Winged Post Volume 18, Issue 4 by Harker Aquila

WINGED POST ANYA WEAVER

TUESDAY, JAN. 24, 2017 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 18, NO. 4

| www.harkeraquila.com

BAY AREA EXITS HISTORIC DROUGHT Six-year period of drought danger comes to an end in 2017

READ ON Mishu Nitulescu (11) studies in the library. Librarian Lauri Vaughan won the MAE award for Recreate Reading.

Upper school librarian recognized for Recreate Reading program anya weaver reporter

Librarian Lauri Vaughan was given the Margaret Ann Edward (MAE) award for founding the Upper School’s Recreate Reading program. The eight-year-old program was inspired in part by the ‘What I’m Reading’ posters all over campus, which inspired conversations among students. “[The old program] was pretty much universally hated,” Vaughan said. “I can remember sitting in the old library office … and saying ‘I wish we could do something for summer reading like we did for those posters.’”

Women’s march garners community participation kshithija mulam editor-in-chief

Members of the Harker community participated in marches for women’s rights all over the Bay Area on Saturday in an act of solidarity after the divisive election cycle of 2016.

KAITLYN HSU

Students attend annual Winter Ball

KAITLIN HSU

LET’S HAVE A BALL Members of the class of 2016 dance together at last year’s Winter Ball. Winter Ball took place on Saturday with a New Yorkbased theme.

kshithija mulam editor-in-chief

Students attended Winter Ball this year in Nichols Atrium on Saturday. The theme of this year’s ball was “Welcome to New York,” featuring DJ Mighty Mike from FM 99.7 and a surprise ball drop at the end of the dance.

HAPy Nikhil Manglik (12) & Misha Tseitlin (12), students in the Human Anatomy & Physiology course demonstrate the anatomy table to Dr. Henry Le last Thursday after school.

Hoscars, A3

KAITLIN HSU

Pathologist makes site visit to view anatomy table

nicole chen & rose guan

Aquila features editor & copy editor

Due to the immense amount of rain in the past few weeks, the historic six-year drought in northern California has come to an end. Sporadic rain in October started to improve the drought situation. Approximately 40 percent of California was in exceptional drought danger last year, according to the monitor; however, as of Jan. 10, around two percent is still in that category. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all regions in northern California north of Interstate 80 are now completely free from drought. This marks the the first time that this announcement has been made since December 2011. Gov. Jerry Brown and the

Senioritis, A5

state water board will be expected to talk about lifting the state of emergency for the drought originally introduced in January 2014. According to California’s California’s Department of Water Resources, original state of emergency required a 25 percent reduction in water use statewide but was slightly alleviated last year. Atmospheric rivers, regions in the atmosphere that transport water vapor, directed moisture to dry regions of California, causing multiple days of heavy rain and snow. Prolific snow this winter in the Sierra Mountain regions also contributed immensely to alleviating the drought. The benefits of the rain also extended to filling lakes and reservoirs. Water levels of Lake Oroville, California’s second largest reservoir, were raised a total of 100 feet within the last month, according to the Weather Channel.

Foucault Pendulum, A8

“The thing that’s most worrisome [for climate change] is fresh water. Food is also worrisome, but in theory, food shortages can be dealt with. There’s all sorts of models that show with ample land and existing technologies and so forth that we could produce a lot more food,” said Dr. John Casterline, director of the Ohio State University Institute for Population Research. “Fresh water is the real challenge because humans need water and there’s a limited supply of it, and there are a lot of places that are already pressed to the limit in providing enough fresh water.” Despite the positive benefits of the recent rain, it has also caused numerous floods and rockslides across California, effects that were intensified due to climate change caused by harmful human activity. “It’s pretty clear that humans are affecting global cli-

Grow & Twine, A11

mate,” said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate researcher Benjamin Santer. “Wherever we look, we see signals of unusual change not only in these broad-brush changes in average climate but also in the intensity of droughts [and] of flooding.” According to Business Insider, despite the recent revival of numerous lakes and reservoirs, aquifers, California’s groundwater, which accumulates below the surface of the earth in deposits, is still relatively deprived. Since the beginning of the drought, many deposits have been used up for irrigation, agriculture and industrial purposes, and only a small portion have been restored. However, with expected ongoing rain in the future, the aquifers are expected to be constantly replenished, bringing California to a state without permanent water shortages.

Nikoloff Departure, B8

NEWS

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24 2017

UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS

Capitol Hill:

What You Missed

alex wang sports editor

FF AN Y

Part two of a seven part series on American politics

STUDY HARD Medha Shah (12) and Ankita Uppugunduri (12) wait for other students to arrive at a Wednesday night study session last week.

DECA prepares for competitions

Aquila features editor, features editor & reporter

President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on Friday in Washington D.C., after winning the 2016 presidential election. The inauguration ceremony began at 9:00 a.m. PST, with musical performances prior to the start of the event. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swore Trump in at 9 a.m. in front of the United States Capitol, followed by a traditional inauguration parade. Before Trump was sworn into office, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered Vice President Mike Pence’s oath of office. According to BBC News, over 50 members of Congress are boycotting Trump’s presidential inauguration. The

“I think [boycotting the presidential inauguration] is problematic so far in that it does send a message that not everyone supports the election or the peaceful transition of power.” CAROL GREEN HISTORY TEACHER il rights activist John Lewis called Trump illegitimate due to his alleged relationship with Russia. Since then, numerous political figures have publicly stated that they side with Lewis.

“I think [boycotting the presidential inauguration] is problematic so far in that it does send a message that not everyone supports the election or the peaceful transition of power,” upper school history teacher Carol Green said. “It is really a hallmark of American democracy as also stated by Obama.” Many celebrities and performers had also boycotted the inauguration. Amy Schumer, singer Zendaya and Chelsea Handler all were expected to not attend the event and protest somewhere else in Washington D.C. In response to the change in administrations, several groups have organized a “Women’s March on Washington,” with the mission of advocating for minority groups, including all races, genders, religions and sexualities, which will take place on Jan. 21. There will also be nearly 400 “sister marches” in cities across the country with the same mission.

Many women celebrities are attending Women’s March on Washington. Some of them are Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne on The Walking Dead, Uzo Aduba, who plays Crazy Eyes on Orange is the New Black, and actress Chloë Grace Moretz. Despite criticism towards Trump’s plan as president, some feel as if Trump will keep his promises. “I would expect that [Trump is] going to work on the things that he said were important and that got people to vote for him,” Robert Varich, vice-chair of the central committee of the Santa Clara County Republican Party said. “That was a huge turnout for this election and it was very close.” The ceremony featured musical performances by 3 Doors Down, Toby Keith, Lee Greenwood, Jackie Evancho, Big & Rich, the Rockettes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The Piano Guys.

boycott movement started when congressman and civ-

nicole chen & maya kumar & nisha shankar

Donald J. Trump officially named 45th president of the United States of America

Nation witnesses inauguration of Trump

DECA hosted study sessions last week to prepare for state competitions after participating in the Silicon Valley District Career Development Conference earlier this month. “We do three [sessions] a week to accommodate for sports and other things, and we want to give people enough time to prepare for states,” DECA CEO Alexis Gauba (12) said.

LALC Members of Language and Linguistics Club meet to prepare for NACLO. Club members will take the contest on Jan. 26. LALC participates in NACLO

The Language and Linguistics Club (LALC) is currently holding meetings in preparation for the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO), which will be held on Jan. 26. “Our goal is to both prepare our members for the NACLO contest and to enlighten them about the complex relationship between seemingly unrelated languages,” co-president David Zhu (12) said.

Harker’s annual program, Student Directed Showcase (SDS), allowed novice and experienced actors to showcase their skills under student directors. This year’s shows, directed by seniors Chetana Kalidindi, Emre Ezer, Sana Aladin and Kayvon Solaimanpour, featured “Grover,” “Remov-

ing the Glove,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Dystopia!”. “I love teacher directors, but getting to have someone who’s a student is really interesting,” sai d sophomore Meghna Phalke, who was in “Removing the Glove.”,” said.

HELM releases digital issue

REMOVING THE GLOVE Shyl Lamba (9) and Rithi Jayam (10) discuss a problem during “Removing the Glove.” SDS cast members performed on January 6 and 7.

The Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM) is working on finalizing its first digital issue. It is currently in the final production process. “HELM is looking forward to continuing our 2017 Facebook haikus and beginning a website that will include writing features and art from both current club members and club archives,” junior editor Emily Chen (11) said.

Students are preparing for the annual dance show at

MUSICAL GROUPS PERFORM IN CONCERTS

Upper school orchestra, lab band and jazz band as well as several middle school instrumental groups performed at the Mexican Heritage Theater on Jan. 13 for the annual Winter Concert. “The upper school groups are really sounding amazing, and it’s a really difficult program,” said Christopher Flo-

rio, upper school instrumental music teacher, said. “[We] definitely have more students performing now than I think we’ve ever had, and I’m really excited.” The orchestra will be performing again in April for the Spring Concert at De Anza college.

WINTER CONCERT Upper school orchestra performs at their winter concert. The spring concert will be in April.

months of hard work and rehearsals,” upper school dance instructor Karl Kuehn said. “It’s nice to see everything come to life in a fun and vibrant and entertaining setting.” This year 153 students are participating in the dance show, as well as nine faculty members and 10 student choreographers. The dancers will perform this Friday and Saturday at the Blackford theater.

PA R

CIRCUS CIRCUS Students learn dances from their choreographers. Participants in the dance show will perform this Friday.

the Blackford campus after last Saturday’s dress rehearsal. The show, featuring the theme “Circus,” consists of two acts: “Enter the Circus,” which centers around general circus themed dances, and “Daring acts and sideshow freaks,” which focuses on the more riveting sides of the circus. “I’m always excited about seeing the students performing on stage after months and

DANCERS PERFORM IN ANNUAL SHOW

reporter

College counseling classes for the junior class begin today and will continue each Tuesday afternoon from 3:10 to 3:55 for the entire semester. All classes will take place in the Nichols auditorium. College counseling assistant Rae Ann Prado will email athletes each week to notify them about make-up classes. Individual college counseling appointments began on Thursday. For juniors, freshmen and sophomores, upper school academic dean Evan Barth gave a presentation about course selection last Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Blackford campus. Courses for the upcoming school year are listed in the 2017-18 course of studies and the 2017-18 graduation planner and course list on the upper school student portal and the parent portal. Students should turn in their course selection forms to Derek Kameda, the front desk or the Dobbins office today.

SDS PROVIDES CREATIVE OUTLET

TA R

nerine uyanik

reporters

SHARON YAN

College counseling kicks off

HELM HELM staff members discuss the digital issue. The magazine is currently being produced.

NICOLE CHEN

COUNSELING The class of 2017 participates in college counseling. The class of 2018 will participate in its first college counseling session next week.

angele yang & nina gee

ANYA WEAVER

RAVEENA KAPATKAR

Conservatory finishes winter performances

PHILOSOPHY A speaker from last year’s conference delivers a speech. Philosophy club hosts club week

Philosophy club held its club week in the first week of the second semester. “Currently, we’re working on preparing for our second conference,” co-president Peter Wu (12) said. “We’re excited to have Mr. Nikoloff give a speech at our event this year.” The club will host its second annual philosophy conference in March.

NEWS

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Construction leads to Hoscars complications Annual talent show may be cancelled due to lack of available facilities to perform in on campus aquila news editor

“There weren’t any solutions that would make it an event that would live up to the standards of how much it means historically as a tradition for the school.” ERIC KALLBRIER ASSISTANT TO DIRECTORS OF ACTIVITIES AND BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Assistant to Directors of Activities and Business & Entrepreneurship Eric Kallbrier explained that many believe foregoing Hoscars this year would be a better option than attempting to bring the event forth in a more complicated manner. “We opened it up for people to give potential ideas for solutions, but there weren’t any solutions that would make it an event that would live up to the standards of how much it means historically as a tradition for the school,” he said. “It seemed like the best thing to do to honor it was to not have it this year. They’re still considering some other options to make it happen, but it’s pretty late in the game.” Additionally, there are a number of issues in scheduling Hoscars independent from a facility to host it. Most prominently, scheduling the event is posing a challenge for administration to take into consideration in selecting a date for the school-wide assembly. Sandip Nirmel, ASB President, described the initiatives of administration. “On Admin side, Mr. William, Mr. Keller, Ms. Alaniz and Ms. Villarreal are helping out

with logistics, but they’ve gone through all the scheduling options and it doesn’t seem like we can fit [Hoscars] into the schedule,” he said. “There are different field trips and clubs like DECA that are busy at that time.”

“It doesn’s seem like we can fit [Hoscars] into the schedule. There are different field trips and clubs that are busy at that time.” SANDIP NIRMEL ASB PRESIDENT Sandip continued to mention that, from a technological perspective in making the show happen, Mr. Vallerga and Mr. Larsen don’t believe that this event can feasibly accomplished. Groundbreaking for the construction of the athletics and performing arts buildings took place in early May last school year.

PAST HOSCARS (TOP LEFT) Sahana Narayanan (‘16) and Jonathan Trinh (‘16) perform a magic trick. (TOP RIGHT) An APUSH class sings an American classic. (MIDDLE LEFT) Jack Farnham (12) performs with members of the jazz band. (MIDDLE RIGHT) Logan Drazovich (‘16) impersonates President Donald Trump. (MIDDLE) Luke Wu (‘16) performs a dance routine. (BOTTOM) Lauren Liu (12) plays the guitar during the APUSH routine. All of these performances took place in Hoscars last year.

PROVIDED BY HELM

Hoscars, the annual upper school talent show that usually takes place in the weeks before Spring Break, will most likely be canceled this year, as there is no facility available to host the event. Historically, the entire school would assemble in the gym to enjoy over an hour of entertainment by talented members of both the student body and faculty. However, as a result of construction, the gym is not a plausible option this year. ASB Secretary Alexander Lam (12) discussed the current state-of-affairs of Hoscars. “For the past month or so, we were trying to figure out the logistical organization for having to host Hoscars, but after talking with administration and really pushing for it, it seems that scheduling difficulties and lack of space will not allow for it to happen,” he said. “We are trying to explore some alternatives, but try not to get your hopes up because it might not happen.” Student council and administration presented a few

options in order to make Hoscars happen. Some thoughts were hosting the event in the Quad, dividing the event into two sections between the gym and Nichols, holding Hoscars in the evening at the Blackford MPR and even pre-recording all the acts before showing them on a screen. Unfortunately, these plans are seemingly not making the cut. In the words of Dean of Students, a plan for Hoscars is practically “nonexistent.”

