation bill of Rwandan migrants

The British Parliament approved on April 22 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to send Rwandan asylum seekers back to Rwanda. Activists who call Rwanda unsafe criticized the policy, which the Parliament stalled on passing for two months, for being inhuman. Meanwhile, Sunak believes the legislature could decrease the large amount of illegal immigrants arriving following dangerous boat trips.

Haiti reaches health crisis amid gang attacks

Since Feb. 29, Haitian hospitals started running out of medication and equipment due to organized gang attacks on hospitals and critical infrastructure for supply deliveries, especially in the capital of Port-au-Prince. The violence resulted in understaffed hospitals and a 50% increase since last year in casualties and injuries in Haiti from January to March, according to a report from the U.N.

Israeli military intelligence chief resigns

The head of Israeli military intelligence resigned on April 22 because of Israel’s failure to anticipate Gaza’s deadly assault on Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking 250 people hostage. Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first senior figure to abdicate his position. Haliva cited his shame in allowing the Israel-Hamas war to start by his failures in military intelligence. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Iran-Israel tensions tighten amidst conflict

Iandrew liang & jessica hu

ran launched more than 300 drones and missiles into Israeli airspace on April 13 in response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed two generals on April 1. The Israeli air defense system’s Iron Dome successfully intercepted nearly all of the missiles and launched more attacks on the Iranian city of Isfahan on April 19 in retaliation.

Relationships between Israel and Iran have historically been complicated. After the Israeli state’s creation in 1948, relations between the two countries were relatively friendly. However, during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, forces under Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini installed a new government in the country that opposed the idea of Israel as a state and cut off all official relations with Israel. Although Israel supported Iran in its war against Iraq in the 1980s, dialogue between the countries has become more and more hostile. In particular, Iran’s support of Hamas, which was responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, has driven the two countries even further apart.

“

I have family that could be affected because a lot of my family is in Tehran. It doesn’t look like it’s likely to explode into full-blown war."

TARA NEMATI (11) IRANIAN STUDENT

Despite their mutual hostility, Iran and Israel have never directly attacked each other until now. Instead, Iran has fought through Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, in a proxy-war against Israel, supplying it with arms and training its soldiers. Recently, given escalating tensions, direct fighting between the two countries has become a possibility.

At the Group of Seven Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting held in Capri, Italy from April 17 to 19, addressing Israel-Iran relations became an important priority. According to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the G7 would focus on providing Israel with adequate resources to defend itself while de-escalating tensions and avoiding further conflict. The House of Representatives approved a foreign aid package on April 20, part of which contained provisions to fund Israel’s missile defense systems.

Following appeals at the G7 meeting, Israel and Iran shifted their stance on escalating the war and underplayed the Israeli response strike on April 19.

General Siavash Mihandoost, an army senior commander in Isfahan, claimed the explosion sounds resulted from Iran’s air defense successfully intercepting “a suspicious object” without causing damage. Unlike the April 1 attacks, Iranian officials did not accuse Israel of perpetrating the attacks, and Israel did not claim responsibility. According to Yoel Guzansky, who is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, further attacks in the near future are unlikely, although tensions in the long term could remain.

This recent string of attacks has left people fearing that conflict could continue or even spill over into neighboring Middle Eastern countries.

Iranian student Tara Nemati (10) reflected on her personal connection to the tense situation, as she has family living in Tehran.

"I have family that could be affected because a lot of my family is in Tehran," Tara said. "There were plans about bombing near Tehran, but they weren’t planning to bomb Tehran with the Israeli retaliation. But it doesn’t look like it’s likely to explode into full-blown war.”

Cocoa supply plunges as chocolate prices skyrocket

hima thota & jessica hu

Global chocolate prices skyrocket as Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together are responsible for 60% of the world’s cocoa production, see a large-scale cocoa shortage. Major cocoa processing plants in the two countries have halted many operations and are nearing a total shutdown.

Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana saw abysmal cocoa harvests over the past three years, and cocoa prices more than doubled last year.

Student Diversity Coalition officer Ariana Gauba (11) emphasized that the uptick in prices is a continuing trend.

“The cocoa shortage is definitely significant in the future of chocolate, but eventually, the higher prices may become a new normal,” Ariana said.

Chocolate makers are also witnessing a large decrease in chocolate output. Leading chocolate-making company Barry Callebaut suffered a deficit of 500,000 tons. The International Cocoa Organization declared a supply deficit of 374,000 tons for the 2023-24 harvesting season, in comparison to the previous year's 74,000 tons.

The most immediate cause of the cocoa shortage relates to the deteriorating environmental conditions exacerbated by climate change, particularly hot and dry weather. In February, the Guinea zone, a part of West Africa that includes Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, saw heat index values of around 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and some areas even reached heat index values of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the World Weather Attribution. For cocoa farmers struggling with poverty, these weather patterns serve as an ominous forecast.

With the cocoa supply devolving into a larger global issue that intertwines climate change and worker safety, Ariana encourages the consumption of sustainable chocolate, which can be identified with the certifications “Rainforest Alliance” and “Fairtrade.”

“I think right now as always, we should continue to support sustainable and ethical chocolate brands,” Ariana said. “If we have any influence on the future of the chocolate industry, it’s definitely important to make that a priority.”

SHOT DOWN Iron Dome, an anti-missile system funded by the U.S., launches an intercepter in Israel on Dec. 13. According to Israel, interception operations aided by the U.S. intercepted 99% of the more than 300 munitions in Iran's April 13 attack.

IRONCLAD AID Iron Dome sits in the Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. President Joe Biden committed to helping Israel "defend itself against Iran" and de-escalate the situation.

SOURCE:

SUGAR CRASH As West African countries like Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana see heat indices as high as 140 degrees, poor cocoa yields have spiked the price of chocolate globally.

Meet Your Teacher: Acting acuity

Anthony Silk acts and educates with signature

wit FEATURES

Asoulful soliloquy punctuates the stage, marking the ending number to a theatrical adaptation of Greek tragedy Antigone. As the lights fade to black and the curtains draw closed, a resounding applause fills the space. Another night, another successful performance. One by one, the cast returns, bowing a final farewell. Last of all, stepping into that spotlight is the lead himself, a cheering audience awaiting his triumphant return.

Meet Anthony Silk, math department chair and calculus teacher, but also actor, adventurer and self-proclaimed comedian. Silk first began acting in elementary school, discovering a love for the art which has since driven him to perform in plays through high school, college and even alongside his professional teaching career. While each show brings new twists and turns, Silk’s favorite genre is comedy.

“The reaction of the audience is just a wonderful feeling,” Silk said. “When you

Beginner's

know that there’s a laugh coming and you just pull it off exactly correctly — that’s just a really fun moment.”

When you know that there’s a laugh coming and you just pull it off exactly correctly and everybody laughs that’s just a really fun moment.”

ANTHONY SILK MATH DEPARTMENT CHAIR

Silk channels that same energy into his acting, bringing each character he portrays to life. From drunken nephews to clandestine lovers to egotistical despots, during his time in show business, Silk has played them all. But behind each flawless performance lies countless hours of rehearsing and re-rehearsing, efforts that audiences rarely see.

Having had to put himself in the (literal) shoes of innumerable characters, Silk engages each new situation with empathy, always seeking to understand the challenges his students face. Through such an approach, he not only works to help his students flourish, but also to improve himself as an educator.

An empathetic actor. An inspiring teacher. A beloved figure. Silk embodies all of these and more, playing a pivotal role in each community he touches. A product of love, labor and the intrinsically human pursuit of happiness, his journey, with all its ups and downs, has led him to where he is now: teaching students he cherishes while still harboring the childhood penchant for performing. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like that as part of my acting, my students get to see me,” Silk said. “It's good to know that we are actually human, and can have some real feelings too,” and with his trademark sarcastic smile, “I mean, more or less, I don't want to go too far.”

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Campus Compass: Plant Party

mendy mao

A lazy Friday afternoon. A student sits at a table in the orchard, immersed in his studies. He looks up and sees a bee pollinating a flower. Inhale. Exhale. He takes in the wind blowing through the trees. Refreshed, he turns back to his pressing homework.

Harker's upper school campus features a lush spread of greenery, with a large expanse of fruit trees in the orchard and small clusters of plants tucked around campus. Orange trees bloom outside of Manzanita and a copse of redwoods shade the burbling brook in Graduate’s Grove.

Upper school head groundskeeper Urdelin Justo, who has worked at Harker for 25 years, relishes trimming the trees in the orchard.

“My favorite place is the orchard,” Justo said.

“I like to spend more time in the trees, trimming those fruit trees. I like taking care of each and every one plant and just watching who needs some trimming, some care.”

Green Team Vice president Shreyas Chakravarty (11) enjoys studying in Graduate’s Grove because of its shady redwoods and calm environment. He appreciates the atmosphere that plants help create around our study-focused campus.

“They make it a much better learning environment and a much better environment in general,” Shreyas said.

ROILING REDS Peruvian lilies wave in the wind from a bush outside Nichols.

BOLD BLOSSOM White calla lilies grow tall next to the pond in Graduate's Grove, where students often eat lunch or study. FLOURISHING FRUIT A young apricot hangs from a tree in the orchard during spring, when many plants bloom.

guide to curly hair from porosity to products

Whether you have waves, curls, coils or a random combination of all three, you know the struggle of styling hair is real. You might ask, “Well, how do I know if I have textured hair?” For me, that question was rather simple to answer. My hair would frizz the second I got out of the shower. If I ever combed it, it would poof up like a squirrel’s tail. If you can relate to this, you might have textured hair.

My hair would frizz the second I got out of the shower. If I ever combed it, it would poof up like a squirrel’s tail. If you relate, you might have textured hair.”

I recommend figuring out your porosity and curl pattern type. For porosity, you can do a simple hair porosity test, using a strand of hair and a cup of water. Once you know how to label your hair, you can buy products specifically designed to nourish your strands.

Finding your curl pattern can be a little more complicated, since the

differences between types, like 2C or 3A, tend to be blurred. If you simply search “curl pattern chart”, you will find a chart with images of different strands of hair, ranging from just barely wavy all the way to tightly coiled. Underneath, labels with a number and a letter help determine your hair’s category, and the range goes from 1 to 4 and A to C. People with 2A-2C generally have soft waves and look similar to “beach waves.” Section 3 consists of curls that have more definition than a wave but are not as coarse or kinky as type 4. Most people with type 4 patterns have low porosity hair and tend to need the most moisture because of their tightly coiled curls.