ALL PHOTOS KSHITHIJA MULAM

maya valluru

HELM releases first ever digital issue school-wide anika rajamani reporter

TO HELM WITH IT (TOP LEFT) HELM club, along with Andrew Tierno (12), head of Programming Club, designed this front page for their first online magazine, which displays artwork by Katrina Liu (10). The editors and club members beta-tested the digital issue last week before its unveling. (BOTTOM LEFT) Members of HELM work during a writing workshop. The digital issue of HELM was unveiled yesterday. (TOP RIGHT) HELM’s digital issue features work by Rose Guan (10) and Emily Chen (11). (BOTTOM RIGHT) HELM’s digital issue features multimedia artwork, like the video and compsotition by Gwyneth Chen (11).

HELM Club unveiled its first unthemed, digital issue comprised of written pieces, artwork and multimedia publically yesterday. The online website was shown to club members on Tuesday at their club meeting during long lunch. After refining the website and adding the final touches, HELM will publish the magazine to non-club members. HELM undertook this project along with their regular print magazine. HELM is an annual magazine that accepts submissions from all Harker students who wish to contribute. The club accepts written pieces such as poetry and short stories, as well as photography, paintings and

drawings. The idea to publish online was introduced in the summer as the club leadership prepared this year’s initiatives and was taken forward in first semester. They received a majority of their submissions in September when they opened up their contest. By November, the editor team had gathered ideas and pieces from their club members and had laid out a design for the website. Since then, the head of Programming Club, Andrew Tierno, has helped HELM from the website and get it ready for publishing. For their print magazines, HELM editors hold club-wide meetings and discuss what pieces they would like to publish in their magazine. Junior co-editor Emily Chen explained that for

the online publication, they followed a different selection process. “We curated the submis-

“We curated the submissions by ourselves because we thought that since this was the first issue, we would do it as an editorial board.” EMILY CHEN HELM JUNIOR CO-EDITOR sions by ourselves because we thought that since this was the first issue, we would do it as an

editorial board, instead of bringing the rest of the club,” Emily said. However, in the future, they plan to include other club members in this process. Andrew Rule (12), one of two editors-in-chief, focused on the publicity aspect of this project. He helped draft messages to be delivered at the school meetings and worked with the English department to spread the word. Andrew also helped with design and submitted two pieces of his own for the online publication. “I felt mostly gratitude to Andrew Tierno. The ball has been in his court throughout the whole six-week design process, and I really can’t overstate how important his contribution was to making the issue a reality,” Andrew said.

OPINION

How to protest: rules of the road Here are some tips on standing up for what you believe in while staying safe and classy

Managing Editor Sahana Srinivasan

Rules of the Road:

News Editor Meena Gudapati Features Editor Maya Kumar

Opinion Editors Vijay Bharadwaj Adrian Chu STEM Editor Derek Yen

Protesting

Speed Limit 30

work ahead

Asst. STEM Editor Katherine Zhang Sports Editors Anjay Saklecha Alex Wang Photo Editor Ashley Jiang Copy Editors Rose Guan Ruhi Sayana Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Wingspan Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Hsu Aquila Editors-in-Chief Raveena Kapatkar Tara Parimi Aquila Managing Editor Trisha Dwivedi Aquila Staff Michael Sikand Neil Bai Vijay Bharadwaj Maya Valluru Alex Wang Nicole Chen Tiffany Wong Adrian Chu Derek Yen Zachary Hoffman Katherine Zhang Justin Su

Reporters Anvi Banga Krishna Bheda Eric Fang Kathy Fang Nina Gee Ria Gupta Rashmi Iyer Sofia Kassaras Helen Yang

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

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

The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism: Newspaper Concentration and Advanced Journalism: Newspaper Concentration courses at The Harker Upper School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129. The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, 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 wingedpost2017@ harker.org and must be signed, legible and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to Post style. Baseless accusations, insults, libelous statements, obscenities and letters that call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to The Winged Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff. The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of The Harker School and is distributed free of cost to students.

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

WE GO HIGH Protests and demonstrations have taken root across the nation. If you’re interested in participating in one, it’s important that you stay safe and demonstrate peacefully, without losing your temper.

EDITORIAL THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST With the rise of the Internet, it’s become increasingly feasible to organize large protests and marches in a short time frame. In the past few years, groups with a passion and an internet connection have protested the Dakota Access Pipeline, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and the treatment of African Americans by police. This weekend, people nationwide marched to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Protesting is an important part of the democratic process and every citizen’s right as guaranteed by the First Amendment, but effective protesting requires guidelines for how to be-

have. As Duncan Green, author of a book on protesting, “How Change Happens”, said in an interview with NPR on Thursday, “If you only think about protests, you’re missing half of the action.” Be aware: Protesting, while legal and protected by your first amendment rights, is not risk-free. You could be arrested, assaulted, or stigmatized. Be aware of what protesting means before you commit yourself. Understand that protesting carries with it the risk of arrest, something that will follow you on college and job applications. Protest convention: Show up early if asked and follow the guidelines of the organizers of the protest. Know who the group leaders are and where they are in relation to you. Don’t bring a purse or backpack, and if you bring a banner or flag, remove its metal,

plastic, or wooden pole. Stay Peaceful: Protests are legal on the condition that marchers don’t obstruct traffic. Resorting to violence can delegitimize your cause. Nonviolent protests should spread awareness to cause action. Stay Safe: Above all, watch out for yourself. Amidst a crowd of volatile protesters, expect police or anti-protesters to approach you. For anti-protesters, respond calmly and do not escalate the situation to more than a discourse between individuals. For officers, obey all police orders and make sure they can see your hands clearly. If a police officer detains you, remain calm and simply state your purpose unless told otherwise. Be prepared: Carry a cellphone in your pocket and extra cash in your shoe. If detained or arrested, you may have to forfeit your belongings, so

KAITLIN HSU

Asst. Features Editor Prameela Kottapalli

keep contact information for support such as lawyer or someone who can help you written on your skin or clothes or in a place which would not be confiscated during an arrest. Contact your support person immediately after arrest. This may require calling from a phone inside jail so make sure to have spare change to pay for a call. For Comfort: Dress in layers and comfortable shoes - you’ll likely be walking a lot. Check the weather and dress appropriately. Bring snacks to keep your energy up and water to stay hydrated. Always remember the main reason you are protesting - to effect change. Change does not occur in the blink of an eye; protesting is one step in the direction for reform. Long term change is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the cause.

Aggressive politicians inflame aggression

derek yen

STEM editor Actress Meryl Streep criticized President-elect Donald Trump in her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes award ceremony on Jan. 8. She recalled when Trump mocked a disabled reporter at a rally in November 2015. “The person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back,” Streep said. “This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.” Streep’s comment calls to mind reports of a spate of racial graffiti and hate crimes last November in the wake of Trump’s winning the election. The Southern Poverty Law Center, whose website describes itself as “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry,” distributed an online survey to K-12 school teachers and administrators across the nation after the election. According to a press release, out of over 10,000 respondents, more than 2,500

educators described “specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric.” Every politician wishes that their speeches might move the American public to action. Unfortunately, this is also true of rhetoric of hate. Trump aside, we have already witnessed how politicians’ fiery expressions can urge people towards violence. A shooter attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in November 2015, killing three and injuring nine. During his arrest and trial, the shooter called himself a “warrior for the babies” and made statements such as “no more baby parts.” The shooter’s comments directly reflect actions by politicians disseminating and perpetuating allegations that Planned Parenthood sells aborted fetal tissues for profit, never verified despite investigations in 12 states and a dedicated House of Representatives committee. Videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood members discussing sales were publicized and the topic became pointedly politicized. In a similar vein, and more recently, in the wake of the Democratic National Committee email leaks, a “Pizza-gate” conspiracy theory circulated throughout the internet. This repeatedly discredited conspiracy theory alleged that certain John Podesta emails showed evidence of a child trafficking ring run by

BIG TALK Agressive rhetoric propagated by public figures can (and has multiple times) motivated people to radical and violent action. As public figures, politians have a responsibility to watch what they say.

the DNC if certain culinary words were assumed to be ciphers, and that a certain pizzeria, Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., was its locale. Yet this not-even-circumstantial evidence was enough to compel a gunman last December to visit Comet Ping Pong and open fire on the premises—luckily, no one was injured. It may seem as though only a select handful of people would be gullible enough to believe the story. But apparently this select handful also included influential political officials: Michael Flynn, Jr., then a member of Trump’s transition team, tweeted on Dec. 4, 2016, that “Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it’ll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many ‘coincidences’ tied to it.” (Flynn was later dismissed on Dec. 6.)

Every politician’s words are greatly publicized by nature of their profession, unsubstantiated or uninformed as they may be. Trump must realize that his words can and do have a substantive effect on the attitudes of the American public. He can be somewhat bombastic with his warmongering and braggadocio—but even if rational people can shrug off his comments, the Colorado Springs massacre and “Pizza-gate” demonstrate that politics is indeed watched by people both irrational enough to believe unsubstantiated claims and radical enough to use violence to take action. Politicians must be aware of the violence they can incite through caustic rhetoric. Of all politicians, this is most true of the president—and of all presidents, this is most true of Trump.

ROSE GUAN

Editors-in-Chief Kshithija Mulam Meilan Steimle

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Electing the electoral college Is our Presidential voting system fair? WY

Do you think the electoral college should be reformed?

anvi banga reporter

MEILAN STEIMLE

your vote counts

4.5x more

your vote counts

Florida

than someone’s in

Wyoming

than someone’s in

86,000 pop votes/ 1 electoral college vote

nicole chen

Aquila features editor

A fair election should be defined so that the party that receives the majority of electoral votes also wins the popular vote. Even though President Donald Trump won with 306 electoral votes to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s 232 in the 2016 presidential election, Clinton has over 2.5 million more popular votes than Trump. According to CNN News, more citizens voted for Clinton than for any other losing candidate. Even with that, Trump still won the election. It seems bizarre that the candidate with more direct votes lost the election. For those in support of the electoral college, however, it stands as an obligatory tradeoff in order to vote with a more superior system. The outcome of the election isn’t unprecedented in terms of the ratio of popular to electoral

3.3x more

your vote counts

Florida

than someone’s in

Rhode Island

California

116,000 pop votes/ 1 electoral college vote votes. Trump is the fourth president to win the election without winning the popular vote. In the most recent case in 2000, former President George W. Bush won with 271 electoral votes while opposing candidate Al Gore held approximately 540,000 more popular votes than Bush. If a direct popular vote system were implemented, the demographic diversity of the nation would be better represented. A popular vote system would take into consideration the Republican votes in heavily Democratic states such as California and the Democratic votes in Republican majority states like Alabama, which the Electoral College ignores due to the small-scale nature of this population compared to the majority party. According to an analysis of this year’s electoral votes by the Washington Post, the three states that pushed Trump to the finish line were Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump won these states by a mere 0.2, 0.7 and 0.8 percent of the popular vote, respectively, giving him the full 46 electoral votes from these states.

1.5x more Florida

252,000 pop votes/ 1 electoral college vote The significance of these states lies in the marginality of Trump’s wins. If Clinton had earned the electoral votes of these states, the outcome of the election would have been different. A similar situation can be seen with Clinton’s win in New York. Since she won by 1.5 million popular votes in the state, she received all 29 elec-

“The focus of the presidential election should be shifted to gaining popularity and appealing to each state equally.” toral votes. However, if she had gained the majority by just one popular vote, she still would have received the same number of electoral votes. With the Electoral College system, each candidate’s campaign focuses on the swing states in each election, instead of attempting to appeal to voters from each state.

*statistics based on voter turnout for the 2016 Presidential election

Florida

383,000 pop votes/ 1 electoral college vote For example, Clinton visited the Democratic-ensured state California a total of three times in contrast to her 18 events in the swing state of Florida. As a result, states that could vote either way, such as Pennsylvania and Colorado, currently matter more than states that are “guaranteed”, such as Wyoming and Oregon. The focus of the presidential election should be shifted to gaining popularity and appealing to each state equally, instead of only trying to gain wins in swing states. Every election cycle, our voting systems are reevaluated and debated, however, no action has been taken to combat the issue To ensure that our nation votes fairly, we ought to alter the current system and work towards developing a more effective voting procedure. While both electoral and popular vote systems have their faults, we should seek a balance between the two voting systems to create a voting system that fairly represents our nation as a whole.

“I think it’s an important part of how the American government works, we can’t be a perfect democracy, since that would never work, that would never be actually Erana Wan feasible.” (10)

Ashna Reddy (9)

Enya Lu (10)

“I don’t find it very necessary, because I feel like the results of the election should represent what the people want.” “I think that the popular vote is more important than the electoral college vote, but I do think that the electoral college should be there because it was created for a purpose.”