Now that you understand your hair’s porosity and curl type, you can start buying products to help your hair reach its maximum potential. This guide focuses on curls, but most of these steps apply to other textured hair types.

I also encourage you to find an influencer with your hair type. I learned most of what I now know from people on the internet who already found a routine that works for them.

Some of my favorite influencers are CurlVitality, who shares information on curly hair and product recommendations, curlywavypatty, who gives advice on

dyed curly hair as well as ashleescurls, who makes tutorials and shares unique hairstyles for curly hair.

It's important to remember that your hair is unique. The products used by the person you see online are not necessarily the perfect ones for you. So, don’t get discouraged when the curls you spent an hour on the night before come out flat and limp. Remember to have patience and trust the process. From one curly-haired person to another, I wish you the best of luck on your journey to luscious and popping curls. Bon voyage! Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

JONATHAN XUE

MASQUERADES IN MASKS Anthony Silk has taught math at Harker for the past 21 years and is currently the upper school math department chair. Over his time teaching, he continued to perform in various plays, with his most recent being Antigone in November.

sidak sanghari

jonathan xue

ROLLING CURLS Products designed specifically for curly hair like "Curl Talk" spread on the floor. Determining curl pattern and porosity helps in choosing the right products.

How should I study?

May is almost upon us, bringing with it the joy of Mother’s Day, May flowers — according to an old English proverb, anyway — and Advanced Placement exams. If you’re dreading filling out scantrons and free-response packets, you also may be overwhelmed and reluctant to start studying. But as a senior embarking on my third year of taking APs, I’ve compiled a couple of study techniques that I’ve found useful:

1. Take a diagnostic

FEATURES

Abortion on agenda for 2024 elections

If you’re like me and procrastinated reviewing for APs until the last minute, taking a diagnostic test can help cut down your studying time. Instead of trying to cram every last bit of information from every unit of the AP curriculum into your brain, take a practice test. Make note of which concepts confused you and which questions stumped you so you can review again later.

2. Use AP Resources

Other resources are helpful, but the College Board provides a plethora of official practice exams and resources for studying, including past problem sets, AP Daily videos, scoring rubrics and exam descriptions. If I don’t know where to start reviewing, I take a unit MCQ or FRQ from AP Classroom. Not only do I get a sense of where my weaknesses lie within that unit, but I also increase my familiarity with APstyle questions.

3. Make study guides

Oftentimes when I’m flipping through page after page of my notes or reading through a lengthy study guide online, I find my eyes glazing over and my mind starts to wander. This study technique helps maximize your active reading while studying. Creating your own study guide helps you stay focused while also allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of the material.

4. Draw connections

When I’m trying to solidify my knowledge of a list of terms, I try to tie each term to my life. Your tie-in could be an anecdote, perhaps a memorable moment from class or simply another word you think of when you hear the term. This tip may be tailored to classes like history, but regardless, making concepts personally relevant may help you memorize better.

5. Outline your goals

Strict study calendars often decrease motivation to study. Instead, you can set a goal of studying for three classes for at least one hour each throughout the day. This way, you still get some flexibility in your daily schedule while also finishing work.

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Millions of citizens will flock to the polling booths in November to vote on the nation’s most pressing issues — including abortion. Abortion remains an influential topic with the power to swing elections. In 2022, 84% of Democrats believed abortion should be legal, while only 38% of Republicans agreed.

Since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, right-leaning states have moved to enact statewide abortion bans, like Florida which proposed a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In response to these bans, President Joe Biden accused former president Donald Trump of spurring abortion bans across the country and described them as a “healthcare

Presidential candidates can be inflammatory about it and talk about it in their election cycle. Voters should know that they can’t do much about it. It’s a state issue.”

IRIS FU (12)

CIVIL DISCOURSE

CLUB VICE PRESIDENT

crisis” for women.

Furthermore, as up-and-coming candidates look to position themselves

for future presidential campaigns, some politicians have taken more definite stances on abortion. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new bill on April 23 that would allow Arizona residents to receive abortions in California.

“A lot of the talk around abortion has been used in the context of gaining power in the presidential election,” Civil Discourse Club Vice President Iris Fu (12) said. “Every time Trump recently said something about abortion, Biden jumped on it. It’s just a way of going back and forth on this horse race.”

These exchanges between politicians are often a ploy to swing votes and close voter gaps like the 3.3% gap that cost Biden Florida’s electoral votes in the 2020 election. While Republicans are expected to win Florida in the current election, public opinion on the abortion bans could tip the scales.

Because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion is no longer considered a federal constitutional right and is instead up to the states. While abortion may be framed by politicians as a federal issue, in reality, most abortion policies are being determined by state-level elections rather than federal ones.

“Abortion is relegated to state governments,” Iris said. “Presidential candidates can be inflammatory about it and talk about it in their election cycle. We will definitely see that and we are already seeing that, but voters should know that they can’t do much about it. It’s a state issue.”

Because of California’s democratic skew and liberal policies, abortion rights have been protected. However, many other states across the U.S. have lost this

right.

“Reading stories about other teens that have been raped, put in bad situations or even just women whose birth control pills have failed, it’s really heartbreaking to see lives affected and taking a turn that they didn’t choose,” Women and Gender Studies student Suhana Bhandare (10) said.

To support education and awareness regarding bodily autonomy, Iris believes that discussion about topics like abortion should be encouraged in classrooms.

“It’s an issue that people need to be educated about,” Iris said. “People need to be more aware of the fact that California

The one big thing I’m hoping will happen is that more people are just going to simply go out and vote.” ANITA CHETTY SCIENCE DEPARTMENT CHAIR

and the situation that they’re in is very unique and very lucky.”

Upper school science department chair Anita Chetty hopes the current state of abortion policy will redirect toward voter engagement in state elections.

“The one big thing I’m hoping will happen is that more people are just going to simply go out and vote,” Chetty said. “The second thing is that people will pay more attention to who the candidates are at the state level because suddenly that is going to be such a huge decision.”

anika maji

C A F E HO

PP i N G

Best Bay Area cafes to study, socialize and sip

young min & charlize wang

With two locations in Santa Clara, Big Mug Coffee opened in 2014 and specializes in their fresh-roasted coffee beans sourced from various countries in South America and Africa. The spaciousness of their cafe at El Camino Real makes room for both large tables with charging outlets which provide ideal seating for individual studying and small tables which allow groups of people to chat over a cup of coffee and a pastry. Despite the wide range of seating, Big Mug Coffee tends to reach full capacity quickly on weekends, so I would recommend visiting on weekdays instead. Their menu offers a plethora of different drinks, ranging from fruit smoothies to lavender lattes. Their traditional coffees, like their Americano and Cappucino, stand out as a strong point while their sweeter fruit drinks, like their Grapefruit-ade and Strawberry Smoothie, fail to bring any flavor outside the artificial fruit syrup. I would recommend ordering their Belgian waffle topped with either vanilla or matcha ice cream and their Americano to balance the dessert’s sweetness.

Join us on our "cafe hopping" journey from Big Mug Coffee to Verve to Cloud9 and get our persepctive on their decor, beverage options and food recommendations. Whether you are craving a refreshing drink or just need a place to study for a few hours, any of these spots would be a great option.

With two locations in Santa Clara, Big Mug Coffee opened in 2014 and specializes in their fresh-roasted coffee beans sourced from various countries in South America and Africa. The spaciousness of their cafe on El Camino Real makes room for both large tables with charging outlets which provide ideal seating for individual studying and small tables which allow groups of people to chat over a cup of coffee and a pastry. Despite the wide range of seating, Big Mug Coffee tends to reach full capacity quickly on weekends, so we would recommend visiting on weekdays instead. Their menu offers a plethora of different drinks, ranging from fruit smoothies to lavender lattes. Their traditional coffees, like their americano and cappucino, stand out as a strong point while their sweeter fruit drinks, like their grapefruit-ade and strawberry smoothie, fail to bring any flavor outside the artificial fruit syrup. We would recommend ordering their belgian waffle topped with either vanilla or matcha ice cream and their americano to balance the dessert’s intense sweetness.

Mug

Verve rests in the very heart of the bustling downtown Palo Alto. The cafe itself boasts numerous windows, which is perfect for those who prefer to study in naturally lit places. On top of the bright atmosphere, Verve Coffee also offers several breakfast and drink options. Highlights of the menu include avocado toast, the signature verve breakfast sandwich and the matcha latte. However, the Verve in downtown Palo Alto is almost always packed with customers, making it difficult to find seating. Overall, Verve cafe does not stand out in any aspect other than its sunlit atmosphere. For customers visiting Verve, I would recommend bringing noise canceling headphones and ordering the avocado toast.

STUDIOUS (TOP) Big Mug Coffee visitors study while drinking their beverages. Cafegoers can sit at tables equipped with outlets and finish their work.

HARD AT WORK (LEFT) A barista at Verve prepares an order. The coffee shop offers a variety of drink options and some select pastries.

Located next to the Baylands Golf Links and Palo Alto Airport, Cloud9 Coffee serves as a cozy escape from its busy surroundings. Baristas work behind the whirring expresso machine placed atop the white countertops, and ambient music sounds from the ceiling speakers. The homey cafe offers the perfect environment for studying, although the seating can sometimes be limited. Cloud9 Coffee also separates itself from other coffee shops with its Asian-inspired menu. The menu includes popular Korean cafe delicacies like strawberry croffles, kumquat ade and icy pear green tea. Cloud9 Coffee also serves traditional cafe items like matcha lattes, americanos and cappuccinos. If you crave a more filling meal, the cafe also offers great breakfast items like egg avocado toast and prosciutto tomato toast. Overall, Cloud9 Coffee serves some of the best cafe pastries in the Bay Area and offers a peaceful

UP

Don’t forget

her

Maggie Rogers captures audiences on her new record

gabe sachse

“Everybody’s going crazy / See them walking down the street” croons Maggie Rogers as she opens her new album, “Don’t Forget Me,” with an existential twist. Right off the bat, the indie singersongwriter implores listeners to take a look around, as if the life she describes is their own. In just this line, the record’s purpose and theme come into focus.

The record leads listeners into a soundscape of the artist’s developments as a person. From the meditations on growing older and societal pressure that echo through the acoustic titular track, to the heartbreaking musings on love conveyed through the piano in “I Still Do,” listeners get a holistic, real view of Rogers’ life through her work.

The album jolts you into Rogers’ painful, heartwrenching reality through its well-produced musical qualities and stunning lyricism.”