“It has been around for a long time. I don’t see an issue with it. There has been some debate on whether it’s really fair, because obviously Hillary won with Brandon Mo over 2.5 million popular votes.” (11)

Shivani Awasthi (12)

“Our original founding fathers, they thought that the population was too uneducated to make an informed decision, so they preferred that the population votes for people in the electoral college”

The shorter week: an alternative to the universal basic income

adrian chu

aquila opinion editor

McDonald’s first drive-thru restaurant opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975 allowing diners to order food without leaving their cars. 41 years later, McDonald’s plans to replace all human cashiers from their 14,000 stores with touch-screen kiosks. Automation is not simply a cost-cutting alternative to human work, it is the future for blue collar jobs. Automation does make most customer experiences far more convenient, but the less pleasant logic behind the decision to automate is a simple comparison of cost. Even when paying their employees minimum wage, human work will never be cost effective when compared to machines which cost cents in electricity an hour. The agricultural, industrial and information revolutions widely eliminated hunter-gatherers, skilled individual craftsmen and other eventually dated occupations with “better” jobs accompanied with rising standards of living. We need to face the near certainty that much of our current working population will become unnecessary. One of the most discussed solutions is the UBI (universal basic income). Nearly all jobs would be intellectual or creative occupations which often require high education levels while automation fulfilled all remaining labor demands. A UBI allows for society to be content while only small portions of its population are able to work and compete for the remaining necessary human work hours. A UBI can only serve as a

temporary band-aid as it only remedies the symptoms of the Automation Revolution. With no social mobility, there would be little incentive for the employed population to continue to fund the population living off of the UBI. The UBI system decreases the number of human work hours by severely limiting the number of people who would work fulltime while providing a safety net for the rest of the population. The alternative is simple. Decrease the number of human work hours by decreasing hours worked per individual. By mandating a reduced work week, a larger percentage of the population would remain competitive in the workforce while keeping the sum of work hours low enough where our level of consumptions would not become unsustainable with automation. In response to the new demand for higher education, occupations in education would give people work while not increasing consumption. Automation makes life more convenient opening up more time, and a smaller work week allows individuals to reap the benefits of convenience while providing opportunity for more people to work. Automation is inevitable. People’s jobs will disappear at no fault to the individual as machines become more efficient and intelligent. Following the same work patterns as people from the companies of the 19th century will be as dated as the jobs automation are replacing. In a rapidly changing economic world, it’s time to consider a new work schedule. A version of this piece originally ran on harkeraquila.com. If you wish to read the full version, you can find it there.

Beyond the semester two bucket list Working hard during the first three years of high school is as valuable as having fun

kshithija mulam editor-in-chief

Along with “senioritis,” “senior privileges” and “senior trip,” I’ve finally graduated to another senior year hallmark, the infamous “second semester senior” phase that marks the end of my high school career. That time of my life when we’re supposed to let loose, stop and smell the roses and enjoy our last few months of being a kid. For me, it meant one more thing: time to pull out my high school bucket list. The week before first semester ended, I put down my AP Lit essay and my statistics homework and took a minute to look at my bucket list and revise it to include all the other plans I had come up with in the last few weeks: start a workout routine, participate in the talent show and go to an art gallery downtown. Further up the list were other yet-to-be-finished goals like enjoy my senior prom or perform in the dance show.

Running down my final list, it was immediately apparent that I’d probably manage to complete 75% of the list in the best-case scenario. My first thought was that I wish I had started this list earlier. My next thought was that that would’ve been impossible. I’ve heard about being a second semester senior since I was a freshman, when the class of 2014 threw candy at us at the first Monday morning meeting of second semester. I remember being told every year by seniors to not stress out so much. I remember hearing that everything would be okay so I shouldn’t push myself so hard. I also remember thinking to myself that there was no way I could slow down, not with so many questions weighing on my shoulders. What if it wouldn’t be okay? What if I could’ve worked harder and I didn’t? What if? While I look back and know now that I could’ve taken more moments to take a deep breath and relax, I’m also well-aware that it’s hypocritical of me to pretend that the work I put in during the first three and a half years of high school wasn’t also fulfilling. None of us would take as much pride in being a second semester senior if we hadn’t worked hard and accomplished as much as we

did before this point. We write bucket lists to make the most of our high school experience before it’s over, but just because the last three years of work weren’t written on our bucket lists doesn’t mean that what we were doing before didn’t play a part in making the most of high school. So to the non-seniors: keep working hard. Your time to be a second semester senior is coming too. The seniors will continue to look back and say they wish they had started to enjoy high school more earlier, but it’s always “easier” in hindsight. Leave no room for a “what if.” Take pride in all that you do now because you don’t want to have regrets later. And to the seniors: second semester senior year is a time to start your bucket lists. But I hope that it’s also a time to be proud of what we’ve done before. Until last week, I thought I hadn’t started my bucket list yet. But this whole time, I was checking off the unspoken first item on my bucket list: working to get to that place where I could enjoy completing the rest of my list with no regrets.

PROVIDED BY MEGY APPALARAJU

SAMANTHA HOFFMAN

OPINION • VOLUME 18 ISSUE 4 • JANUARY 24, 2017

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VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Trump IMMI administration promises immigration policy overhaul N O I T GRA -

USA

CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION

HARKER

“I’m scared for you guys.” Harker community members tell immigration stories. kaitlin hsu & gloria zhang

24 JAN 2017

Wingspan editor-in-chief & reporter

Anita Chetty The importance of immigration Living in the Bay Area, where would we be without immigration? I think that it’s very dangerous to become very inclusive and to think that what you have within your own borders is enough. The thing that inspires me the most about California is all of these people and all of their stories and the things that they have done. So many of the people that live here didn’t have a privileged beginning. If you think about all the Harker parents, so many of them came from very humble beginnings, and they’ve worked their way to where they are. Why would we not continue? We’d just simply make ourselves richer as a society. Concerns for the future I think that you have to look outside your borders. We are a planet. We are not one country, this one isolated country. You can’t look at yourself that way; it won’t work for too long. I’m concerned, and I know all my students came to me the day after [Trump] was elected and said, ‘When are you moving? You still have a house up there in Canada, right?’, and I said, you know, ‘This is my home now.’ But it scares me. I am scared for the future. I’m scared for you guys.

Nastya Grebin (11)

Ben Yuan (10)

Reasons for immigration Political corruption, inferior universities, restricted civil liberties. My parents wanted their children to have the best possible education and live in a country where a presidential candidate cannot be thrown into jail after a mockery of a trial. The U.S. was just a symbol of a better future them, so here we are now.

How he overcome the struggle of many immigrants I feel like I am stuck in the middle. Chinese people think I’m American, and American people think I’m Chinese, but it doesn’t bother me at all. I’m both, and I’m comfortable being both, and accepting and understanding two very different cultures gives me perspective when it comes to a lot of issues.

Problems immigrants face I am by birth Ukrainian and moved to Russia when I was quite young... I never really figured out where I should consider to be my country of origin... The fact that my ethnic diaspora in Bay Area is incredibly small also adds a feeling of isolation. Cultural heritage that dates back thousands of years has always been a part of my identity, and now I feel cut off from my own people and from everything that basically defines me as a Ukrainian. I think that is why I tend to quickly relate to other immigrants, wherever they come from -- I know they experience something similar; they can understand that slight change in people’s behavior when they realize you have an accent. I guess that is what I love most about the US is that many people here share the same story of coming to America to chase after hopes and dreams of a better future.

His view of the future Perhaps if there are more job opportunities, I will consider moving back. It’s still where I came from—I definitely have a reason to go back, but if the economy doesn’t improve and if the environment gets worse and worse, then maybe not. Transitioning into a new environment I was not very comfortable at first because everyone was speaking English, and I wasn’t very familiar with it. It was hard to move around because my mother and I couldn’t drive. There was anxiety, but later on it gets better as you get used to the customs and the culture. I get to meet people and these people help me with transitioning. They taught me a lot, and I observed other people and what they did. I had to learn English, and I didn’t understand enough about American culture until I came here.

Jack Jia (9)

What he misses about home The first thing [I miss] is definitely food. What I miss is not really about my home country but it’s actually the city where I’m from. Different cities in China have totally different placement of the buildings, so I’m just kind of used to staying at a city like Shanghai, but I need to get used to it. Transitioning into a new environment The first few days, it takes a little time to get into the language environment. After that, it is not much of a problem for me, but it definitely takes some time to adjust to the different style of living here. Process of immigrating I’m currently on a [student] visa. You need to wait for [the Green Card] for a long time. [For] the visa, if you go from here to China, or from China to here, the process is so complicated; you have to wait so much. Reasons for immigrating At first, I thought that I’ll come here to study for high school, and the immigration, we just decided this year actually. One of friends actually, he immigrated here last year, but has applied for it when he was born, so he waited for a long time.

Jessica Pan (10)

How she integrated into the community I spoke another language in a different country, but here I realized that what you actually communicate is on a cultural level. You watch different TV shows, different music, and have different likes and dislikes. Once you have friends here, they’ll tell you what they like, they’ll share their feelings and it will become easier to become integrated into society. What our future holds My family watched the election and [Trump’s] speeches, and it shocked me, but I cannot understand why it’s happening. It makes me feel nervous and anxious, because I don’t know what’s going to happen next to me, to the immigrants. I’m nervous and not really confident in the situation. I’m pretty sure that before the election, this situation would have never come to my mind, but after this, we have to think about how to protect our own rights. What she misses about home It’s pretty different culturally, I miss the food in Beijing because it’s really good and not that expensive. I miss my friends, because I grew up with them. I knew them for such a long time.

For more of their full stories, visit harkeraquila.com.

DOUBLETRUCK • VOLUME 18 ISSUE 4 • JANUARY 24, 2017

asst. features editor & managing editor

Friday marked the inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, succeeding the two-term presidency of “#44”, Barack Obama. President Trump’s stance and proposed policies on immigration have been widely publicized by the media for over a year. He has formulated a 10-point plan for his administration. According to the official policy listed on his website, Trump’s primary concern is to build a physical wall between the U.S. and Mexico, paid for by Mexico, beginning immediately. He also has proposed deporting all undocumented immigrants with a criminal record. Other initiatives include ending sanctuary cities, tripling the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, ending former President Obama’s executive amnesties and suspending visas from countries for which the U.S. does not have sufficient screening. “[Trump] ran his campaign on the basis of demeaning immigrants like myself, and what’s really at stake here is the safety and security of immigrants all across the country,” said Juan Escalante, an immigrant from Ven-

ION

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JUAN ESCALANTE DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS MANAGER FOR AMERICA’S VOICE Escalante entered the country as a teenager and is one of over 800,000 estimated people whose rights are guaranteed under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) act, a policy implemented by the Obama administration in 2012. DACA is intended to protect immigrants who entered the country as minors, recognizing that they grew up predominantly in America.

JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS

name were proud of the accomplishments I’ve done,” he said. “This was a huge stepping stone to me and reminder that I can’t just quit. I’ve made it this far, I can’t quit now.”

“Restoring immigration enforcement will be one step towards fixing the trust gap between the public and all of our institutions.” MARK KRIKORIAN CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES VETERAN DIRECTOR Yet the DACA act protects only a part of the undocumented immigrant population. In response, attempts at reform in recent years have revolved around the rights of all those entering the country, including undocumented adults who leave their home country due to conditions like violence or food shortages. “My parents had the hindsight to see what was happening to their country—a country that currently doesn’t have enough power to serve its hospitals, a country that is home to one of the most dangerous cities in the world, a country where shortages of food were common and basic goods are a rarity,” Escalante said. “That is the kind of reality that a lot of people don’t concep-

USA

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JOURNALIST, IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVIST

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sahana srinivasan managing editor

Winged Post: How do you enter the conversation about intersectionality? Jose Vargas: You just insist on it. You don’t let people slide. I think that’s why for me it’s so important to make sure that we insist that You can’t talk about immigrant rights and not talk about women’s rights. For example the Central American refugee crisis--so many of the women that were doing that trek got raped on the way here and how many more women’s rights groups should have heard about that? They get sexualized, and raped and molested on their way here. By guards. WP: We’ve heard a lot of people at school say that when

Jose Vargas is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and immigration rights activist who has been living in the U.S. as an undocumented resident since 1993. they leave our area, they see that they are the minority and they experience that for the first time. How do we engender conversation about race in our school so that when our population graduates and goes all across the country, they’re prepared? JV: I’m interested in this idea of what happens when people leave their community and all of a sudden they not in the minority or majority-so therefore it kind of renders irrelevant what minority and majority is. Like we are all majority’s. I’m tired of being a minority. I’m not my minority and you’re not your minority either. I actually think maybe it might be a good idea to retire the

24 JAN 2017

word minority. Because I think in some ways it’s been more hurtful than anything else. Because people internalize it. The people get expectations of ‘oh you know, I’m the minority anyway.’ You’re in the United States of America. You are the majority of one.

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sahana srinivasan managing editor

Winged Post: What’s your opinion on Trump’s immigration policies? Franco Vidal: I believe that President-Elect Donald Trump needs to firmly and as soon as possible give out a firm and detailed plan as to what he plans to do as far as immigration reform. We have very limited information as to what exactly he intends to do... I know there’s bad illegal immigrants out there. Of course there’s criminals. But most of all, to put us all in a bag, that’s what’s wrong. That’s what we want to know as people. We’re not illegals; we’re simply undocumented. We want to know what’s going to happen, and whether he will be able to protect our rights—our unalienable rights.

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ANTONIO VARGAS Jose Vargas answers questions after delivering a keynote at a journalism conference in April 2016.

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Franco Vidal is a freshman at California State University. He is also an undocumented student covered under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). WP: How have you seen public opinion in your community about immigration change over course of election? FV: [California is] a very progressive blue state, and I believe among the people that I know, the community that I surround myself with, they understand that America has this immigration problem, so to say... People have come here for generations and are still struggling to become citizens. That’s the real key, that’s the real problem. There shouldn’t be an extreme solution to something so serious, and yet, on the other side, since the election came to a close and President-Elect Trump was officially going to swear in the presidency on the 20th, a lot of people, a lot of close

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tualize when they think of immigrants.” While organizations such as the National Immigration Forum support the rights of all immigrants entering the U.S., others take a more conservative approach. The Center for Immigration Studies, a District of Columbia-based think tank and research center that promotes tighter immigration enforcement and border control, is on the forefront of the movement against immigration reform and aligns itself with several of Trump’s presented policies on the subject. “Restoring immigration enforcement will be one step towards fixing the trust gap between the public and all of our institutions, and it will also contribute to a tightening labor market,” Center for Immigration Studies veteran director Mark Krikorian said. “What Trump is proposing is a return to standard immigration enforcement practices so that [undocumented immigrants] who come into contact with law enforcement are, indeed, deported.” Vidal expressed a desire for Trump to provide more details about his immigration plans and specific policies. “To put us all in a bag, that’s what’s wrong,” he said. “That’s what we want to know as people. We’re not illegals; we’re simply undocumented. We want to know what’s going to happen, and whether he will be able to protect our rights—our unalienable rights.”

CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION

KSHITHIJA MULAM

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“What’s really at stake here is the safety and security of immigrants all across the country.”

The program, which grants childhood arrivals renewable rights such as work eligibility and deferred action from deportation, is acknowledged by immigration reform advocates as Obama’s principal immigration policy achievement. Cathleen Farrell, an immigrant from Canada, is the chief media executive at the National Immigration Forum, a center for social justice that backs immigrants’ rights. “These young people have no recollection of another country. This is their country: they went to school here, they’re involved in the community here and they’re making valuable contributions,” Farrell said. “[DACA] is a way to protect these people and to give them the ability to study and work here legally.” DACA now faces the threat of revocation by Trump. “The repeal of the DACA program could have a negative impact on hundreds and thousands of lives, and could also impact our economy negatively,” Escalante said. “DACA should be kept in place. It has benefited countless people across this country.” Franco Vidal, 18, is an undocumented immigrant student who attends California State University and is part of the DACA program. “I was the first of my family of four to move a step further towards citizenship and my father was proud of me, my mother was proud of me [and] everyone in my family who’s known me and even people who heard my

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friends who I knew, one way or another, spoke their platform, and it’s--so the difficult thing for me to grasp [that] some you’ve known since elementary school, people you’ve grown up with, and people whom know your status, people whom have seen you, who know your family... completely rejects your way of living,

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ezuela and the digital campaigns manager for America’s Voice, an organization aiming to enact immigration policy. “His promise of mass deportation and his rhetoric sparks fear and anxiety amongst millions of individuals across this country who are hardworking, law-abiding Americans. A lot of the plans Trump is proposing are not only unworkable but costly for taxpayers and people who want to see this country improving, and the only way to do that is to make sure that immigrants remain in this country—remain with their families—and to not criminalize them,” he said.

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Trump administration brings new policies, activists and immigrants’ rights groups speak out

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VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

FOUCAULT PENDULUM

Pendulum artfully demonstrates Earth’s rotation rose guan & tiffany wong

ON THE SHOULDERS OF MINIATURES (FROM THE TOP) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is one of many scientists depicted as the pendulum’s pegs. (NEXT) The pendulum cycles to hit pegs as it moves. (NEXT) The pendulum knocks pegs as it moves. (NEXT) The compass beneath the pendulum.

ALL PHOTOS BY ROSE GUAN AND TIFFANY

copy editor & aquila copy editor

A sculptured brass sphere reflects the glazed glass walls of Nichols Hall’s rotunda as it swings closer and closer to a painted figurine before finally knocking it over. The pendulum in the Nichols Hall rotunda visually demonstrates Earth’s rotation by appearing to travel in a circle and colliding with the figures at its base. The 30-foot-tall pendulum is an example of a Foucault pendulum, named after the physicist who constructed one to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation about its axis in 1851. Foucault pendulums swing in a fixed plane relative to distant bodies because no external force acts upon them, showing that it is the floor and thus the Earth that must be rotating to give the illusion of movement. The Upper School’s pendulum completes one clockwise rotation around the circle in approximately 39.6 hours because it is located at 37 degrees 17 minutes north latitude. Observers on Earth’s surface perceive the plane of oscillation moving with a speed dependent on their latitude: the plane of oscillation of a Foucault pendulum at either pole would rotate in a complete

circle in one day, while one at the equator would not appear to shift because of the identical reference frames.

“[Foucault’s pendulum is] the first concrete proof we had that the Earth rotated on its axis and was not stationary.” DR. ERIC NELSON PHYSICS TEACHER

“It is kind of the archetypal science experiment, because it’s the first concrete proof we had that the Earth rotated on its axis and was not stationary with the stars going around us,” physics teacher Dr. Eric Nelson said. “The pendulum swings in a fixed plane relative to the stars. The pendulum does not rotate relative to the Earth. The Earth rotates out from underneath the pendulum, and as you get closer to the equator in latitude, it takes longer and longer for that rotational cycle to complete, and if you’re on the equator, it never rotates.” A magnetic drive system powers the Upper School’s pendulum to prevent friction and air resistance from stopping it, but Earth’s rotation is the sole

cause of the illusory rotation of the pendulum’s swings. “It’s a forced pendulum. Otherwise it would just damp down due to friction,” Dr. Nelson said. “It gets a very, very small driving force, like a child on a swing kicking its legs out at just the right time, that keeps the pendulum going.” Since the first public exhibition of a Foucault pendulum at the Paris Observatory, they have become popular scientific exhibits. The United Nations Building in New York City, Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, along with many

Foucault’s other work

Linus Pauling (19011994) was a prolific quantum chemist and biochemist as well as a peace activist. He is one of only four people to have been awarded more than one Nobel Prize, and the only person to have been sole recipient of both. He won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work developing orbital hybridization theory and won the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize for his activism advocating nuclear disarmament.

Democritus (c. 460-370 B.C.E.) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher known for theorizing that the universe is composed of indivisible units called “atoms” which are constantly in motion, separated by empty space, and indestructible. All objects are formed from the reconstitution of “atoms.” Though none of his works survive as primary sources, he was a prolific writer on ethics, epistemology, etiology, astronomy, and mathematics.

Finding your latitude with Foucault A Foucault pendulum can be used to calculate one’s latitude, as its angular velocity and, by extension, time to complete a revolution, is related to its position in latitude. The angular velocity of a Foucault pendulum, given a latitude phi, is calculated as

90˚: 24 hours

Based off this, the amount of time it takes for the pendulum to complete a full circle can be calculated as

0˚: ∞ hours

37˚: ≈ 40 hours

Maria Mitchell (18181889) was the first female professional astronomer in America. Mitchell discovered “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” in 1847, achieving fame across the western world. For this discovery, she was awarded a medal by the King of Denmark, who gave prizes to the discoverers of comets too faint to be observed with the naked eye. The Maria Mitchell Observatory at her birthplace of Nantucket, Massachussetts, is dedicated in her honor.

French physicist Jean-Bernard-Leon Foucault is best remembered for giving his name to the Foucault pendulum, which he prominently displayed in 1851, but he also made several discoveries in optics and mechanics. Together with fellow French physicist Armand Fizeau, Foucault was able to take detailed photographs of the surface of the sun. He independently developed a method of measuring the speed of light that involved a lens, a stationary mirror and a rotating mirror, and he showed that light moved faster in air than in water, disproving theories of a constant velocity. His other innovations in optics included a method to measure of the curvature of telescope mirrors and a light polarizer known as the Glan-Foucault prism. Foucault also named the gyroscope and demonstrated the existence of eddy currents, also sometimes called Foucault currents, generated within conductors by magnetic fields. His name is one of 72 French scientists’ engraved on the Eiffel Tower.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Irene Joliot-Curie (1897-1956) was an influential radiochemist who shared the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband Frederic for their discovery of induced radioactivity: by exposing stable isotopes to specific forms of radiation, stable isotopes can be transmuted into radioactive isotopes. Joliot-Curie was the daughter of renowned scientists Pierre and Marie Curie. Her two children, Helene and Pierre, are also established scientists.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

DEREK YEN

Pendulum’s pegs highlight influential scientists and thinkers

other scientific museums and institutions, house Foucault pendulum displays. The Upper School’s pendulum was originally installed when Nichols Hall was constructed in 2008. “When the building was originally designed, the thought was that the rotunda would have a piece of artwork in it, something representative of the building,” Dr. Nelson said. “I brought up the possibility to Diana Nichols of putting up a Foucault pendulum in its place, because it would serve the purpose of being a piece of artwork, but it would also clearly indicate this is a science building.”

which can be simplified to a function of latitude:

TOWERING ACHIEVERS Detail of Eiffel Tower inscription, showing Foucault’s name.

STEM

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Countries react to nuclear energy Nuclear energy provides sustainable alternative to fossil fuels

As the Earth’s supply of fossil fuels dwindles, more and more countries are turning to nuclear power as a source of sustainable energy, especially as global warming becomes a prominent problem in world affairs. According to the World Nuclear Association, the U.S. generates more than 30 percent of the world’s nuclear electricity, making it the largest producer of nuclear energy in the world. Recent governmental policies such as the Energy Policy Act and the Nuclear Power 2010 program have increased the U.S.’s dependence on nuclear energy. “Currently [the U.S. has] been getting somewhere around 17 percent [of] power from nuclear energy which is nice, but it could be 30 [percent], and I think it needs to be increased with modern technology since [of] all reactors being built, half are essentially technology of the 60s and 70s,” Dr. Peter Hosemann, Associate Professor at the Nuclear Engineering department of University of California Berkley said. “If we really wanted to make things better, more efficient, [and] safer, they should go and build new ones, but in order to do that we [have] to see if the current set of regulations is appropriate.” Nuclear energy frees countries from relying on fossil fuels for energy and reduces their carbon emissions, as nuclear waste products consist of only hot water and radioactive material. Nuclear energy is also recyclable, meaning that nuclear waste can be used for production of more energy, making it sustainable to an extent. Japan and France both rely heavily on nuclear energy: a study conducted by the World Nuclear Association in 2016 found that 30 percent of Japan’s energy and 75 percent

“If we ever get fusion [reactors] working, we will have unlimited energy sources for the planet with no nasty side effects.” DR. ERIC NELSON PHYSICS TEACHER However, nuclear reactors are expensive to build and maintain. The nuclear waste left over from production must be controlled for a long time because some of the leftover radioactive atoms are not stable enough to be safe. These unstable atoms could take up to thousands of years to harbor a high enough energy to keep the nuclei together, and setting up waste control systems that last long enough is complicated and expensive. “If we ever get fusion [reactors] working, we will have unlimited energy sources for the planet with no nasty side effects because you can’t turn a fusion reactor into a bomb, and if something goes wrong, it just stops working,” Computer Science Department Chair Dr. Eric Nelson said. “It shuts itself down, so there’s no waste products other than helium.” Nuclear reactors that use highly enriched uranium, which contains more fissile material than natural uranium, could also lead to nuclear terrorism or warfare because the enriched uranium is a critical component in weaponization. Nuclear reactors can also melt down when their cores overheat, causing radioactive materials to be released. For

example, during the Fukushima disaster in 2011, a tsunami ruined the cooling generators for the reactors, leading to a nuclear meltdown. This is a concern for many as the radioactive materials are harmful to the environment. Despite these disadvantages, new models of nuclear reactors aim to popularize nuclear power. According to the American Chemical Society, reactors that use the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) design are safer and more sustainable than a uranium reactor because they produce much less waste, use a more abundant element, cannot be weaponized and allow nuclear material to be air-cooled in the event of a disruption. According to the World Nuclear Association, 30 countries run 450 nuclear reactors, and over 45 countries have been considering a switch to nuclear energy in recent years for its benefits over fossil fuels. Fifteen countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Belarus, are currently building 60 power reactors, and countries such as Turkey and Poland already have committed plans and are developing regulatory infrastructures. “I think we will eventually have to switch to [nuclear energy],” said debater Lauren Fu (9), who researched the subject for a recent debate topic. “The Earth’s temperature has already risen one degree Celsius, and if [it rises again by] two degrees Celsius, then it will basically cause mass extinction, so I think we will have to use it some time in the future.”

HSU

reporter & news editor

of France’s energy are generated from nuclear power. In fact, France is the world’s largest net exporter of electricity because of the country’s low cost of electricity generation and high standardization of reactors.

Source: World Nuclear Association

NO DAPL Protestors carry a sign advocating for the environment at a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline would allow fracking in the Bakken formation, which would pollute the water supply there.

neil bai & vijay bharadwaj aquila copy editor & opinion editor

Protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline have highlighted environmental concerns with its construction. If completed, the pipeline will stretch from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota, one of the largest oil deposits in the U.S., through South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Approximately 7.4 million barrels of oil lie in the Bakken formation, meaning that the pipeline could carry nearly 374.3 million gallons of gasoline per day if built. With its high value, the pipeline was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in July 2014, only to be halted by complaints from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in July of 2016. Members of the tribe claim that the pipeline would threaten the

tribe’s environment and destroy consecrated areas.

“We never took from the land any more than we needed, and obviously today we are surrounded by all kinds of attempts to utilize any and all resources.”

VICTOR WOODS VICE CHAIRMAN OF VIEJAS BAND OF KUMEYAAY INDIANS One of the tribe’s main concerns revolves around the pipeline’s transferring gallons of oil half a mile away from their water source. “We are on this Earth, and it

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The environmental hazards of a Dakota Access Pipeline

is part of our culture to respect planet Earth or Mother Earth as much as possible,” Vice Chairman of Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Victor Woods said. “If we look at American history, we never took from the land any more than we needed, and obviously today we are surrounded by all kinds of attempts to utilize any and all resources that are available. There are billions of dollars to be made in oil or transportation.” While pipeline advocates argue that pipes are a safer alternative to trucks or rail transport, the tribe says that pipelines still have the potential to cause severe damage. For instance, the 20,600-barrel leak from the Tesoro Logistics LP Pipeline in September 2013, one of the largest spills from a North Dakota pipeline, would have grown larger had a farmer not noticed a hole

in the pipeline. No major environmental effects resulted from the leak; however, the precedent of such pipeline bursts concern members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Dakota Access Pipeline is projected to pass under the Missouri River according to the proposed plan, meaning that a pipe rupture could cause severe damage to the surrounding environment. “When looking at the route of the pipeline, there is no consideration for what unknown cultural sites are located adjacent to, underneath, above or in the pipeline,” Woods said. “I think these are very important to any Native American community here in the Continental U.S. or anywhere in the North American region.” The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration states that more than 3,300 occurrences of leaks and ruptures of U.S. oil and gas pipelines since 2010. Previous oil spills such as the Kalamazoo River spill in Michigan have cost over $1 billion to clean up. Any oil pollution in the Missouri River could pose an everlasting contamination issue. Besides contaminated drinking sources, the tribe also argues that the pipeline increases climate change. Constructing additional oil pipelines perpetuates the use of fossil fuels and increases the area’s carbon footprint tenfold. The tribe advocates for the use of renewable sources of energy instead to avoid disturbing the Standing Rock land. Protesters continue to advocate against the pipeline’s construction due to the threats they say it poses for the environment.