The record’s themes hinge on the experience of being young and in a complicated relationship with love itself. Rogers explores the dread that comes with break-ups, failed relationships and assorted mishaps along the road, diving into her own headspace as she explains to us that she’s “Caught in wishful thinking.” Listeners hear her out on yet another wild first-date story or on her lingering pain surrounding a recent split.

Outside of her lyrics, Rogers unites diverse instruments under a cohesive sound in her newest work. Since Heard It, her records have become more intimate, foregoing the more electronic and pop-influenced sound of her debut for a folksy rawness. With this, she has carved out a unique niche as a master of the technical aspects of music, but also one that appeals to the masses as a relatable, personal artist.

The cutback in experimentation on “Don’t Forget Me” has its slight drawbacks. At times, the acoustics meld into each other, making each song a less unique listening experience.

With that being said, the album does mostly hold up to the light as a very original work. In the era of fifteen second TikTok hits, AI covers and endless remixes of existing songs, music that speaks to a musician’s true self often evades the average listener.

COMING RIGHT

(TOP) A barista works the espresso machine behind the counter. Cloud9 serves lattes, macchiatos and specialty coffees like their butterscotch latte. CREAM CROFFLE (FAR LEFT) Strawberry cream and blueberry cream croffle. Cloud9’s signature matcha latte tops off thea delicious assortment. GREEN GALORE (LEFT) A waffle topped with two scoops of matcha ice cream and a rich black coffee from Big Mug.

Soaring with

Wingspan is an engine-building board game where players each have boards that they place bird cards onto to score points and perform additional actions. The game consists of 22 turns where players choose whether to gain food tokens, place eggs on their birds, draw more bird cards or place bird cards on their board by spending food tokens and eggs. Then, they activate bonuses on their placed bird cards based on which option they choose.

After learning the game, even during the first few turns of gameplay, there is still space for decision-making. During the first turn of the game, players receive five bird cards and five food tokens, of which they can keep a total of five (for example, players can keep three bird cards and two food tokens). Players also pick one of two different bonus cards which can help guide what cards are chosen throughout the game. Unfortunately, these bonus cards are often inconsequential. Players generally score between 75 to 100 points by the end of the game, and bonus cards are worth around five points.

Since the cards played at the beginning have such an impact on the rest of the game, playing poorly during the first few turns can be devastating. Even when playing well for the remainder of the game, players can find themselves far behind others.

Although Wingspan has some pitfalls with its balance, it nevertheless provides an enjoyable, strategy-filled experience that I would recommend to anyone who is alright with limited player interaction.

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A&E/LIFESTYLE

Spring concert honors seniors

gupta

Orchestra honored its graduating seniors in the Spring Orchestra concert on April 24. The event ran from 7:30 to 9 p.m., featuring musicians from the upper school campus.

“The overall theme of last year or last night's music was storytelling,” instrumental music teacher Jaco Wong said. “All of the pieces kind of tell a story in their own way, so that's how they are connected. But stylistically, they are really different.”

The performance opened with Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, Op. 21. The second piece, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. I. Adagio, featured a solo by senior cellist Jerry Li. At the end of the performance, Jerry received flowers from several orchestra and audience members.

“The experience of playing with the full orchestra at the concert was really unique," Jerry said. "It’s something that I won't necessarily get to experience again.”

“

The overall theme of last year or last night’s music was storytelling, so that’s how the pieces are connected.”

JACO WONG INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC TEACHER

After the tributes for Jerry, Wong stepped off the stage, allowing student conductors to take the lead. Senior Rohan Ramukumar conducted Manuel de Falla’s

Danza ritual del Fuego from a ballet called El Amor Brujo

The concert had a short intermission before the orchestra reconvened to play Reena Esmail’s Avartan. During the piece several wind instrumentalists performed solos. Following Avartan were two movements of Maurice Ravel’s Ma mère de l’Oye (Mother Goose).

To finish off the show, senior Harshini Chaturvedula conducted a performance of Ravel’s Bolero. The piece featured all orchestra seniors in either solos or duets.

“It repeats many, many times, but every time it continues to grow and expand,” Wong said. “Each time, we have seniors taking either a solo or duet throughout, so we feature everyone from the class of 2024 in the orchestra. Then it ends with this huge percussion and everyone just partying together and sending them off.”

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Students connect through New York Times games

In the current day and age, filled with technology and the future, few households still receive the paper like normal. In response, the New York Times invested into their online games website and created the mini games. They still offer their iconic crossword puzzles, but shorter formats reign on top.

New York Times offers a variety of games and puzzles for users to try out. Recently, the Times introduced Strands, a word search-like puzzle centered around a theme. The Mini Crossword is another

favorite because of its shorter format compared with the larger crossword puzzle. Connections asks users to make four groups of four words based on their similarities. More thinking intensive games like Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed and Wordle call on users to strategize and concentrate. On the other hand, Vertex and Tiles provide a more relaxing experience. Sudoku game finishes off the list as the only numbers game.

Upper school mathematics department chair Anthony Silk enjoys the puzzle of word games and saw the same qualities in New York Times games.

“I like the mini crossword because it’s fun and you can solve it quickly,” Silk said. “My goal is always to try and solve it in under a minute, preferably under 45 seconds. I really like the Connections one. That’s just a cool way of thinking about different things in different ways.”

Sophomore Luke Wu, who started playing after seeing his friends, likes how the games update every day. He regularly plays in the morning right after waking up or right before bed.

“I think there’s a consistency to these games and the enjoyment that it offers each day,” Luke said. “Every day you wake

up with a brand new puzzle to solve. I enjoy the intensity and the satisfaction of solving every one of them, especially Connections when you can link all those words in your brain and have them displayed as a set on the screen.”

New York Times's acquisition of Wordle also pushed many new users to the

game. At the time, Wordle was at the peak of its popularity, and the Times benefited from the influx of users.

“I think everybody should be playing these kinds of games,” Silk said. “They make you think as opposed to just sitting and pushing a button to try and kill things.” Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

SUHANI GUPTA

VIOLIN VIRTUOSOS Frosh Lucas Lum and Iona Liu play the violin in Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, Op. 21.

"All the pieces kind of tell a story in their own way, but stylistically, they are really different," instrumental music teacher Jaco Wong said.

CROSSWORD FUN Sophomore Luke Wu and junior Saahira Dayal hold up the New York Times crosswords on their phones. “They don’t take too long, and I like that,” Saahira said.

disha gupta & suhani

saahil herrero

isabella lo & katerina matta

PLAYING WINGSPAN Wingspan comes with bird cards, food tokens and boards. Novice players can use the expansive rulebook to learn more about the gameplay.

Gen-Z struggles with media literacy

As many teenagers do, I spend lots of time scrolling on my devices. The other day, I was perusing Quora and found a post claiming that elephants think humans are cute in the same way humans think puppies are cute. This post immediately got my upvote—after all, who wouldn’t like such a wholesome post? However, after turning to the comments, I saw that this “fact” was unproven. A quick search led me to the same conclusion. The idea that elephants find humans cute had never been scientifically proven; instead, it spread so much an appealing idea was taken as fact.

This phenomenon is not uncommon, and social media’s role in facilitating the spread of misinformation is welldocumented. Although I consider myself to be well-educated, I often fall into this trap. If no one in the comment section of that post had pointed out that the claim

was unproven, I would not have verified it on my own. When I see a post on social media that resonates with me and feels like it could be true, I generally take it at face value. With the sheer amount of information traveling from my screen to my brain every day, I have likely consumed a multitude of misinformation.

When I see a post on social media that resonates with me and feels like it could be true, I generally take it at face value.” “

Even though I try to be stay well informed by reading reliable news sources, the quantity of misinformation online cannot be escaped. People who seek news entirely from social media platforms such as TikTok are even more

vulnerable to being deceived. According to Pew Research Center, a third of Americans under 30 use TikTok to stay informed, and 63% of Gen Z turns to social media at least once a week for news.

Relying on social media for news reflects Gen Z’s subpar media literacy. With information constantly being fed to us, we do not feel the need to actively find reliable sources. Only 15% of Americans under 30 follow news as compared to around 35% of those older than 30. Thus, many young people struggle to work out what is true and what isn’t.

Alongside the habit of automatically believing content online, many young people struggle to find information independently. While reading posts online, I find that people ask questions in forums that could easily have been typed into Google. Even in my personal life, my friends often ask me questions that could have been answered if they just looked at the lecture slides provided by our teacher.

Many of us celebrate major holidays like Thanksgiving or Mother’s Day, but there are many other obscure but fascinating national days that can make any day special beyond.

5. 7-Eleven Day

Who says no to free slurpees? Especially in the middle of July, a refreshing dirnk is an great way to beat the heat. 7-Eleven provides unique flavors for customers to try on this unofficial holiday. On top of this fun, it also offers discounts on many snacks. This day is welcomed due to these perks and offers a chance for 7-Eleven to show their appreciation for their customers through promotions.

4. Festival of Sleep Day

Celebrated on Jan. 3, this day emphasizes self-care and rejuvenation. The Festival of Sleep Day is particularly important to me now during my junior year. I remember when eight hours of sleep was a daily requirement. Now, I’m lucky to get eight hours over the weekend. This day is a good reminder to take a step back and relax. You can nap throughout the day or just sleep in, but either way, make sure to clear your schedule and keep your pajamas throughout the day.

3. National Popcorn Day

I’m a huge popcorn fan and enjoy all flavors, from cheese to caramel to chocolate. The smell of popcorn at the movies always leads me to buy a large size. When I discovered National Popcorn Day on Jan. 19, I fell in love. This day encourages watching a movie while savoring a bowl of buttery popcorn or exploring new flavors at the mall. It’s a great opportunity to share popcorn with loved ones and have an amazing time together.

2. Pi Day

This I Believe: Measured in moments

Beads of sweat dot our brows as my grandmother and I labor over a pot of tabikh, a classic Egyptian stew made from meat, tomatoes, and a vegetable called bamia. I insisted on learning to make the dish, one of my favorites, but almost regret it now as my grandma peers into the pot before throwing in another dollop of tomato paste. I grab my pen and paper, where I have been trying and failing to write down her recipe and ask her how much she added. She responds, “I never measure. I have been making this since my youth. By now, I just know.”

Somehow, my grandmother always “just knows.” Her dishes result in perfection without fail, ready to be enjoyed every Saturday night at our weekly family dinners at my grandparents’ house. We talk and laugh over steaming plates piled high with piping hot golubtsii, cabbage rolls, or freshly grilled shish kebab, beef skewers. We abandon our stresses and complaints for a fork and knife, calmed by the comforting aromas wafting through the house. Conversation flows easily and continues late well into the night, to the point where my father has to set alarms on

his phone to remind me to go home and do my homework.