KAITLIN

kathy fang & meena gudapati

FAST FACTS • 1172 mile underground pipeline • $3.54 billion in construction costs • Goes from North Dakota’s Bakken formation to refinery in Illinois • Nearly 141 protesters arrested in one day • Protests began July 2016 • It can transport about 470,000 barrels of oil per day • It can transport about 470,000 barrels of oil per day Sources: Dakota Access Pipeline Facts Whitehouse.gov petition “Stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline”

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STEM

EXTINCTION? Brown

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Arcti

Bottlen dolphinose

bear

Jaguar

arch Mon erfly butt

Beluga whale

Green turtle

Great white shark

Red panda

DEFINITION Holocene Extinction (n): A currently underway mass extinction that is primarily driven by human activities.

n ea utan n r g Bo ran O

Tasmanian wolf Dodo bird

ROSE GUAN

Quagga

n lde Gooad t

nger Passeeon Pig

Human activity leads species to die in droves in Holocene Extinction nicole chen & ruhi sayana

aquila features editor & copy editor

Over 65 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed this earth, yet their peaceful harmony ended when a meteor struck, creating a crater in the Yucatan Peninsula and bringing about a drastic fluctuation in climate as well as

wiped out since 1900. While previous mass extinctions were caused by natural disasters, scientists believe that the Holocene extinction started due to damage to the environment caused by humans. “If you look back 10,000 years, there are quite a few megafauna, big species, that have gone extinct, and that directly matches when humans first arrived,” biology teacher Dr. Kate Schafer said. “There’s kind of this myth that people in the past lived in harmony with nature, and they knew when to stop hunting, but we’re accumulating more and more evidence that suggests that when given the opportunity, just like other organisms, we exploit resources to their nth degree, and that sometime leads to extinctions.” Recent increases in instances of climate change, deforestation and poaching all contribute

the extinction of the species. Climate change occurring on our earth now, although not as drastic, is accelerating the progress of the Holocene extinction. The Holocene extinction, also referred to as the sixth extinction, is the current mass extinction of numerous species. The sixth mass extinction also is the first caused by humans. The Holocene extinction is said to have begun approximate

12,000 years ago with the extinction of the Cuvieronius and continues through the 21st century. Researchers predict that in two generations’ time, 75 percent of known species will be extinct. Generally, 2 out of 10,000 species go extinct over 100 years due to natural changes in the environment; as the Holocene extinction becomes more evident, around 477 species have been

to the sixth extinction. The impacts of the last two centuries have led to more species becoming extinct than any others from the past 12,000 years. “I think that we have yet to see the effect that we’re going to with regards to climate change. Of course, we already have seen significant warming occur, but the large number of extinctions that we’re likely to see in the face of climate change are yet to come,” Dr. Schafer said. “Most of the documented extinctions that we’ve seen so far have been due to one of a handful of factors. Habitat loss is a huge one, converting unaffected lands into crop land, deforestation, all of those things would be lumped into habitat loss.” Human activity has heavily expedited the extinction of animal species in the sixth mass extinction. Human migration has led to the introduction of invasive pests, both plant and animal, which result in local extinctions. The spread of pests and disease have also led to local groups of humans being wiped out. Breeding domesticated animals has also led to an uneven distribution among different species. According to BBC News, humans and domesticated animals outweigh wild vertebrates by 95 to 5. At the beginning of the Holocene epoch, this combined weight was less than 0.1 pecent of what it is now. An analysis by the World

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) suggest that 3,706 species from around the world exhibited a 58 percent decrease in quantity from 1970 to 2012. Methods are being proposed in the scientific community to slow down the extinction process. The process of re-wilding involves introducing a species that rarely survives in a region to another habitat where it used to live but ceased to due to the effects of invasive species. Other methods involve trying to bring species that are extinct back through in-vitro fertilization with similar species, cloning from a frozen cell, and sequencing DNA from fossils to create artificial chromosomes, genetically engineer a cell, and clone it. “I worked at the San Diego zoo, which is called the frozen zoo, in a lab full of giant cell lines of endangered species. The idea is cloning back some of these animals. The fundamental problems remain that we don’t have cell lines for that many animals,” biology teacher Mike Pistacchi said. “Even if we clone them back, the population is very small, and we have a very inbred population. I think the nervousness around things like the frozen zoo comes from the fact that people will say ‘It’s okay that they’re extinct in the wild, we’ll just clone them back.’ Re-

“The large number of extinctions that we’re likely to see in the face of climate change are yet to come.” DR. KATE SCHAFER BIOLOGY TEACHER viving an extinct or extremely endangered species is an absolute worse case scenario.” Prior to the the sixth mass extinction, the fifth major extinction, also known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, occurred sixty-six million years ago, causing species of dinosaurs to disappear. According to CNN News, natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and meteors, caused this extinction, eradicating approximately 95 percent of the species living on Earth. Seventy-five percent of all species at the time were wiped out during the extinction. Previous mass extinctions include the Ordovician-Silurian extinction and the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. During each extinction, between 60 to 80 percent of all species at the respective times were wiped out.

Students participate in STEM competitions F=ma Upper school students took the annual F=ma exam last Wednesday, , a 75-minute, 25-question multiple-choice test on mechanics. Hosted by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics, the F=ma exam is the first exam in a series of contests culminating in the International Physics Olympiad held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in July. Around 400 high school students will attend the USA Physics Olympiad (mainly) based on their F=ma exam score. Members of the U.S.’s national team for the International Physics Olympiad are selected primarily by their combined score on the Physics Olympiad and the F=ma test. Regeneron The 40 finalists of the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a competition for high school seniors hosted by the Society for Science & the Public, will be announced tomorrow. Finalists are selected from the 300 Regeneron STS top

NACLO Upper school students will take the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) this Thursday at Harker, one of 126 high schools to host the competition. The NACLO includes logic problems relating to languages that can involve translation, number systems, writing, calendars, language phenomena, phonetics and other linguistic subjects. High scorers will qualify for an invitational round that selects national winners who can represent the U.S. in the International Linguistics Olympiad in Dublin in August. AMC Students will take the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 10/12 on Feb. 7, a 75-minute, 25-question multiple

choice exam. High-scoring participants will be eligible for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). A combination of AMC 10/12 and AIME scores qualifies participants for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) or the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO). An excellent performance on the USAMO or USAJMO qualifies participants for the Mathematical Olympiad summer program in preparation the International Mathematical Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro in July.

DEREK YEN

opinion editor

scholars announced on Jan. 5, nine of whom are upper school students: Kai-Siang Ang, Angela Kim, Sandip Nirmel, Srivatsav Pyda, Evani Radiya-Dixit, Venkat Sankar, Manan Shah, Scott Song and Arjun Subramaniam. Finalists compete for $1,815,000 in award money and will publicly exhibit their projects on March 12.

CTF Computer science students will compete in the Harker Capture the Flag (CTF) this Friday in Nichols Atrium from 3:00 to 5:00. Teams of two to four students compete using one computer in questions involving computer science topics such as string manipulation, greedy algorithms, machine learning, and cybersecurity. All four rounds — beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert — will be run on the same day.

ELISIABETH SIEGEL

adrian chu

IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME (TOP) Eight of the nine Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars, all seniors, convened for a group photo. From the top left, moving clockwise, Arjun Subramaniam, Sandip Nirmel, Venkat Sankar, Manan Shah, Angela Kim, Evani Radiya-Dixit, Kai-Siang Ang and Scott Song. Srivatsav Pyda was also named a scholar but was not present for the photo. (BOTTOM) Students, proctored by math teachers, take the AMC 10 and AMC 10 exams in the gymnasium in 2014.

A&E

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VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Behind the songs

History teacher Roxana Pianko discusses her music career nisha shankar

ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ROXANA PIANKO

reporter

VOICE OF AN ANGEL (LEFT) Devens, Pianko and Deveisser perform for a video shoot in San Fransisco. (RIGHT) Pianko and Devens record a song for their most recent album. They recorded the album in a church in San Fransisco.

Upper school history teacher Roxana Pianko’s debut into folk Americana band Grow and Twine happened three and a half years ago when a friend reached out through Facebook saying that his friend, Ryan Devens, who had just moved to San Francisco from Nashville and wanted to create music, needed a female vocalist to form a band. “[Devens] came over to my house and we played through one song in the basement, and when we finished, we both kind of paused, and then we were like, ‘Yeah, this could work,’” Pianko said. Pianko sings as the lead female vocalist in Grow and Twine, while her friend Ryan Deveisser sings as the lead male vocalist and plays the guitar. Devens provides the third harmony when they sing three-part harmonies. Tobi Grunick was the original drummer for the band, but since he could no longer continue, Kyle Teese now drums for them. Grow and Twine released an extended play (EP) called Wind Fool in 2014 and are working on recording a currently unnamed full-length album, which will come out later this year. “Currently, the album that we are recording is actually

happening in this old church in [Duboce Triangle],” Pianko said. “We are recording in the main room. The acoustics are just really good there, and actually, we set up our mics right in the middle.” Grow and Twine also practices its music in different locations. The members have a practice space in San Francisco, but Deveisser and Devens are roommates, so they usually practice at their home in the city’s Western

“That is something that makes us unique, that we really love each other and we are actually a community.” ROXANA PIANKO HISTORY TEACHER Addition district. They also perform primarily in San Francisco venues and clubs like Neck of the Woods and Bottom of the Hill. Grow and Twine’s producer, Jacob Montague, helps record the music for their albums. “[Montague] actually makes his own music, which is really cool,” Pianko said. “I have had the opportunity to record for his music, so he is like one of my heroes because he is a really

amazing musician, but he is also a producer. He produced our EP and is producing our full-length album, too.” Pianko and Devens write music together about all sides of love and relationships. Pianko draws her inspiration for music from positive and negative circumstances that happen in life. Devens is from Tennessee, so southern music inspires him. Her favorite song in their new album is “House on Fire. Deveisser, Devens and Pianko created a music video for this song, among others. “We used this old space in the financial district in San Francisco, and we just happened to be really lucky in that we are surrounded by really creative people who just make their art available to us,” Pianko said. “I think we did like eight takes of it just over and over, pausing, moving angles and getting things set up.” Pianko finds Grow and Twine unique because of the community surrounding the band and its members. “We actually hang out together, dine together and do things together,” Pianko said. “Maybe that is something that makes us unique, that we really love each other and we are actually a community. I think that is kind of a special thing.”

So you want to be a... graphic designer? HELEN YANG

As a repeating feature, the Winged Post will talk to a professional under 30 who works in a creative field . This issue, Washington Post designer Emily Chow (‘08) discusses her career. PROVIDED BY SHAY LARI-HOSAIN

Slice of Life: Reflections on my baby brother’s change helen yang reporter

maya kumar features editor

From her art classes as a child to her job today as a design editor at The Washington Post, Emily Chow (‘08) has always been a visual person. In high school, she discovered a passion for storytelling through photography and design, leading her to study journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In college, she realized that she preferred building graphics over writing, and she began to work at The Washington Post after graduating. Chow has been at The Washington Post for five years. She started out as a graphics editor but eventually switched over to the news design team. As an editor, she oversees the creation of graphic and design elements, from initial story ideas all the way to publication. She works on projects for various platforms, including both print and online. “Our designers are tasked with these roles of really taking on thinking really thoroughly through how our readers are going to read this stuff,” she said. “As an editor on this team, we’re just really guiding lights so that we can let our people do the best work they can do.” As an editor, her role involves training designers, helping to debug code and offering advice. She also determines what stories her team should take on and assigns them to de-

signers. Chow enjoys being part of the design team because it gives her the opportunity to interact with a variety of other departments, including reporting, photography and videography. In one of her personal favorite projects, “the n-word,” she collaborated with videographers to create a visual piece. “We really wanted to do it from a very interactive and immersive experience. We knew that we were working with a really heavy topic, and we wanted to be incredibly mindful and cognizant of the fact that there were a lot of different voices in play,” she said. “We were not only taking on a conversation that I think was incredibly interesting, we were doing it in a way that we thought was adding to the conversation.” Especially in the past year, taking on design for sensitive topics has been a major part of her job as an editor. Each design undergoes through rigorous editing and revision before publication to ensure that it accurately represents all sides of an issue. “There are 700 of us, and that means that there are different perspectives around the table and hopefully enough diverse thought that we can flag things and we can keep people in check,” she said. “When it comes to sensitive topics, we have a lot of people in the room who are compassionate and mindful about that in itself.”

Chow appreciates the camaraderie she has with her colleagues as well as their mutual passion for storytelling. “I’ve never felt like I can’t say what I want to say when I’m in a meeting and in a conversation that I have with people around the newsroom,” she said. “I know that people are willing to hear other people’s perspectives and opinions, and we can agree to disagree.”

BREAKING NEWS! (TOP) Emily Chow (’08) offers words of advice to journalism students in the Washington Post office. (RIGHT TOP) Students look at examples of Washinton Post design. (RIGHT MIDDLE) Students visited Chow in the Washington Post office during a journalism convention. (RIGHT BOTTOM) Washington Post staffers work on breaking news stories in the newspaper’s office.

A chubby-cheeked twoyear-old boy stands barefoot in the center of a photo, with a marbled blue backdrop hanging behind him and covering the ground and brightly colored toys and plushies scattered around his feet. He has large, dark brown eyes and black hair that is just long enough to cover his ears. He dons a red-andwhite striped T-shirt with “USA” stitched on the front in baby blue lettering, with a pair of black cotton shorts. He holds a blackand-white stuffed skunk in his hands as he stumbles towards the camera on a pair of unsteady toddler feet. He wears an expression of innocent wonder and curiosity: eyebrows raised, eyes wide, mouth half-open as he stammers out a garbled string of words. Only four of his front teeth—two on the top and two on the bottom—are visible. The photograph depicts a moment in time from a little less than six years ago, on the morning of my younger brother’s birthday. That year, he finally began to form semi-coherent sentences, albeit very slowly and with a lisp due to having only front teeth. Before then, our parents were always worrying about his speech; while the other children in his daycare continuously improved their speaking skills, my brother’s vocabulary was limited to “mama,” “papa,” and “jie jie”—Mandarin for “big sister”—for a long time. In celebration of his growth, our parents hired a professional photographer to take a family photoshoot. Unfortunately, when it came to my brother’s turn for solo shots, he, being barely two years old, would not stay still and constantly tried

to grab the camera, which was nothing but an odd metal contraption to him. “Camera, Max. This is a camera. It keeps memories for us,” my mother explained. He did not understand what memories were and continued to reach for the camera. So, in order to keep him occupied long enough to capture a few photos, my mother decided to let him play with his toys while the photographer took pictures. When I found this photo, I was reminded of how in the past few years, my brother grew from the baby in the picture into who he is now; he is no longer a

“Despite his immense growth, somehow, even now all I that I can see whenever I look at my brother is the little boy in the photo from six years ago.” baby, but instead a third grader in elementary school who has already grown several adult teeth, speaks without a stutter and walks steadily. Yet somehow, despite his immense growth, all that I can see whenever I look at my brother even now is the little boy in the photo from six years ago. And I think that decades later, when we are both adults, I will still remember the child he once was—a boy who was young, new to the world and fascinated by everything.

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BACK PAGE

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM “Go ahead and do it.” -Shaya Zarkesh (11)

“Be bold. Use your creativity and whatever you have.” -Ria Gandhi (12)

“[Teamwork] has been really crucial because we had to learn to find which team member is best at what and split the tasks accordingly,” -Aarzu Gupta (9)

kathy fang & prameela kottapalli reporter & asst. features editor

Silicon Valley is brimming with innovative minds, several of whom harbor dreams of launching and leading their own businesses. Yet many of these up-and-coming entrepreneurs aren’t graduate students or business magnates—they’re high schoolers. In recent years, various upper school students have created their own small companies, propelling themselves into the rapidly expanding field of entrepreneurship. Like any company on the path to success, these student-run startups are established on a foundation of dedication and teamwork. “In order to start a startup, you have to be really devoted to your product. A lot of people start different projects or companies, and they’re like, ‘I’m just doing it for the money,’” said Neeraj Aggarwal (11), the founder of startup Elore and president of startup-focused club MIT Launch. These prototypes evolve as research is conducted, new marketing ideas are set into motion and members of the startup find innovative ways to create a more viable product. “We’re always thinking and brainstorming about how to make the product better, how to add more features to it, how to make it more enticing,” Shaya Zarkesh (11), the founder of tech startup PolyUp, said. “It’s a lot of going back and forth and taking people’s ideas into account.” MIT Launch, a club on

“Really, the goal in forming a team is to find people who are not exactly like you in terms of the skill sets you bring to the table.” -Michael Acheatal

campus designated to helping students with startups, aims to stress the importance of teamwork in the business world. Members of the club are separated into teams of three or four that together develop ideas for companies or platforms. “[Teamwork] has been really crucial because we had to learn to find which team member is best at what and split the tasks accordingly,” Aarzu Gupta (9), a member of MIT Launch, said. The formation of a successful company not only requires coordination between team members but also innovation so that the company can find a new corner of the market to address. “Be bold. Use your creativity and whatever you have,” Ria Gandhi (12), the founder of extension Cleo, said. “Being able to do that once in high school, it sets you up for doing better things in the future. I think that I learned a lot from the experience. It really showed me after putting hard work into something, you can really get a lot out of it.” Despite all the challenges in starting a company in high school, many students continue to explore the vast field of entrepreneurship throughout their academic career. “A lot of time [student entrepreneurship] is looked down upon for some reason, but [it doesn’t matter] what everyone else says,” Shaya said. “Even if you don’t create a successful startup, even if you don’t change the world at 15 or 16, you’re going to have practice for next time, your next startup, and it teaches you some great life skills. Go ahead and do it.”

8.1%

of students on campus have been involved in the creation of a startup

“Even if you don’t create a successful startup, even if you don’t change the world at 15 or 16, you’re going to have practice for next time, your next startup, and it teaches you some great life skills.” -Shaya Zarkesh (11)

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF STARTUPS IN HIGH SCHOOL? SHOPPING

BUSINESS

CODING

EDUCATION RETAIL

TECHNOLOGY

LIFESTYLE

SOCIAL MEDIA

GAMING

FEATURES | www.harkeraquila.com

ROSE GUAN

TUESDAY, JAN. 24, 2017 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 18, NO. 4

katherine zhang & jin tuan asst. stem editor & reporter

Emma Stone playing Hawaiian-American Allison Ng in “Aloha.” Tilda Swinton as the Tibetan Ancient One in “Dr. Strange.” Scarlett Johansson as the Japanese-American The Major in “Ghost in the Shell.” Three seemingly unrelated movies — a romantic comedy set in Hawaii, a mystical superhero film, and a sci-fi mystery film about artificial intelligence — that have one thing in common. In each movie, white actors play parts that were originally written for actors of other ethnicities. Whitewashing in Hollywood is a long-standing casting practice in which white actors are cast in roles traditionally meant for non-white actors. The first examples of whitewashing involved white actors deliberately caricaturing minority characters and wearing blackface or yellowface to alter their appearances. From Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of I. Y. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to the lack of diversity in Oscars nominees, whitewashing has proven to be rampant in the film industry. According to [add a statistic]. “My general feeling is that

in this industry, there’s so few opportunities for people of color to be represented as main characters,” Diversity Committee president Aliesa Bahri said. “Whitewashing takes away the very few opportunities that people of color do have to be more represented.” Recent examples of white-

industry. “When our culture is filled to the brim with stories of white people at the expense of others, then that becomes integrated into the national consciousness and subconscious. It affects how minorities see themselves and how we’re treated by the mainstream.” In addition to the multiple accusations of whitewashing in movies like “Dr. Strange,” this year is the second year in a row that people of color have not been nominated for any major awards at the Oscars. In response to the lack of diversity within Oscar nominees, the National Action Network (NAN) has called for protests of the Academy Awards, including a rally near the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, where the event takes place. Protesters hope to pressure the show’s advertisers into communicating with the Academy about its diversity issues. Directors and production companies have cited multiple reasons for casting white actors in roles originally meant for actors of other ethnicities. Some have stated that the chosen actor was the best fit for the part. “A big part of what we do [...] as directors and as someone putting on something that’s being seen by so many people, is that we are supposed to reflect

“It’s a long tradition in America to revise history and contemporary events such that people of color, women, and LGBT are written out.” MIKE LE STAFF MEMBER AT RACEBENDING.COM

washing have prompted activists and minority actors alike to take to social media to speak out against the lack of diversity in films. “It’s a long tradition in America to revise history and contemporary events such that people of color, women, and LGBT are written out,” said Mike Le, a staff member at Racebending.com, an organization devoted to promoting equality in the entertainment

THE DEMONITIZATION’S IMPACT 85% of India’s currency was removed from circulation

Emma Stone plays the character Allison Ng, whose father is of half Chinese and half Native-Hawaiian descent, and whose mother is of Swedish descent.

Star Trek into Darkness (2013)

humanity as a whole,” Director of Performing Arts Laura Lang-Ree said. “I’m sure that in certain instances, the right actor was picked for the right role, and they happened to be white. I’m sure, but there clearly are far too many instances when it’s more happenchance than not.” However, the scarcity of actors of color may point to other factors that influence casting. For example, some fear that directors are casting based on the idea that white actors may gar-

In this film, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as the Indian villain Khan Noonien Singh. In previous films, Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban played this character. ner more profits from audiences than actors of other ethnicities. “Ultimately it’s all about money,” Diversity Committee adviser Pilar Aguero-Esparza said. “It’s all about what’s going to make money, and I think as more and more Asians and Latinos have more presence and want to see these films, Hollywood has to one day invest in or put out some movies that are specifically for ethnic communities. It could actually be quite lucrative.”

Indian government demonetizes 500- and 1,000-rupee notes

90% of India’s transactions occur through cash

nicole chen & ruhi sayana aquila features editor & copy editor

affects over 1,000,000,000 people

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

over 145 billion rupees unaccounted for

ENDLESS LINES People at a bank line up to exchange or deposit their 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. People are lmited to withdrawing 2,000 rupees in cash each week.

Aloha (2015)

ALL PHOTOS - WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

WHITEWASHED:

One year after #OscarsSoWhite, white actors still cast in POC roles

The Indian federal government demonetized all 500- and 1,000-rupee notes on Nov. 8, 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the notes would cease to be effective on Nov. 9, leading to a short-term drop in sales and the Indian economy that could have global impacts. 500 rupees is around $7.50, while 1000 rupees is around $15. “Short-term, people are losing an immediate purchase power, because the government has [limited people to drawing] 2,000 rupees in cash from ATMs. That means, in a week, a person can only spend 2,000 rupees in cash,” said Dinakara Rao Pasupuleti, former chief general manager of the State Bank of Hyderabad in India. “Most of the middle-class people in the Indian economy depend on cash for the purchase of small goods. Therefore, in a month, they cannot spend more than 12,000 rupees, so, in the short term, purchase sales will decline.” By doing so, the government attempted to reduce the

use of the black market system. 500- and 1,000-rupee notes have played a major role in financing terrorism and drug exchanges. Illegal activities including gambling and illicit liquor brewing also depend on black money and have been suppressed due to the demonetization. The government also intended to digitize more transactions in India and motivate residents to set up bank accounts by reducing the availability of cash. “I do think people who possess fewer financial resources will find that devalued currency might make it harder for them to borrow and be as successful in lower-level economic activities and opportunities,” economics and Modern International Affairs teacher Damon Halback said. “It’s going to make the currency stronger, so I think there’s going to be a short-term pain, but that pain’s going to be felt asymmetrically.” The country’s cash-dependent economy suffered a severe decline after the decision was made. Most vendors can only accept payment through cash. Transactions through the app Uber occur through cash in India. The price of real estate is expected to drop as a result of

the demonetization. Prior to the demonetization, certain parts of the country paid for property with both official and unofficial money. Demonetizing currency has not yet achieved all of the goals Modi wanted it to. “I don’t think it will eliminate [black market exchanges and terrorism], but is it a way to mitigate the impact of those issues? I do think so,” Halback said. “By making it harder to make illegal exchanges, it mitigates the problem, but it doesn’t solve the problem whatsoever; it’s a short-term mitigation.” Sales in India have severely declined because citizens can no longer make small transactions, since many purchases occur through cash and small vendors do not have the means to accept digital transactions. According to The New York Times, India’s economic growth slowed to a rate of 7.1 percent, lower than its growth of 7.6 percent as of March in 2016, because of the demonetization. The projected the growth rate is expected to drop even more within the beginning of 2017 to around 6.3 or 6.4 percent.

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

PROVIDED BY CHRIS LEAFSTRAND

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHRIS LEAFSTRAND

ROSE GUAN

FEATURES

YouToo: Creators share videos Students express their creative side through YouTube rose guan & sofie kassaras

copy editor and reporter

Many people around campus can be found browsing the popular video-sharing website YouTube—but while their peers are content to consume videos, some students produce them. Lines of sheet music scroll across the computer screen as a video made by Annabelle Perng (10) plays. Annabelle transcribes popular anime soundtracks to piano sheet music and posts the tutorials to YouTube. She started to upload videos in November 2016. “When I posted stuff on other accounts, usually it doesn’t get popular, but since the anime that I transcribe for is trending

Who is your childhood hero?

at the moment, then it got popular,” she said. “I don’t think it’s that much about the quality. It’s more what’s really big.” Each video is typically less than two minutes long but can take as long as four hours to produce, from sound mixing, to accurately conveying the song’s dynamics, to synchronizing the music with the video itself. “Since I transcribe OSTs, it depends on the length of the OST, but it takes an hour or two to write down the sheets by themselves,” Annabelle said. “Then I have to mix the audio, which is putting dynamics and stuff, which takes another additional hour or two.” Dressed in a light blue jacket and standing against a plain white wall, Amy Jin (11) gazes down at her violin as the open-

ing notes of “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie “Moana” begin to play. Amy posts live violin covers of popular songs to YouTube. “[My cover of “How Far I’ll Go] has over 40,000 views, which surprised me a lot,” she said. “I just enjoy the entire process of making covers and arranging music, which I do by ear. ” Amy started to upload videos last January, under her real name. Since then, she has gained over 350 subscribers, an increase that she credits to her cover of “How Far I’ll Go.” “I did try out mixing piano and violin together because I play both piano and violin, but that wasn’t as successful,” she said. “The response has been pretty positive. I enjoy the en-

Humans of harker

STUDENT BY WEEKDAY, STAR BY WEEKEND (RIGHT) Christopher Leafstrand (10) bikes through the city. Chris’s channel has accumulated over 16,000 total views. (TOP LEFT) Amy Jin (11) performs a Christmas song on her channel. Amy currently has 366 subscribers. (BOTTOM LEFT) Chris films a friend executing a whip move on a mountain bike.

tire process of making covers and arranging music, and I think that mostly people have left really supportive and encouraging comments.” Amy’s videos can take up to six hours in total to produce because she arranges her music by ear, even though she doesn’t have absolute pitch. While Annabelle and Amy post their music on YouTube, Chris Leafstrand (10) shares his passion for mountain biking and video equipment on his channel, Chris GoPro. Using a variety of gadgets, including drones, GoPros and a canon t31 camera along with Final Cut Pro X, Chris films and edits his own videos, each featuring a unique adventure from the big city to the great outdoors. “Usually I come up with an

idea for a video- like a drone video in a city or a mountain bike edit at a certain trail,” Chris said. “I got interested in making videos after I got my first GoPro- it was a lot of fun to take short videos with and edit.” Ever since Chris recieved his first GoPro, both his technical skills and his view count have improved. He now garners a couple thousand views per video. “As I got more advanced I have started to use more advanced settings and more fancy equipment which keeps it interesting,” Chris said. “But what really keeps me interested is being able to share my passions through media for everyone to see.”