This shared meal is always the highlight of my week, not just for the delicious food, but also because of the precious time I am able to spend with my family, a space so nurturing and full of love. My fondest memories consist of these indelible moments, from when my grandma laughed so hard over her mispronunciations that she cried, to all of my grandpa’s history lessons.

As my sister and I grow older, these dinners will inevitably lessen in frequency. My sister headed to college next year, and I will soon follow. I am reluctant to think of the meals and moments with my grandparents that I am bound to miss. However, every Saturday has given me with memories

I will always cherish, and that itself is

Now, lacking my grandma’s expertise, I struggle to make tabikh at home.

The meat is always too tough or too tender but never just right in between, the bamia swapped for whatever vegetable I have, and I rely on plastic measuring cups for the tomato paste.

But I have learned that the stew doesn’t need to have the perfect acidity or the perfect texture to be authentic tabikh. Instead, I believe satisfying food is less about its taste and more about the memories made

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Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant π. It just fits: I can’t imagine any universe where March 14 is not celebrated as Pi Day. Celebrated through competitions reciting the digits of π or eating delicious pie, this day honors all the math nerds out there. We appreciate the practicality of Pi at every level of math, from the basics in pre-algebra to geometry to calculus. To celebrate Pi Day means to love it beyond its utility in mathematics and to appreciate it for its remarkable uniqueness.

1. April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day caps the list as my favorite national day. This day is an absolute classic, made for pranksters around the world. I can still remember waking up early on April Fool’s day throughout my childhood to plot ways to deviously prank my family. I would stick black tape under remotes and mouses and suureptiously place fake bugs around the room. Major companies even join the madness with prank products and features like Tinder’s posting of a VP of Ghost Hunting position this year. The entire day is solely dedicated to fun, which captures the essence of many of the national days on this list in that they offer a break from life’s monotony. In commemorating these unique days, we can make every day a celebration.

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katerina matta

suhani gupta

INFORMATION OVERLOAD Social media’s endless barrage of content overwhelms users, making them vulnerable to misinformation. Many people fail to critically examine information they read online, creating an environment where faulty sources are viewed as truthful.

FAMILY TIES Katerina and grandfather Farid pose at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. They originally hail from Minya. KATERINA MATTA

SPOTLIGHT

katerina matta & claire zhao

The end of the 2023-24 school year is upon us. As we approach summertime and the new year, there’s no better way to look forward than to reminisce on our shared experiences. This photo story, curated by Winged Post Strategic, strings together our most tender moments from each season.

Kick off the year with fall, when we welcomed the Class of 2027 to campus at Matriculation. From our various class bonding trips to the Student Advisory Board and Student Council’s entertaining presentations at Matriculation, each class found themselves immersed back at Harker even after a long summer. We stirred up spirit at the Fall Spirit Rally, where the junior class took the crown, and cheered on our classmates at the “blackout”-themed Homecoming.

ALL LOVE Sophomores Amishi Gupta, Claire Yu, Terry Xie, Ananya Pradhan and Luke Wu form a heart during their matriculation skit.

wander into

Stroll into winter, where we celebrated the holiday season at Harker Spirit Leadership Team’s Winterfest. Before heading off to winter break, we took on our first semester finals—or, for the unfortunate senior, tackled our college applications.

We danced our hearts out at Winter Ball, and our performing arts groups chasséd their way across the stage. Winter saw a series of incredible performing arts productions, from the annual Santana Row Christmas Tree Lighting to Big Assembly Day to the “Night and Day” Dance Production. Even as the weather grew colder, students found ways to bring warmth to their community through their passions.

Students even gave back to those outside of our own Harker community, hosting the annual Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser at the end of January. The money was donated to Camp Okizu, an organization that helps support those with childhood cancer. Medical Club worked with the Stanford Blood Center to host an on-campus blood drive on Jan. 29, capping off a season of giving and growth for Harker students.

JOLLY JINGLES (TOP LEFT) Orchestra members Vinayak Sinha (10) and Yash Greene (10) blow into their instruments at the Orchestra Chamber Music Concert on Feb. 23. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (TOP RIGHT) Ishani Sood dances during the Winter Ball on Jan. 20. The party embraced its “Old Hollywood” theme with a red carpet and pictures of famous actors decorating the walls. EYES ON ME (BOTTOM LEFT)

participant Lauren Lin (11) grooves to the beat at the upper school dance show on Jan. 26 The show’s “Night and Day” theme featured 90 students and the work of six student choreographers. ENTICING ICING (BOTTOM RIGHT) Sophomore Tanvi Shivakumar pipes icing on a gingerbread house to decorate it for the spirit competition after school on Dec. 6. Harker Spirit Leadership Team organized a “Winterfest” holiday party for students and staff, complete with festive window painting, karaoke and more.

CHAYCE

MILHEIM

BETTER TOGETHER (RIGHT) Sophomores Kallie Wang, Eva Cheng and Linda Zeng, dressed in matching fairy costumes, applaud for a performer at Chellaween on Oct. 31, 2023 in the quad. The new community event, introduced this year, is expected to continue annually as a special Halloween edition of the annual Quadchella event from previous years. SET HIKE (FAR RIGHT) Members of the upper school football team prepare themselves on Davis Field to face the Crystal Springs Gryphons at the annual Homecoming game on Oct. 7.

RACING TO THE FINISH (LEFT)

Frosh Jessica Skylar Chen, Abigail Sachse and Jayden Liu participate in a class bonding activity on Davis Field during their matriculation on Aug. 17. The activities, organized by team bonding company Apex Adventures, provided the Class of 2027 with a day of fun and competition among their newly assigned advisory groups.

NOT THROWIN’ AWAY MY SHOT (FAR LEFT) Juniors

Jason Shim, Tiana Salvi and Aaron Bao cheer for fellow members of the Class of 2025 at a schoolwide spirit rally on Oct. 3.

follow us to sojourn through

Once spring rolls around, we’re ready for new beginnings. Culture Week, organized by the Student Diversity Coalition, showcased Harker’s diversity and opened students’ eyes to unknown or unfamiliar cultures. La Noche Cultural highlighted Hispanic culture, encouraging students to embrace music, dance and even stand-up comedy as part of their education.

The annual spring musical, this year the comedic “The Wedding Singer,” offered students a vibrant look into 1980s glitz and glam. Musical ensembles like Orchestra and

Jazz Band shined from the Essentially Ellington Festival to the Spring Concert. All students had the opportunity to share their talents at the annual Hoscars, where acts ranged from raps to hip-hop quartets. Organizations like TedxHarkerSchool and business and entrepreneurship students capped off the year, drawing over 150 students to gatherings like BEcon. Earth Week reminded us to be conscious of our planet, not just on campus but beyond it, too.

As the spring draws to its end and summer inches closer, we look forwards with excitement.

Seniors will take their next step into adulthood, graduating high school and spending their last weeks as Harker students. Juniors will step into the seniors’ shoes as leaders on campus. Sophomores will soon emerge as upperclassmen, eager for new responsibilities. The frosh look forward to completing their first year at the high school, three years of exciting unknown to come. No matter where this summer takes you, we hope these moments from the past year serve as a reminder of the truly special community we built with each other this year.

WORN WITH PRIDE (TOP LEFT) Culture booth host Shaila Tandon (11) gestures towards her display on Punjabi culture. SWEET TREATS (MIDDLE LEFT) Upper School Head Paul Barsky slices a piece of cake on a “Cake Friday.” HANDS UP (MIDDLE RIGHT)

Senior Shareen Chahal energizes the spring musical cast with her fist in the air. SEEING DOUBLE (BOTTOM) BeCon attendee Tiana Salvi (11) points as she tries a Apple Vision Pro headset.

MICHELLE WEI ALISON YANG

OPINIONS

OUT WITH THE OLD In praise of pen and paper

Digital SAT provides convenience and flexibility

Paper SAT offers familiarity and simplicity

Your fingers click the trackpad in rapid succession as you speed through question after question. This test feels like a breeze to yourself, and you can’t help remember the hours you spent bent with aching hands over booklets during the summer, poring over pages of sleepinducing practice packets as the writer’s callus on your pinky finger swelled. Around the testing hall, you notice other students studying their screens with the same air of ease. Without the piles of papers, Scantron sheets and HB pencils, the test feels much less daunting to get through. A quick scan of your screen and a click of a button and you speed through the questions, making progress without all of the page flipping.

According to the College Board, 84% of students and 99% of staff believe that they had a better experience with taking and proctoring the digital SAT.”

With the introduction of digital SATs in March of 2024, the burden— not to mention waste—of paper SAT distribution, tedious packet-reading and time-consuming grading is gone. Students can simply open up the nifty application Bluebook on each of their individual laptops to take the test, with digital grading completed more efficiently. According to the College Board, 84% of students and 99% of staff believe that they had a better experience with taking and proctoring the digital SAT as compared to taking its paper counterpart. No longer needing sharpened No. 2 pencils and erasers for Scantron sheets, calculators and excess

sheets of paper, the digital SAT is much more approachable for students to take.

Digital test taking doesn’t just offer convenience; it also offers new features made possible only with code. The digital SATs adapt to students’ performance throughout the test, posing questions that are more relevant to the individual and that increase in difficulty based on how well students score in previous sections. If a student performs well on the first section of either math or english, their second section will be more challenging.

With this change, the SATs go from a rigid, standardized exam to a personalized gauge of students’

Another useful benefit of Bluebook is its security against cheating. Although it might seem like having access to devices would make cheating easier, Bluebook will not run unless students have closed all other applications on their device.

Other tools provided by Bluebook include the ability to flag questions. Compared to circling test questions on paper, the test’s digital format prevents the inconvenience of scouring through pages in search of questions. Overall, it is much simpler to check answers digitally by simply clicking through past questions rather than having to rifle through various sheets of paper. Bluebook also has a built-in graphing calculator for the math sections as well as a countdown timer for students to check how much time they have remaining in the test.

You stare at the Bluebook window in front of you, where a single math problem fills the entire screen. As you read the problem, you can’t help but compare it to the problems you’ve already completed and wonder — why does this problem seem easier than before? As you worry about whether the seemingly straightforward problem is an indicator of your poor performance, a sense of anxiety creeps in, rendering you unable to focus. All the while, precious seconds tick away on the timer at the top of the screen.