THIS SIGNATURE SERIES WILL PROFILE EACH MEMBER OF THE CLASS OF 2017. TO SEE MORE VISIT HARKERAQUILA.COM

Ria Gandhi

jenna sadhu & rashmi iyer reporters

businesswoman * humanitarian * leader kshithija mulam

“Anne of Green Gablesshe has a really vivid imagination, and I just loved the way she interacted with the world and the way she kind of throws herself into everything. She also has red hair.”

Rishab Gargeya scientist * problem solver * athlete

“Rather than an experience, what defines me is that I grew up in the Bay Area. It’s such a formative area to grow up in; you’ll understand the world at a different level than you will growing up anywhere else.’” KSHITHIJA MULAM

Marjorie Hazeltine

ROSE GUAN

JENNA SADHU

editor-in-chief

JENNA SADHU

RISHAB GARGEYA

Matthew Kennedy (11)

RASHMI IYER

“Timmy Turner because he had a really crappy life but he always seemed to work out of it, of course with the help of his fairly odd parents… he’s a pretty cool dude.”

Vishnu Jaisim (9) “Eragon really defines heroism and helped kids realize what is actually important in the world.”

rose guan copy editor

Rishab Gargeya (12) aims to help solve real-world problems using his wide range of work in computer science. “I do a lot of computer science work. I’m pretty passionate about coding,” Rishab said. “Basically what I try to do is analyze correlations [and] analyze connections between various types of data that maybe were previously not known to exist, and then try to extrapolate that to some sort of impactful real-world application.” Rishab’s work has had a variety of applications. He was named a Google Science Fair finalist for his creation of a smartphone app that can detect and diagnose common eye problems from an image of the retina. “My computer science work is pretty broad. It encompasses all types of data,” Rishab said. “In a sense I say I’m driven- if I see something that I want to fix, something interesting that could be done differently, I just feel motivated to change that.”

While computer science is Rishab’s main interest, he also enjoys the sport of squash. “Most of the work I do outside of computer science is just schoolwork. I play squash recreationally,” Rishab said. “I’ve played various types of sports. I stuck to squash a little bit more since I ended up liking it more. A lot of my friends play too, so we just have fun playing.” Rishab’s work with computer science has given him perspective on contemporary problems and his own environment. “Rather than an experience, what defines me is that I grew up in the Bay Area. It’s just such a formative area to grow up in; you’ll just understand the world at a different level than you will growing up anywhere else,” Rishab said. “Growing up in an educational environment where I can pursue anything I really want to and understand things at a deeper level and get a very objective perspective on anything I really want to, that’s pretty good. I’m pretty happy for that.”

“Whether I’m doing non-profit work or doing anything in business, the societal impact is what drives me. Whatever I do, I like to know that my actions have an impact on the greater good. That’s why I strive to do whatever I do. In anything, I try to introduce a community aspect to it because I think everybody should benefit.” RIA GANDHI

Volleyball. Journalism. DECA. BEcon. In four years of high school, Ria Gandhi (12) has created quite a splash, leaving her mark on many aspects of the Harker community. But some of her high school experiences were cut short by an injury she had at the end of her sophomore year. “At the end of my varsity [volleyball] season in my sophomore year, I tore the cartilage in my right wrist, and it impeded a lot of things that I could do,” Ria said. “So I decided I’d have to make some sacrifices in life.” Her injury not only led her to leave her positions on the varsity girls’ volleyball team and as Harker Aquila’s features editor in her junior year but also impeded her everyday life. However, Ria found small ways to adapt to her new situation. “I taught myself to write with my left hand since I couldn’t write with my right hand. I would sit in my calculus class in my sophomore year and write ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’ over and over again so I’d get through every letter of the alphabet,” she said. “It was pretty cool to teach myself to do something like that.” The same resilience Ria showed in adapting to the little troubles in her life extended to her passions and interests in school: without journalism and volleyball, she found herself getting more involved in business, putting more time into DECA and picking up leadership roles in BEcon. “[My wrist injury] also pushed me to explore a lot of other things in life,” she said. “I would never have gotten as deep into business through everything that I did if I had still been playing volleyball or in journalism just because of time.”

FEATURES

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Out of the shadows, into the textbook:

California public schools add LGBT+ history to common core curruculum

katherine zhang asst. stem editor

91%

of stud hearing ents reported student s mak negative comme e nts based o n sexua orientat l ion.

36%

of have insti states tu in schools ted laws th bullying s at prohibit tudents based on sexual ori entation

53% of p

ublic high sch ools have Ge nders & Sexualiti es Allian ce clubs re gistered in the GSA network

8 states have

“no promo homo laws,” local or state education laws that expressly forbid teachers from discussing gay and transgender issues

Trump selects key cabinet members anika rajamani & ruhi sayana reporter & copy editor

President Donald J. Trump was sworn into office at his inauguration ceremony on Thursday. Trump declared his nominations

for the five main members of his cabinet: the heads of the departments of State, Justice, Defense, Treasury, Justice and the Interior. If approved by the Senate, Trump’s cabinet nominees will be appointed to their positions.

Secretary of State - Rex Tillerson Trump nominated Rex W. Tillerson, CEO of oil and gas company ExxonMobil, for secretary of state. Tillerson has ties with foreign countries including Russia and Kurdistan because he has represented the interests of ExxonMobil in deals with these nations. Unlike other candidates for the Trump administration,

Tillerson believes that climate change is real, although he also believes that the U.S cannot escape fossil fuel usage. He favors the implementation of a carbon tax, a fee charged for fossil fuel usage, and as of 2013 supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership. If Tillerson is approved by the Senate, he will advise the president on foreign affairs, conduct foreign negotiations for the United States and administer the Department of State.

Secretary of Defense - James N. Mattis Trump nominated retired Marine Corps general and 11th United States Central Command commander James N. Mattis for secretary of defense. As commander, Mattis oversaw military operations in the Middle East, northeast Africa and Asia from late 2010 to early 2013. Mattis supports current Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts for peace in the

Middle East and believes in a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He believes that the Iran nuclear deal, although weak, cannot be broken and that Iran is the greatest threat in the Middle East, more than ISIS or al-Qaeda. Mattis has voiced the opinion that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s goal is to break up NATO and has stated that Trump’s statements towards Russia that suggest friendly relations are misinformed.

PLANNING PARTY Students in the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) club discuss methods to welcoming LGBT into classrooms and learning environments. They also made plans for their upcoming club week.

our country’s civil rights movements,” GSA advisor Abel Olivas said. “It’s crucial for students to

“LGBTQ kids do exist, and learning about people like themselves in school will help counteract the idea that children are too young to know about sexuality and orientations.” AMELIA HUCHLEY (10) GSA MEMBER

gain that perspective and to view the various stages of the LGBT struggle through that lens.” Supporters of the new framework also believe that it will help LGBT students to feel more included in schools and educate all students about the LGBT community at a young age. “I think the changes to the curriculum are a great idea,” GSA member Amelia Huchley (10) said. “LGBTQ kids do exist, and learning about people like themselves in school will help counteract the unfortunate-

ly somewhat popular idea that children are too young to know about sexuality and orientations.” The FAIR Education Act and the new framework for public school curriculums have also faced opposition from concerned parents and socially conservative organizations alike. Others are open to the law and the new educational framework, but are wary about the mixing of politics and education that was involved in its creation. “There is always concern when we politicize education and force children to learn based not on established teaching principles, but rather the personal agenda of a handful of adults in Sacramento,” Log Cabin Republican party member Jason Clark said. “However, history should be taught holistically; often people learn about history in a one-sided manner. The history of California has been made by a great many different groups of people. It’s part of the story of California, and it’s important that our children learn that.” As of now, the new framework is one step closer to full implementation of the FAIR Act. However, opposition to the act continues, and educational materials such as textbooks have yet to be updated.

Attorney General - Jeff Sessions Trump nominated Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a Republican, for attorney general. A staunchly conservative senator, Sessions is known for being one of the leading congressional advocates of tighter immigration

policies and an advocate of opposition to immigration reform acts, as well as a fence along the southern border. Sessions also opposes the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage. He strongly supports civil forfeiture, the governmental practice of seizing property that has allegedly been involved in crime, and is skeptical of climate change.

Secretary of the Interior - Cathy McMorris T r u m p nominated Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, for secretary of the interior. Rodgers has served as the House Representative for Washington’s fifth district since 2005. She is the second woman to ever serve as the chair of the House Republican Conference. In 2006, she co-sponsored the Marriage Protection

Amendment, an amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage that failed to pass through Congress. The co-chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, she supports pay equity, health programs for women and laws protecting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Rodgers opposes the Affordable Care Act and was chosen to respond to former President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address that year.

Secretary of Education - Betsey DeVos Trump nominated businesswoman Betsy DeVos for a position as the head of the Education Department on Nov. 23 last year. DeVos is known for being an activist for school choice, alternatives to public schools, and voucher programs, which give government money to families to use towards private school educations. A member of the Michigan Republican Party since 1982, DeVos active-

ly participated in fundraising for the Bush campaign. Devos believes that education in the United States should be open for for-profit charter schools and supports the stance that education is a closed market and industry. DeVos attended her Senate confirmation hearing last Wednesday, where members of the Senate criticized her for her confusion about several government educational policies and her stances on federal laws in place.

ALL PGOTOS- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

7.5% of California st udents reported bei ng harassed on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation

The California State Board of Education voted unanimously to incorporate the history of the LGBT community into public school curriculums on July 14, 2016, becoming the first state to do so. California students will begin learning about same-sex marriage in second grade, when teachers introduce families with two parents of the same gender. Two years later, they will discuss California’s first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk, and his contributions to raising awareness about the LGBT community. Content about the LGBT community will be woven into curriculums in this way, culminating in high school U.S. government classes that will discuss the legalization of same-sex marriage. This decision comes as part of a larger campaign to expand and diversify California’s history and social science curriculums known as the History–Social Science Framework for California Public Schools. The framework revises current public school curriculums to include the history of underrepresented groups including ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in classes from kindergarten to 12th grade. Creating the framework is a step in the process of integrating the content required by the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, formerly known as Senate Bill 48. This law, which was implemented in 2012, amended California’s Education Code to include minority groups in educational textbooks and school curricula. The ratification of the FAIR Education Act and the actions taken to uphold its guidelines have garnered support from California’s LGBT community and its supporters, including members of the Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network. “Studying LGBT history amounts to studying one of

DOUBLETRUCK

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

PLUGGED IN

FITNESS ONLINE rose guan & tiffany wong

copy editor & aquila copy editor

FIT FOR A KING: The Information Age has changed the way humans live. From the development of mobile phones to the creation of the Internet and its plethora of websites, people with access to technology can use methods of communication that are drastically different from our ancestors’. With the evolution of the digital world has also come the rising popularity of the online fitness community. Health-focused apps, blogs and social media accounts have become popular tools for individuals looking to better their physical health, while people wishing for a more nutritious diet can look up recipe blogs or informational YouTube videos instead of visiting a nutritionist. At the upper school, both students and faculty make use of technological devices to stay healthy. Varsity girls basketball player Akhila Ramgiri (10) has

Technological fitness tools provide new ways to improve physical health

experience with the calorie- and weight-tracking app MyFitnessPal. “You could type in the amount of time you spent doing a certain exercise, and it’ll calculate how many calories you would have burned. If you stick to calorie counts, it’s pretty easy to keep track of your fitness,” Akhila said. “I stopped a couple years ago, mostly because after I used it, I didn’t really need the app to help me keep track, because I was at my goal weight anyways.” As fitness technology improves, the historical design trend of making items smaller and more portable has begun to affect the online wellness field. Accordingly, smaller fitness monitors such as the Fitbit wristband have recently taken center stage. “I’m definitely aware of the fact that I need to have certain steps; when [my Fitbit] goes off

and buzzes, I’m really happy. It really makes me think, ‘Oh, I have accomplished my goal of the day,’” math teacher Gabriele Stahl said. “What motivated me to get the Fitbit is really the wellness program here at Harker, [which states that] if you fulfill certain requirements, you get a discount on your health insurance.” The upper school’s athletics requirement of two physical education credits before graduation also opens many opportunities for students to explore fitness options at school. “I think that athletics are an important part of the traditional American high school experience, and I think that it is something that contributes to a well balanced graduate and alumni,” Andrew Irvine, chemistry teacher and assistant lacrosse coach, said. “There are some things that you learn on the lacrosse field that you will never learn in

GoPr

the chemistry classroom.” More than 60 percent of students participated in a school sports team during the last school year; those not interested in competitive athletics can sign up for after school yoga and capoeira classes, both of which earn their participants 0.5 of a credit per semester. Certain performing arts activities also earn students physical education credit: dance production performers, after school dance class participants and members of Downbeat, junior varsity and varsity dance all gain credits at the end of their activity’s performance season. “I think Harker has a pretty good sports offering. Obviously, based on the size of our school, we don’t have as many sports as other schools, and our teams aren’t as big as other schools’,” varsity boys water polo team captain Arnav Tandon (12) said. “I think most of the people who play a sport and want to play for the school have the opportunity to, and if they don’t then, that’s a personal choice that they make.”

an that c to a r e m A ca attached r e be in ord r d a e your h record you y a to ut or d worko first-pera from rspective. e son p ave grown h s he GoPro ularity in t as in pop few years s last media ha social people to d allowe heir videos t . share online

FitBit FitBits are wireless-enabled wearable activity trackers that collect data such as the number of steps walked, heart rate, quality of sleep, steps climbed, and other personal metrics. They allow you to share your personal fitness data with friends through social media and participate in fitness-based competitions.

DOUBLETRUCK • VOLUME 18 ISSUE 4 • JANUARY 24, 2017

MY FITNESS PAL

INSTAGRAM

“I make an effort to count calories using MyFitnessPal at least semi-regularly. Setting goals and seeing concrete progress when I achieve them is really satisfying and motivates me to continue, despite my fat, ice-cream loving predilections.” - Vedaad Shakib (12)

GRAPHICS MEILAN STEIMLE AND WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

HEALTH

health apps to have

YOUTUBE GORILLA WORKOUT

ALL PHOTOS YOUTUBE

cassey ho (blogilates)

mimi ikonn

x 16

Do you use a fitness or workout app?