Adaptive testing, one of the core features of the newly introduced digital SAT exam, modifies the difficulty of the test questions for each student according to their performance on previous sections. Although the new testing system is supposed to accurately evaluate a student’s abilities, it is more likely to cause anxiety and distraction for students who try to gauge their performance based on the questions they are presented with.

Implementing the digital SAT this year was a beneficial decision by the College Board for both test takers and proctors in years to come. With its convenience, its adaptable and personalized test experience and its set of useful tools, the digital SAT stands as the superior choice when compared to its paper counterpart. Out with the old, in with the new! Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Additionally, the customized testing also changes the start times, stop times and breaks for each individual student. Unlike the paper SAT, where all students shared the same standardized testing times enforced by a proctor, test-takers will be coming and going during the digital SAT, posing another possible distraction. Although this may seem like an negligible inconvenience, research has shown that interruptions as short as 2.8 seconds can break one’s train of thought, increasing the likelihood of errors on the digital exam.

While the paper SAT offered a Questions-andAnswers Service where students could access the questions they solved and got wrong on the exam, this service does not exist for the digital SAT, as individual questions from personalized exams

be unable to analyze their performance and identify their mistakes on the digital exam. This lack of transparency is a major hurdle for those looking to improve their scores through retakes.

Students who don’t own personal computers will have to use borrowed computers they may not be comfortable with, putting them at a significant disadvantage.”

Technical errors such as connectivity issues and problems with Bluebook, the digital testing system used by the College Board, will be more prevalent in the digital SAT and may impact testing for countless students. Although the paper SAT also holds the possibility

emma li

lily shi

Editors-in-Chief

Katerina Matta

Victor Gong

Managing Editors

Young Min Jessica Wang

Claire Zhao

Editors

News

Lily Shi Jessica Hu

Features Editors

Janam Chahal Mendy Mao

A&E/Lifestyle

Editors

Suhani Gupta Disha Gupta

Opinions

Editors

Mihir Kotbagi Emma Li

STEM

Ashley Mo

Editors

Jonathan Szeto

Sports Editors

Eva Cheng Tiffany Zhu

Senior Copy Editor

Saahil Herrero

Copy Editor Jeremy Peng

Photo Editor Kairui Sun

Multimedia Editors

Charlie Wang Claire Yu

Columnist

Anwen Hao

Adviser

Whitney Huang, CJE

Aquila Editors-in-Chief

Alison Yang

Emma Milner

Aquila Managing Editors

Hima Thota

Aishani Singh Isabella Lo Gabe Sachse

Charlize Wang

Humans of Harker Editors-in-Chief

Sidak Sanghari Jonathan Xue

Humans of Harker Managing Editors

Aryana Bharali

Ella Guo

Humans of Harker Profiler Vivek Moorjani

Reporters

Michelle Wei Margaret Cartee

Kevin Zhang Brandon Zau

Anika Maji

Andrew Liang

Felix Chen

Chayce Milheim

Mirabelle Feng

23-24 Strategic

Editors-in-Chief

Kinnera Mulam

Ariana Goetting

Managing Editors

Edward Huang Ananya Sriram Shareen Chahal

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The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism: News and Advanced Journalism: News courses at Harker’s upper school, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, California 95129.

The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, sports and STEM articles in an unbiased and professional manner and serve as a public forum for the students of The Harker School. Editorials represent the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters represent the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Winged Post. All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Winged Post in no way reflects the official policy of The Harker School. The opinions expressed in this publication reflect those of the student writers and not the Harker board, administration, faculty or adviser. Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to harkeraq@gmail.com and must be signed, legible and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to Post style. Baseless accusations, insults, libelous statements, obscenities and letters that call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to The Winged Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff.

The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of Harker’s upper school and is distributed free of cost to students. It provides a student voice forum for members of our community. Students hold the copyright to work published in Harker journalism publications.

NSPA Pacemaker Winner: 2019-2020, 2017-2018

NSPA Pacemaker Finalist: 2020-2021, 2018-2019, 2016-2017

CSPA Gold Crowns: 2024, 2023, 2019, 2018, 2016

CSPA Silver Crowns: 2022, 2021, 2017

OPINIONS

Editorial: Resume-building overshadows service

Scrolling through Instagram, we find ourselves encountering a number of abandoned nonprofit accounts that were once active, started by students during their high school years. These accounts now sit idle, raising questions about volunteering commitments past high school.

Many students found or participate in nonprofits solely as an extracurricular that they can add to their resume. According to the 61 responses received on a schoolwide survey shared via Schoology on April 22, 95.1% of respondents are involved in nonprofits, with 29.3% of them founding their own.

Although joining nonprofits can be due to various reasons like parental pressure and resume building, many students do establish a genuine connection with their volunteering work. 56.9% of the 61 student respondents feel that the nonprofit they are involved in strongly aligns with their interests, even if they did not initially pursue the nonprofit out of genuine interest.

With 63.8% of the 61 respondents planning on continuing their nonprofit involvement after high school, it is evident that nonprofits joined in high school have the potential to last beyond graduation. Students and faculty should promote the idea of continued engagement after high school as part of a broader lifelong endeavor of volunteerism.

Volunteer and nonprofit work should not solely serve as a mere checkbox that must be filled out before graduating high school. Students who engage in a cause that they are genuinely passionate about can increase their impact in a community they truly care about. According to a paper published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, continuous participation in philanthropic activities fosters personal growth and satisfaction. Continuing a nonprofit can lead to more positive outcomes both within a person’s character and in their surrounding community.

Volunteering impact also does not need to be confined to a set amount of time or awards. As evident in the survey responses, 46.6% of respondents volunteer one to three times a week, while 19%

Welcome to the sixth and final issue of the Winged Post for the 2023-24 school year! It’s hard to believe this marks our final issue before we embark on summer vacation and prepare for an entirely new chapter of high school or beyond.

May is a season of endings and beginnings. For this issue, in the spirit of summer adventures and travel, we present a selection of pieces on places to visit, whether it be local cafes or the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We also highlighted events close to home, like our historic

non-male majority ASB elections and the annual La Noche Cultural celebration. As we end the year, we also reflect on all the memories we’ve made in our Spotlight, a visual "Trip Down Memory Lane," reminscing on everything from performing arts productions to SDC's Culture Week. Winged Post Strategic faces our own new beginning: this marks the first issue led by our 2024-25 strategic team. We’d like to extend our thanks to the editors from the past year. They set an incredible example of leading compassionately while also engaging with the community. Our strategic hopes to continue their legacy of serving our community with each issue we create over the coming year.

volunteer a few times a year. With students participating in nonprofit organizations for a multitude of reasons, like meeting community service requirements or applying for awards like the Presidential Service Award, each student deserves the chance to individually decide the extent of their commitment.

Each act of service makes a difference in the lives of others. By continuing their volunteerism, students can leave a community-oriented legacy beyond their high school years.

Those who limit their work in nonprofits to their high school years should encourage continuation by other means, like mentoring those who come after them. This type of engagement can foster a more meaningful impact of the nonprofit inside the target community.

Shifting the outlook on nonprofits from a narrow timeline to a broader venture ensures quality contributions. If we encourage students to approach their nonprofit work with longevity in mind, they are more likely to have more of an impact on their communities through their volunteerism.

CORRECTIONS TO ISSUE 5

FEATURES 5: Emma Prusch Farm Park mistakenly referred to as Emma Prusch park

A&E 8: “Bright” misspelled as "brigh" in VIBRANT caption

STEM 14: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statistic describing states with most infants born using IVF is mistakenly cited. The source itself refers to infants born using assistive reproductive technology, which encompasses IVF among other fertility treatments.

CORRECTIONS POLICY:

Our staff strives to represent our community fairly and conduct accurate, truthful storytelling. We list all errors of an issue, along with the page number of that error, in the next issue’s corrections box. Feel free to provide feedback via the QR code to the right.

editorial board

katerina matta, victor gong, young min, jessica wang & claire zhao

mihir kotbagi & vivek moorjani

MASS BLEACHING THREATENS GLOBAL REEFS

Coral reef scholars announced that global coral bleaching is taking place for the fourth time in the past decade on April 15. Major coral bleaching ramped up in early 2023, and it has become both more common and more alarming. This bleaching event is attributed to global warming and rising sea temperatures, as changes in underwater ecosystems can stress reefs and prevent them from properly sustaining themselves. Coral reefs play a vital role in underwater life and prevent seabed erosion, so threats to them cause major downstream effects. They are on the list of species threatened by climate change.

NASA RECONSIDERS CELESTIAL SAMPLE EXTRACTION

NASA officials said that the agency will pause its plan to retrieve samples from Mars until there is a faster and cheaper way to do so on April 15. Obtaining the samples is one of the agency’s major goals, as they have the potential to shed light on Mars, the solar system and life on Earth. Studying them could explain Mars’ early history and how habitable planets form. Currently, 24 core samples from an ancient river delta on Mars lie within the Perseverance rover, and scientists hope to bring them to Earth by the 2030s. However, excessive costs and massive delays have slowed progress on the project.

MEASLES INFECTIONS ON THE RISE

Medical experts raise concerns about the recent spread of measles within the U.S. and other countries like the United Kingdom. Measles is a disease that impacts breathing systems in the body and can result in symptoms including fever, cough, runny nose and rashes. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have so far noted 113 infections since April 5, around double the number of cases compared to last year. Infections usually occur during the beginning of the year, and this year cases have been around 17 times greater this year than previous years. Most of the cases occur from person-to-person contact.

LACK OF SLEEP PLAGUES AMERICANS

18th Research Symposium unites STEM enthusiasts

mendy mao & ashley mo

Over 800 students and parents attended the 18th annual Harker Research Symposium, themed “The Artificial Intelligence Revolution,” organized by the Women in STEM club on April 13 at the upper school.

WiSTEM members spent the prior week preparing for the symposium by setting up gift bags and directional signs as well as training for events. During the symposium, they moderated talks, led STEM demonstrations for younger students and sold popcorn and cookies to fund high school student Lynne Okongo’s education at Harker’s sister school in Kenya, the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research.

The symposium showcased keynotes from professionals in industries from tech to biology. Following an introduction from upper school science department chair Anita Chetty, Zoom chief technology officer Dr. Xuedong Huang kicked off the event with an opening keynote address about generative artificial intelligence in the Patil Theater. In line with this year’s symposium theme, Dr. Huang described the past, present and future of AI and

EMPOWERING YOUTH Women in STEM club officer Linda Zeng (10) explains the definition of machine learning using pictures in the AI workshop for middle schoolers.

Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Dr. Chelsea Finn demonstrated the intricacies of deep neural networks with a quadruped robot that did tricks like jumping and rolling in various directions.

Visitors could attend several student-run workshops and informational sessions throughout the day, like biology teacher Dr. Matthew Harley’s talk about Harker’s new DNA sequencer. Other workshops included “AI for Beginners,” “AI for Middle Schoolers” and senior Anika Mantripragada’s “Introduction to

2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair George D. Yancopoulos Award winner Kaitlyn Wang (12) and 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search third place winner Michelle

“

I’m

most proud of how successful the symposium was this year, and how all of the changes we implemented had a meaningful impact.”

According to a survey conducted by Gallot published on April 15, around 57% of Americans desire more sleep while only 42% of Americans noted that they receive the amount of sleep they need. Furthermore, around 40% of the U.S population unintentionally fall asleep during the day. Due to the nature of life in the United States where many push themselves to work hard for several hours, many are not able to receive a sufficient amount of sleep. According to Stanford University, not receiving enough sleep weakens people’s abilities to perform tasks.

Through coding unique projects, AP Computer Science students learned about important CS concepts like searching and sorting methods, recursion and inheritance.

Most recently, AP CS students created the popular game Tetris. The lab began with students constructing “tetrads,” the game’s fundamental moving Tetris pieces that come in four blocks. Each tetrad has a different color and shape, and resembles a specific letter of the alphabet: I, T, O, L, J, S and Z.

During the project, students experimented with interfaces, 2D arrays and loops. They created a grid that was capable

of storing all of the tetrads by using an interface called MyBoundedGrid and setting the dimensions to twenty rows and ten columns.

“I liked the Tetris project because it let me practice a lot of complex computer science skills like 2D arrays,” AP CS student Allison Hoang (10) said. “Instead of doing practice problems on these concepts, we were able to actually integrate them into the project.”

Programmers also coded a method called “translate” that tested if the tetrads could successfully move across the grid without obstruction from other blocks. The students used the translation method to move the tetrad blocks left, right and down using the arrow keys. The up arrow and space key, served different

Wei (12) presented their projects and personal journeys virtually. Kaitlyn spoke about her experience in planetary sciences, while Michelle explained her math research about second-order cone programs. Ella Yee (12), Melody Yin (11), Saanvi Bhargava (11), Tiffany Gu (11), Ariel Zhang (10), Krish Nachnani (10) and Linda Zeng (10) also presented their research in-person through speaker events, and students from grades eight through 12 set up tri-fold posters in the Auxiliary Gym.

SAHNGWIE YIM (11) WISTEM CO-PRESIDENT

Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

AP Computer Science students stack up skills in Tetris

functions: to rotate the block and to drop the block to the bottom of the grid, respectively.

To finish the final exercise, students used boolean methods, which return either true or false, to determine if a row was fully filled with blocks. If a row was complete, it would disappear, and the blocks above that row would move down one row.

“The purpose of the Tetris lab is to give more experience for students with working with multiple classes,” AP CS teacher Susan King said.

“You have to have awareness of objects and methods and their interplay with each other as well as the return value. The complexity in Tetris gives students an experience that’s the AP curriculum.” harkeraquila. com for full article.

ashley mo

Tech layoffs peak in post-pandemic crunch

Engineers in the computing world prepare for the new wave of layoffs as prominent companies like Cisco, Google and Amazon’s Audible each plan to eliminate 5% of their entire workforce this year. Tech companies across the globe have already extinguished approximately 75,000 jobs since the start of the year, according to layoffs tracker layoffs.fyi.

In 2020, the pandemic shifted many activities online, prompting a surge in recruitment at tech companies. As the Bay Area has largely returned to in-person

pre-pandemic norms, corporations now grapple with the employment of more workers than they can provide for. Last year, office reductions left over 260,000 staff members from tech companies unemployed, and just last month, Apple notified 614 workers from offices in Santa Clara that they would be laid off.

Harker Programming Club and Robotics Club officer Brenna Ren (10) reflects on the anxieties that students who aspire to become tech professionals may harbor as the possibility of layoffs becomes more widespread.

“The tech industry is usually seen as one of the fields where you can be the most successful, and it’s very stable,” Brenna said. “But with all these layoffs, it challenges this idea. I think there’s still a lot of potential in the tech industry, but we’ll just have to see how it improves in the future.”

Reductions in the tech workforce pose a significant challenge for both current engineers and college graduates looking to enter the field. Software engineer George Wang, who currently

works at a startup in the Bay Area, shares his experience of applying for a fulltime job. Even after graduating from UC Berkeley and completing an internship at Amazon, he still struggled to find a job as a software engineer in the difficult market.

“When you’re hired full-time, the company has to give you benefits and health care,” Wang said. “There’s a lot more risk for the company to take, as well as for you to take when deciding what your first job is. When I applied, I got help from my peers, parents and people that I looked up to who were a further in their careers.”

Especially with the new surge in Artificial Intelligence, the false perception that the industry is flourishing may obscure engineers from reality. An anonymous source who was let go from Meta sheds light on the nature of layoffs.

“Generally, most of the employees in the tech industry tend to stay in one place because they build up familiarity and relationships that make them more productive,” the source said. “Usually, they only go because of some changes in the company’s economic situation. I’m a stayput kind of guy, so I don’t move unless the company is not in a good position.”

Workforce reductions also present challenges for companies since they risk losing hardworking employees, and the fear of the next wave of layoffs sometimes further incites more people to leave. However, they are unavoidable when a sector fails to bring in profits, as money used for salaries must be cut to break even.

Getting laid off from a job is very difficult because everything is gone, and there’s emotional, mental stress that you have to go through.”

SWATI MITTAL FORMER ORACLE EMPLOYEE

“Layoffs are very detrimental to a company, and every leader knows that,” the source said. “They don’t want to do it unless it’s the last resort. They do it because they miscalculated the personnel costs and the cost of running a company or project. They have to retain that profit, and it’s as simple as that, no matter how you sugarcoat it.”

Computer science teacher Swati Mittal, who previously worked at Oracle, witnessed the toll that layoffs took on her friends and family. Mittal experienced the tech industry’s last tumultuous period during the Great Recession. Although she often felt discouraged by rejections, Mittal persevered by searching for opportunities and pursuing further education. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

iPhone repair program dials down environmental harm

Apple announced on April 11 that it would be expanding its selection of self-service repair offerings for iPhones, building upon the repair program it launched two years ago. The Self Service Repair program intends to help customers fix their own devices by creating a marketplace for the parts and tools needed.

CHAKRAVARTY

GREEN TEAM VICE PRESIDENT

Prior to this program, Apple customers with faulty products were forced to replace their own devices, visit the Genius Bar or try their luck at one of many independent repair outlets.

However, Apple’s first party technicians often propose prohibitively expensive solutions, with repair costs exceeding the prices of brand new products.

Independent repair shops often face many challenges when fixing the Apple products of their customers due to the company’s strict hardware control and prevention of very straight-forward swaps. For instance, cracked screens frequently occur with phones, and many customers prefer replacing their screens than buying an entirely new device. Apple’s restrictions on substitute parts precluded them from doing so, as even genuine parts results in errors. This has resulted in customers buying new products, causing more unneeded e-waste.

iPhones are mostly made of aluminum, rare earth metals, cobalt, tin, plastic and other elements and materials. When improperly disposed of in landfills, they can devastate local ecosystems and populations. AP Environmental Science teacher Jeff Sutton notes that burning the plastics that hold electronics together

releases carcinogenens. These chemicals are classified as persistent organic pollutants and damage the endocrine and immune systems. Now, Apple uses materials which are recycled whenever possible, and they make it easy for customers to recycle their iPhones when they go to purchase new devices. Yet, making an iPhone 15 Pro still causes nearly 140 lbs of carbon emissions.

Siddharth Sundar (10), who uses an iPhone, notes that concerns about the environment are often overlooked by buyers or obscured by manufacturers to present their products in the best possible light. He believes that both consumers and companies must each take responsibility for the environmental consequences of their actions and products.

“I don’t think many people are aware of what actually happens behind the scenes,” Siddharth said. “For some people, [the environmental impact] can be a nonfactor, but for others, it’s only a factor in the back of their mind. People should be held accountable for what they’ve purchased, but at the same time, there’s also the element of companies trying to keep that information hidden.” Apple uses recycled materials whenever possible, and they make it easy for customers to recycle their iPhones when they move on to newer models. However, producing an iPhone 15 Pro still causes nearly 140 lbs of CO2 emissions. Green Team Vice President Shreyas Chakravarty (11) adds that Apple’s brand is built around being seamless and ready to go, with the idea that its products “just work” as a driving force but that the company’s marketing enables them to hide its subpar records on certain issues.

“Apple’s sustainability aspects are easy to overlook,” Shreyas said. “They use cobalt, lithium and silicon, and mining these is incredibly resource-intensive. Their production process also uses a lot of emissions, not to mention shipping things around the world.”

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JOBS IN JEOPARDY Technology companies such as Tesla, Google and Apple have laid off more than 75,000

mihir kotbagi

tiffany zhu

TO REPAIR Apple offers more repair options, lessening its products’ environmental impact.

New STEM courses offer students new opportunities

Honors

Bioinformatics

Teacher: Zane Moore

Combining the fields of biology and computer science, students will analyze data using Harker's new DNA sequencer and then design a project on their own topic.

Q: Why does bioinformatics appeal to students?

A: “Genetics is the future of biology. Ever since we discovered that DNA was the inherited substance, genetics has become more important to study. That’s what this class is about: understanding genomics and using big data in a way that tells us something about the underlying biology.”

Q: What highlights can students look forward to?

A: “I have a few projects in mind. One is sequencing a photosynthetic flatworm that lives in the Sacramento area in pools and comes up in the winter. That species hasn’t even been described yet, so we might actually be able to name a new species in class, here at Harker, which would be really cool.”

Indigenous Science

Teacher: Eric Johnson

Though not offered this fall, the course will explore ecology and natural history using the oral stories, native art, experiences and themes in the lives of indigenous people.

Q: How did your background shape and inspire this class?

A: “I was born in South America but was raised here, so there’s a distance between where my biological kin is and where I am. That distance has always made me think about my origins, and my lens as a biologist has continually expanded when I’ve connected with indigenous people. It’s that part of me that I want to bring to the school, the part of biology that's lacking.”

Q: What should students take away from this class?

A: “I want students to see that science is important and expand their perception of what science is through the lenses in which indigenous people see science and incorporate scientific observations with their emotionality. I want to go a little bit further and talk about how the world affects me and how I affect the world and how all these systems are interconnected.”

Eager for environment

Students mark Earth Week with performances and activities

gong, alison yang & emma li

Earthchella celebrates nature through song and dance

Earthchella, the annual event held in celebration of Earth Week, took place in the Quad on April 19 during the second half of long lunch. In total, there were 10 acts, ranging from musical performances to song covers to energetic K-pop dances. Green Team, which organized the event, set up booths about sustainability and the environment around the Quad for students to enjoy before the main event began. Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine introduced performances, providing small segments of facts and comedy between acts. They also hosted a raffle during the event, in which Irvine announced winners and drew names, giving students prizes such as succulents.

The performances included a unique musical act featuring an aerophone, or

EARTHLY ENTERTAINMENT

electronic saxophone, a storytime in the form of a song featuring an acoustic guitar and dance covers of “Baggy Jeans” by the K-pop group NCT U and “Easy” by Le Sserafim.

Eric Dong (10), who played clarinet for the first act, reflects on his time spent preparing the performance with the rest of the group. The piece, a cover of the jazz Cantina Band song from Star Wars, was arranged by William Zhang (12).

“We actually performed this in February for another concert,” Eric said. “Being able to perform was pretty fun.

Green team recycles bottles, hosts art and writing activities

Green Team hosted Adopt-A-WaterBottle outside Manzanita Hall on Apr. 21 and 23. Attendees could claim a reusable metal water bottle sourced from the Lost and Found to reduce plastic waste.

Globally, humans produce around 350 million metric tons of plastic waste per year. The U.S. alone landfills over 26 million tons of plastic annually, and because plastic takes over 500 to 1000 years to decompose, it lingers in environments for long periods of time. 14 million tons of plastic eventually end up in the oceans, leeching into ecosystems and killing marine life. Not only are metal water bottles reusable, they are also much safer to drink from because they don’t shed harmful chemicals like their plastic counterparts do.

Next to the Adopt-A-Water-Bottle station, Green Team also organized postcard writing, where attendees could write a letter to their local representative lobbying for climate and environmental legislation. Eric Zhang (11), who helped

I enjoyed the actual preparation part of it because I got to talk to a lot of the clarinets in my section.”

Irvine, spreading awareness on inclusivity and food waste, ate two unconventional foods, a small beetle and a dried tarantula to prove his point in the middle of acts.

“Earthchella is a way to get people geared up and ready to attend other Earth Week events,” Irvine said. “It's our opportunity as a school community to come together and make sustainability an ever present part of our lives.”

run the station, notes the importance of pushing climate initiatives.

“One of the main objectives is promoting a carbon tax and keeping big fossil fuel companies accountable,” Eric said. “Part of it is also just getting the youth voice out.”

Alumni and faculty discuss the environment, energy and fast fashion in speaker events

Green Team invited various speakers to talk about climate and environmental initiatives over the course of Earth Week, kicking off with a talk by Harker alumni Simar Mangat ‘13 during

a school meeting on Apr. 19. Simar, an investor and entrepreneur focused on climate change initiatives, discussed the current state of our planet and how global warming affects oceans. At the end of his presentation, he asked the audience to close their eyes and think of themselves in a place in nature, showing the calming effects of meditative exercises while also encouraging listeners to return to this place in their mind amidst stressful times.

For the third year in a row, middle school English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine hosted her “Thrifting

and Fast Fashion Workshop” in which she delved into the causes of fast fashion and hyperconsumerism as well as ways for individuals to shop sustainably, on April 25. This year’s iteration honed in on the attitudes surrounding fashion and how to mindfully engage with shopping.

“Two questions to ask yourself are, ‘Where did this come from?’ and, ‘Where will this go?’,” Hazeltine said. “A lot of times we’re out of sight, out of mind, and even now I do that with certain items, like with an old electric toothbrush I was going to throw away. Be thinking about who made this clothing and what their life is going to be like afterward.”

Not only did she introduce attendees to local sustainability efforts, Hazeltine also brought her own clothing from home for attendees to peruse. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Frosh Jennifer Liu, Hannah Jiang and Jessica Skylar Chen dance in the Quad during Earthchella on April 19. Students also sang and played various instruments during the Green Team-organized event to promote sustainability.

ella yee, edward huang, aishani singh & jeremy peng

victor

WRITING FOR REASON Cynthia Wang (12) writes a letter to her representative Anna Eshoo to encourage climate action.

REUSE AND RECYCLE Sophie Degoricija (11) examines an old bottle during the Green Team's Adopt-A-Water-Bottle event.

KRacing against records

Kaleb Goldin (11) dedicates himself to running with diligence

Kaleb joined Harker’s track and field team in fourth grade, initially participating for recreational purposes. Now, seven years later, his steady commitment brings him success on the varsity team. The intensity of sprinting especially piques Kaleb’s interest because every fraction of a second counts.

Game Talk with Gabe: Final splash

aleb Goldin (11) races past the finish line, his heart pounding as a surge of exhilaration sweeps over him. For a brief moment, he’s unaware of the time of his sprint. But clocking in at 10.88 seconds in the 100-meter dash, he creates a new personal best.

At the Tiger Invitational, Kaleb shattered his record by 0.2 seconds, placing sixth in the category. He attributed this to his focus and determination while training on the track in the weeks prior.

“To cut down my time, I had to practice and just run,” Kaleb said. “I’m running six days a week for about two hours. Like in everything else I do, practicing lets me get better and be faster.”

“I chose to continue track specifically because I like sprinting,” Kaleb said. “I know people think that running can be hard, but I love the feeling of running. I like the grit that comes with it and just getting to feel faster than everything else.”

The routine of training, the rush of adrenaline on the track and the bonds formed with teammates have all woven themselves into Kaleb’s life. Running grounds him in all aspects of his life with discipline and focus. The lessons in perseverance he learns through track translate into success in his academics and overall well-being.

I love the feeling of running. I like the grit that comes with it and just getting to feel faster than everything else.” “

“Running track helps me with things outside of the sport, too,” Kaleb said. “It helps me do better in school because I’m able to use my energy to run, so I can focus more and also get better sleep.”

He also suffered from a torn tendon, which forced him to sit out during his sophomore season. Nevertheless, he took on the recovery process head-on in order to reclaim his position on the track.

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Sports: a constant cycle of selfimprovement, emphasizing medals, points per game and personal bests. Yet often overlooked are the teammates and coaches who raise the athletes to their current heights. Several Harker student athletes assistant coach younger sports teams, and establish themselves as an integral part of athletics programs across the various campuses.

Softball assistant coach Raeanne Li (9) began assistant coaching when the coaches were unable to attend a game last year during the middle school girls softball season. As one of the senior members on the middle school team, Raeanne took initiative and filled the first base coach’s empty spot, instructing hitters on when to go to first and second base.

“I put on my helmet and went to the first base line, and I could help coach from there,” Raeanne said. “It was really fun, so that was a huge moment where I was like ‘maybe I want to coach next year.’”

Fueled by this experience, Raeanne returned to the middle school team this year as an assistant coach. Despite her new role, Raeanne still felt echoes of her prior season as a player due to the community.

“I still feel like part of the team,” Raeanne said. “Softball is a small sport — it’s a really close community because there aren’t that many people who play.”

Between inter-campus travel and attending practices or games, assistant coaching can demand students to commit many hours every week. Volleyball assistant coach Keira Chang (10) stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between coaching sports and studying academics while working with the lower school volleyball team.

“It’s just like school season,” Keira said. “I had to make sure I was efficient with my homework and do it over the weekend, because it’s a two or three hour commitment every day I went.”

experience working with students as “extremely worthwhile” even with this time commitment. As a volleyball player herself, coaching was a valuable way to empathize with her current school and club coaches.

me understand how to take feedback and what’s going through coaches’ minds when they coach you. It was cool to go back to the lower school because I played volleyball in fifth grade for Coach Spring and Coach Ellie. It was cool being on the other side of that.”

Nick Delfino (‘23) helped coach the high school football team over summer. He provided a connection between the students and the coaching staff. Because Nick played on the football team in the 2022-23 season, he remains a familiar face to the players on the team this year.

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Sacramento Kings 118-94 on April 16, eliminating the Warriors from the 2024-25 postseason contention. The 20-point loss in the play-in tournament marks the latest stumble for the Warriors, despite winning four championships between 2015 and 2022.

During the contest, Klay Thompson, who holds high status on the team as a core member and part of the reason for the franchise’s historic success, went 0-10 from the field, including 0-6 from three.

Unfortunately, these performances have characterized Thompson’s game since the team’s last championship in 2022. In fact, Head coach Steve Kerr benched the star shooting guard in February, only bringing him back to the starting lineup after a prolific hot streak late in the season.

The streak cooled leading up to the play-in disaster. Since then, Thompson’s woes have only been compounded by the fact that his contract expires after this season, leaving the front office with the tough question of whether or not to keep the guard around.

Losing a player like Thompson may seem ridiculous to fans. After all, Thompson carved out a place in the history books with his incredible shooting ability, nicknamed a “Splash Brother” along with legend and guard Steph Curry. But Thompson is not worth max contract-level money anymore. While he can still contribute on a championship roster if he returns to top shooting form, there is no justification for handing him superstar money or minutes.

Redirecting Thompson’s massive salary towards building a roster that compliments Curry, perhaps with the addition of a true star center or athletic defenders, could make the team a much more formidable contender, whether it includes Thompson or not.

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Coming full circle: High school athletes assistant coach

kairui sun & kevin zhang

LEADING BY EXAMPLE Softball assistant coach Raeanne Li (9) adjusts a middle school pitcher’s arm trajectory.

tiffany zhu & ella guo

FOCUSED START Track runner Kaleb Goldin (11) prepares to sprint while holding the starting position. Kaleb joined the track and field team at Harker in fourth grade.

spring sports edition

eva cheng & tiffany

Stinky socks, muddy sneakers

Athletes’ bags may not seem the most glamorous, but take a look inside and you’ll see that they’re anything but boring! From energizing pre-game snacks to lucky towels and sentimental keychains, every item in an athlete’s backpack tells a unique story about its owner. Three athletes from three different sports share their playful, unexpected essentials that fuel their success both on and off the field.

Caitlin Clark slam dunks on doubt

isabella lo & eva cheng

Caitlin Clark lines up to shoot two technical free throws, representing No. 6 ranked Iowa against No. 2 Ohio State. Stepping into the key, she takes two dribbles, scoring the first as the crowd roars. Clark takes a deep breath, steeling herself before letting the second ball fly. It soars through the air, its path arching gracefully before it sinks into the net with a resounding swish. More than three million viewers across the country watch as Caitlin Clark surpasses Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record of the most points scored in Division I NCAA basketball.

Finley Ho (9) noticed the changing attitudes towards women’s basketball on social media, where their league has gained more coverage and respect.

Instagram reels and I used to see that whenever there’d be any video about the WNBA or women’s basketball, it would always be something bringing them down, like saying bad stuff,” Finley said. “But now, there’s a bunch of comments saying how Caitlin Clark is really good.”

“ lacrosse

lacrosse

My favorite thing in my bag is probably my scones. They’re mixed berry. I started bringing them the second or third practice. They just taste good.”

YENA YU (10)

VARSITY GIRLS LACROSSE

SWEET SUCCESS Yena poses with her lacrosse bag and her favorite scones which she eats before every practice and game.

I feel like now that there’s more viewers it places more importance on women’s sports, which will inspire more girls to play sports.”

ISHA KOTALWAR (12)

VARSITY GIRLS

BASKETBALL PLAYER

had its best regular season in history, with viewership on ESPN platforms averaging at 476,000 spectators per game. The number of spectators has increased by more than 60%, across national broadcasting networks such as Fox Sports, averaging higher than its men’s counterpart.

has prompted improved television coverage of women’s basketball, with platforms airing games during optimal time slots on mainstream networks, furthering the sport’s rising prominence. Peaking at 24 million viewers, the women’s Division 1 NCAA basketball final, South Carolina’s Gamecocks versus University of Iowa’s Hawkeyes, made history as the first women’s final to draw a larger audience than the men’s, which garnered 14.82 million viewers.

swim

swim

My crocs are pretty unique. They’re mismatched because my friend and I traded crocs when we first got them.”

ASHLEY

HONG (12)

VARSITY SWIMMING

up her

PERFORMANCE

Everybody always asks me why I have ibuprofen in my bag. Don’t ask me why I have ibuprofen in my bag.

(9)

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Closing her college basketball career with a total of 3,951 points, Clark’s talent has not only propelled her to the number one draft pick in the WNBA, where she is set to compete for the Indiana Fever, but has also fueled a spike in interest in women’s college basketball. Her confident shooting and historic records, coupled with her unrestrained emotion on the court have attracted unparalleled crowds that set the stage for an optimistic future for women’s sports.

CAITLIN CLARK

fast facts fast facts

Career Points: 3,951 Career Assists: 1,144 Free Throw Percentage: 85.8% Three-Point Percentage: 37.7 %

collegiate basketball player Matthew Harley noted how the rise of star players in women’s basketball, sparked his interest in the women’s side.

basketball until these last couple of years,”

race times to a precision of one-hundredth of a second. It was also only until 1963 in the annual Army-Navy Football Game that instant replays were used to review plays.

to no errors. If VAR wasn’t used, there’d just be a lot more controversial decisions because the ref obviously can’t see everything at once.”

Sports like baseball, volleyball and tennis now utilize the Hawk-Eye system, which determines the trajectory of a ball, allowing referees and umpires to accurately make out-of-bounds calls.

I do feel like it affects the flow of the game because it takes time when they review. If a team has momentum and the review stops the time, that can change a lot.

ALFREDO ALVES ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

However, the use of technology has not come without controversy. Tennis players, such as the 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, have criticized the Hawk-Eye system for incorrectly calling balls in and out of bounds, especially in situations where the margin of difference comes down to millimeters, much less than the machine’s gauranteed accuracy. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Tools like the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in soccer have grown in usage over

jonathan szeto

NCAA D1 Women’s Basketball

WONDER WOMAN Caitlin Clark brought a newfound interest in women’s collegiate basketball with her unique style. The D1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship drew record breaking viewership, with the minimum ticket prices more than three times the men’s.

DOUBLE DANGER Ashley holds

two swim bags, one holds her swim essentials and the other holds her pool gear.

SENIOR

season SPORTS SENIOR spring

GO FOR GOAL (TOP LEFT) Varsity girls lacrosse defender Anika Mantripragada (12) carries the ball down the field.

PICTURE FINISH (TOP MIDDLE) Varsity boys golf captain Jonathan Zhang (12) holds his finish after teeing off.

ON TARGET (TOP RIGHT) Varsity boys volleyball co-captain and outside hitter Zachary Blue (12) receives a serve

RACING RAPIDLY (LEFT

ABOVE) Varsity track and field co-captain Veyd Patil (12) pumps his arms while sprinting and looking in front of him on the track.

TAKE A BREATH (MIDDLE ABOVE) Varsity swimmer

Saahil Kajarekar (12) brings his arms out and breathes in as he does the butterfly stroke during the team’s last home meet.

WIND UP (RIGHT ABOVE) Varsity baseball co-captain and pitcher Adi Jain (12) lunges and brings his arm back in preparation to release the baseball.

EYES ON THE BALL (LEFT) Varsity softball captain and first base Isha Kotalwar (12) swings her bat at the softball in the second inning.

FINAL FAREWELL (RIGHT)

Varsity tennis player Thomas Liu (12) and head coach John Fruterro pose and smile together for a photo during the team’s senior night ceremony.

Ttiffany zhu

he spring season sports teams—track and field, girls lacrosse, boys tennis, softball, boys volleyball, swim, baseball and boys golf—have begun celebrating their senior athletes, who are set to graduate this month. During the senior night ceremonies, the members of the graduating class are presented with flowers and honored with speeches by their coaches and teammates.

“I’ve met so many amazing people here, and it’s been a good four years,” varsity tennis player Thomas Liu (12) said. “I’ve been watching my fellow teammates since they joined the team, and I’m really proud of how far they’ve all come.”

Preparing for the upcoming summer season, the Winged Post strategic team paid a visit to Santa Cruz on April 27. This iconic Bay Area beachtown is well known for its vibrant atmosphere and thrilling activities. Its cool and pristine waters are also well suited for a wide variety of activities from swimming to

surfing. Whether you prefer exhilarating roller coasters, a relaxing experience at the beach or eating delicious food by the seaside, Santa Cruz has it all. Tag along as we detail our sunny adventure from the Beach Boardwalk amusement park to Santa Cruz’s refreshing beaches and bustling wharf.

For our first destination, we stopped at the Boardwalk arcade located near the entrance to the park. The arcade offers a wide variety of different games from basketball to ice hockey, rewarding tickets that can be exchanged for prizes. If you’re serious about tickets, we suggest playing the piano tiles game as it gives the most for its price. Mimicking classic rhythm games, this game requires players to press physical keys in sync within a 30-second timeframe. Every four successful key presses yields three tickets, but watch out, because making a mistake freezes the screen and halts your progress for a few seconds. At $2 per play, it’s possible to earn upwards of 60 tickets with good speed.

After the arcade, we made our way to the rides and food, which occupy most of the Boardwalk amusement park. The park provides carnival rides for people of all age groups, with levels ranging from “Kiddie” to “Thriller.” The Boardwalk has rides like the Beach Swing and Bouncin’ Buggies for children while the Cyclone and Fireball prove to be popular amongst those who enjoy more exhilarating rides. With the Boardwalk’s wide range of food and beverages, you’ll surely find a quick and tasty snack or meal from one of the food stands. We would recommend the Tater Twist, a fried twisted potato on a stick with a crispy outer edge but a soft center.

ROUND AND AROUND (TOP) Visitors ride “Sea Swings,” a family friendly amusement ride at the Boardwalk. SIZZLING FUN (MIDDLE) A family orders from World Grill & Beer Garden, a food stand that sells different dishes ranging from chicken paninis to falafels. FRIED DELIGHT (RIGHT) A Tater Twist, seasoned with garlic parmesan and spicy barbecue powder, carries a savory crunch. RISK IT ALL (FAR RIGHT) Juniors Victor Gong and Claire Zhao attempt to win tickets from an claw machine outside of the arcade.

Cool off at the beach

Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, the shorelines of Santa Cruz offer a sandy retreat to those wishing to relax on the beach or take a swim in the cool waters of the Pacific. Santa Cruz is well known for its historic surf culture, with thousands of people flocking to the area every year to catch the tide. Paddleboarding and kayaking also rank high on the list of popular water sports at Santa Cruz. For those interested in giving these activities a try, many businesses along the pier offer rental services as

A few minutes’ walk down the Santa Cruz Wharf, an iconic seaside pier, stands a tan-and-orange food truck, giving beach-goers options for quick Mexican eats. Customers at Cococ The Food Truck have the option to order a taco set, a plate with beans and rice, bowls and more. Each menu item is served with one of their five iconic guisados: cochinita pibil, marinated pork with red pickled onions; chicken mole, with a traditional Oaxacan recipe; carnitas rancheras, authentic pork carnitas topped with corn; rajas con elote, fire-roasted poblano peppers sauteed with corn; and their vegan option, mushroom and potato tinga. The shop also offered five salsas of increasing spice level. We ordered three taco sets, each set being four tacos with mix-andmatch fillings from the guisado options.

We tried all of the guisado options except for the mushroom and potato tinga. The carnitas rancheras were the driest meat and needed some of their salsa to make it more juicy. The cochinita pibil, though very flavorful, also suffered from some of the dryness as did its pork counterpart. I found the most delicious option to be

their poblano con elote, as the roasted peppers and corn lended the dish a smokey flavor profile and the vegetables were all juicy. Their fresh, homemade salsa made it all even better.

well as boat tours. Besides surfers and sunbathers, Santa Cruz is also home to a variety of aquatic creatures, including sea lions, sea urchin, sea otters and humpback whales.

While walking along the shoreline, we were lucky enough to encounter a sea lion up close, lounging and swimming around in an inlet that jut into the beachside. Although they generally keep a distance from humans, sea lions are social and playful creatures, resembling a dog and dolphin combined. You’ll often find these playful marine creatures relaxing on the Santa Cruz wharf, easily distinguishable

young min

SEA SURPRISE A sea lion peeks its head out while swimming around near the shoreline. Santa Cruz is home to over 2,000 species of animals ranging from sea lions to herons.

victor gong

SEASIDE (LEFT) Visitors walk along the Santa Cruz Wharf, which is known for its restaurants and small boutiques as well as its ocean view. JUICY (ABOVE) A collage of tacos, quesadillas and salsas from Cococ The Food Truck located near the pier’s end.

VICTOR GONG

PHOTOS BY KATERINA MATTA

VICTOR GONG

jessica wang