WHITNEY SIMMONS

JEREMY SRY

Don’t work out to burn calories, work out to see how amazing your body is. Don’t eat to cut calories, eat to add more healthiness to your life. You deserve to be healthy. Make healthy decisions most of the time, feel good, and the results will follow.

yes no FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS

OUT OF 37 RESPONSES

HARKER’S FAVORITE FITNESS BLOGGERS

Jennipher Walters, CEO of Fit Bottomed Girls, aims to inspire a healthy mindset The Winged Post had the chance to interview Jennipher Walters, the CEO and co-founder of the fitness blog Fit Bottomed Girls. A co-author of the fitness guide “The Fit Bottomed Girls Anti-Diet: 10-Minute Fixes to Get the Body You Want and a Life You’ll Love,” Walters and her colleagues added the sister sites Fit Bottomed Mamas, Fit Bottomed Eats and Fit Bottomed Zen to the Fit Bottomed line in 2010, 2013 and 2016, respectively. Winged Post: How and when did you get into fitness blogging, and how did you get started in the world of fitness in general? Jennipher Walters: When I went to college in 1999, I went to a group [exercise] class at the University of Missouri’s rec center and LOVED IT. At the end of my first year in school I got certified to teach and hired at the rec center. I taught everything from yoga and Spin to dance and bootcamp. Another year later I got my personal training cert and started training clients at the rec center. I was getting my journalism degree at MU and did

everything I could to write about health and wellness, which I knew was my passion. In 2008, I felt like I wanted to do something to improve body image and give women a fun place to go for good encouraging fitness advice. At this time I had overcome my own struggles with body image and wanted to let women know that they were more than the number on the scale. In 2008, no site or magazine had this mis-

“Tech is awesome! From online groups to fitness trackers to apps, there are so many amazing ways to be healthy.” JENNIPHER WALTERS CEO OF FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS sion/view. I told Erin about my idea, she loved it and joined it, and Fit Bottomed Girls was born in May 2008, with $100 from each of us invested and a blogspot site “designed” by us. :) WP: How often does Fit

BABY GOT BACK MUSCLE Fit bottom girls, run by CEO Jennipher Walters, is a fitness blog that encourages healthy fun fitness and discourages calorie-counting.

Bottomed Girls post? Does every week have a certain theme (eg. water, green foods, exercising)? JW: Fit Bottomed Girls posts one to three posts every weekday. Our other sites—Fit Bottomed Mamas, Eats and Zen— post three to five times a week. We have an editorial calendar so that we ensure we have a variety of content—tips, personal blog posts, how-to’s, workouts, recipes, etc.—for each week. We do have special weeks now and again- about one every month or two. WP: Besides fitness blogs, what are some other tools individuals can utilize to take charge of their nutritional and physical health? JW: Tech is awesome! From online groups to fitness trackers to apps, there are so many amaz-

ing ways to be healthy these days. And, we also love good ol’ fashioned face to face help too! A session with a personal trainer, group workouts, running clubs... all of these are great options for people wanting to be healthy. WP: To any individual who is currently struggling with body confidence, what is one piece of advice you would give to them? JW: Start focusing on how you feel instead of how you look. If you eat the foods that bring you energy and move your body in ways you enjoy, you will feel good. Don’t work out to burn calories, work out to see just how amazing your body is. Don’t eat to cut calories, eat to add more healthiness to your life. You deserve to be healthy. Make healthy decisions most of the time, feel good, and the results will follow.

SPORTS

Students exercise in alternative activities

Yoga and capoeira offer an alternative to P.E. or playing a team sport

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Winter Sports Update zach hoffman & neal sidhu reporters

BOYS BASKETBALL

DRIBBLE! Brando Pakel (11) sprints past defender. The varsity boys basketball team is 6-6, including Coach Butch Keller’s 600th career win. “I haven’t even played 600 games probably; it’s pretty crazy,” captain Jordan Goheen (12) said. The next game will be today against Pinewood School at Blackford.

maya valluru & alex wang Aquila news editor & sports editor

Students can obtain athletic credits by partaking in yoga sessions, which are held after school every day Monday through Friday. Yoga is a variety of spiritual, mental, and physical exercises that originated in India. Ancient artifacts confirm that the practice of yoga dates back to almost 3000 B.C. While yoga has always been practiced as an essential form of meditation in Hindu, Buddhist and Jainist tradition, this form of exercise has become a popular recreational activity in Western culture during the past few decades. The results of meditation and mindfulness, themes central to yoga, have been especially admired by people of the fastpaced entrepreneurial center of the Silicon Valley. There are over 25 official yoga centers in the Bay Area alone. English teacher Nicholas Manjoine is one of the yoga instructors at the Upper School. He has been holding yoga classes for students since 2006. “I wanted to bring yoga to the school community because I saw that there were lots of youngsters that were stressed out and didn’t know how to be more present in their moment, so I thought yoga does a great job of that,” he said. “I thought it would also have a positive benefit in terms of the PE requirement for people.” After the program grew in popularity within the student body, a greater number of sections led by became available after school. Manjoine recruited more instructors to run these sections, including Denise Wendler, who has been teaching yoga at the Upper School for the past 12 years. “I had gone through teacher training in 2005 and then, the first yoga class on the Upper School campus was during the 2006-2007 school year,” Manjoine said. “I couldn’t do it and we wanted to add another section, and I thought ‘Denise is the best yoga teacher ever.’”

Senior Angela Kim has been participating in the yoga program since her freshman year. “I started it in ninth grade, only just because of the PE requirement, but I actually really liked it. Even after I finished my PE requirement, I continued it and am still taking it now.” She continued to discuss why she enjoys the on-campus extracurricular activity. “I guess just because it is really relaxing and it is kind of a moment, an hour, of peace and order in the hectic day, so that’s why I have continued it till now.”

CAPOEIRA The athletics department also offers classes in Capoeira, an artform that combines elements of dance, martial arts, and rhythm. Capoeira originated in Brazil among African slaves from the Congo and Angola who practiced the artform as a means to stay fit. The aspects of the art involving fighting were masked by the components of dance, therefore allowing the people living in captivity to exercise. Some historians also believe that fugitive slaves would practice Capoeira as a means of survival in the wilderness. The artform eventually developed into a component in

warfare, as the communities of fugitive slaves fought against Portuguese powers that threatened their existence. Today, Capoeira has become a popular in the realm of entertainment as well as in athletic pursuits. There are numerous Capoeira studios across the Bay Area, multiple gyms that offer lessons in the artform, and classes held twice a week for students at the Upper School. Loren Due, known to his students as Mestre Poeta, teaches Capoeira at the Upper School. He graduated from Harker in 1985 and decided to return to teach. “I wanted to give back to the school that I went to,” he said. “I was looking to start teaching and I thought it would be a good opportunity to come to the high school and start teaching here.” Due discussed the reasons he has been drawn to the martial art for over twenty years. “What I like about it is that it’s a complete art. Music is involved, you learn a foreign language, which is Portuguese, and I was able travel and learn about another culture,” he said. “Those are the things that really drew me to the art. It wasn’t just about self-defense, it is a holistic art. You learn how to play instruments and sing, and those are aspects to capoeira that a lot of people are not aware of.” Freshman Jessica Chang describes her experience as a first-year Capoeira student, from joining the after school activity to finding great enjoyment in the activity. “I joined capoeira last fall because it sounded interesting, and I just really didn’t want to join a sport,” she said. Senior Antony Sagayaraj has participated in Capoeira every year in the Upper School. He describes his experience with an artform that pushed him. “I joined in my freshman year to fill my P.E. requirement originally, but I have since stuck around because it’s great. I like it because I’m not the most athletic person and I was able to do things like cartwheels, acrobatics, and movements that I would not have thought I’d be able to do ever.”

ALEX WANG

GIRLS SOCCER

DEFENSE! Stephanie Scaglia (11) defends against an opponent. Girls soccer is currently 5-21 overall. The girls recently played against Eastside College Prep for the Kicks Against Cancer game. Varsity will play their next game on Jan. 26 against Mercy High School - Burlingame. The game will be at home at 3:30 on Davis field.

JUSTIN SU

YOGA

BOYS SOCCER

VARSITY SOCCER Kedar Gupta (12) dribbles in the rain. The varsity boys soccer team has a 3-5 record this season. “We’ve got a good group of juniors and seniors leading the way with some freshmen and sophomores who are also contributing,” assistant coach Kevin Watkins said. The team plays The King’s Academy away tomorrow 4 p.m.

KSHITHIJA MULAM

STAYING HEALTHY (TOP) Students of the Tuesday yoga class do the tree pose, mimicking their instructor. (BOTTOM LEFT) Angela Kim (12) strikes a yoga pose on her mat along with the rest of the class. (BOTTOM MIDDLE) The yoga instructor demonstrates a pose to the rest of the class. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Antony Sagayaraj (12) does a handstand during his capoeira class on Wednesday night. Yoga and capoeira are both healthy alternatives to team sports that are offered at th

HUDDLE The girls huddle on the sidelines during their first game. The varsity girls basketball team has an 8-8 record so far this season. Team captain Jordan Thompson recently passed the school record for points scored. “I think now that we’ve had some experience in our league, we’ll be ready the next time around, and we’ll be able to finish off the games that we lost by a couple points,” she said. Their next game will be today against Crystal Springs.

WRESTLING

JUSTIN SU

ALL PHOTOS ROSE GUAN

GIRLS BASKETBALL

GO EAGLES! Anthony Contreras (11) pins his Los Altos opponent. The wrestling team has participated in eight matches so far this season. “It’s been going really well. We’ve had a lot of matches and tournaments,” Arjun Kriplani (9) said. The varsity and JV teams will next play against Santa Clara High School on Jan. 26.

SPORTS

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

Feature Photo

IN THE MOMENT

LEAP! Senior Jordan Thompson goes for a free throw in a game against Kirby Prep. This year, Jordan broke Harker’s record for career points in basketball. She has scored over 1800 points total.

HEIDI ZHANG

Coach Keller reaches 600-win milestone alex wang sports editor

The varsity boys basketball team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands last night and Head Coach Samuel “Butch” Keller reached the milestone of 600 wins in his career as a coach. Keller has coached basketball for the past 31 years, including 25 seasons before he came to Harker. “I think the only sport I haven’t coached is lacrosse, but basketball has just been [my] passion. I’d been fortunate enough to coach basketball for 25 years before I got here,” he said. Keller did not initially intend to pick up coaching or teaching when he was in college. “I did not go to college to be a coach or an educator, [but] things changed and I got an education degree and started coaching because it was going to pay

my way through the rest of college,” he said. Upon his arrival at Harker, Keller had expected to stop coaching in order to fulfill his duties at the school but found the opportunity to continue coaching basketball, starting with the girls team and then taking over as head coach of the boys varsity team. Keller sees his milestone as simply a by-product of his long career as a coach. “I’ve just been telling everyone it’s an attendance record. This is my 31st season for boys high school basketball and that’s where these 600 come from,” he said. “Six hundred, it just means you’ve been doing it a long time.” Instead of his milestone, Keller emphasized the connections that he made with his team as the most everlasting products of his career.

“The connections as a member of a team are different than the connections that you make when you’re in chemistry class,” he said. “Those are the bonds and those are the friends that I have and the relationships that I have with alumni are the ones that I coached.” Varsity co-captain Eric Jeong (11) described his feelings on his coach’s achievement. “I’m just happy to be a part of such a momentous celebration,” Eric said. “I’m sure I speak for the whole team when I say we all have the utmost respect for what he’s done these past 31 years.” Keller summed up his coaching attitude in a comparison of his gymnasium and a teacher’s classroom. “I look forward to going to practice more than I do to games because the gym is a coach’s

LUCKY 600 Boys basketball coach Butch Keller gathers his Varsity players in a huddle on the sidelines of a game. Keller recently won his 600th career game as coach of the Harker Eagles.

classroom. It’s just fun to be around young kids in that environment,” he said.

Fighting cancer one kick at a time anjay saklecha & ashley jiang sports editor & photo editor

Students and faculty supported the varsity boys, junior varsity boys and varsity girls soccer teams during the annual Kicks Against Cancer event last Friday. The three teams played games back-to-back, providing endless action and supporting Camp Okizu by selling food and merchandise. The Harker School and Camp Okizu have been working together for eight years now, trying to support, fundraise and help Okizu’s mission come true. Camp Okizu’s website states that “the mission of Okizu is to provide peer support, respite, mentoring, and recreational programs to meet the needs of all members of families affected by childhood cancer.” The money raised through the event allows northern California families affected by childhood cancer to attend the programs free of charge. Starting last week on Jan. 17, the soccer teams began selling merchandise during lunch. As in previous years, the soccer teams sold T-shirts and baked goods to fundraise. They also sold objects at the game too, including candy, hair ties, raffle tickets and wristbands. Beginning at 3 p.m., the varsity boys soccer team played against its Eastside College Preparatory School equivalent. The team’s overall record for this season is 3-5, with their league record 1-1. Through the obstacles this season, the boys still have high hopes for season champion-

National Sports Update anvi banga & eric fang

ships and wins for future games. “I think it has a lot of significance for both the team and the community as a whole, it’s kind of like a way to give back and the fact that we’re having a fundraiser for Camp Okizu and we’re raising money for these kids, it’s become a part of Harker tradi-

reporters

“Playing together with my team is making a great experience an even better experience.” ALLISON LEE (9) GIRLS VARSITY PLAYER tion to give back to the community,” Rishi Iyer (11), a member of the boys varsity team, said. The next game was between the varsity girls team and the Eastside team at 4:30 p.m. The girls have an overall record this season of 6-2-1 with a league record of 3-1. Their hopes of making league championships are high due to their early winning streak. “This game is for such a good cause, helping these kids try and persevere through their hardships and obstacles,” varsity girls player Allison Lee (9) said. “Playing together with my team is making a great experience an ever-better experience, especially with the inspiration the smiles on the kids’ faces are giving us.” During the halftime of that game, spectators were given a chance to play “Butts Up” with faculty members. “Butts Up” is a playful game in which faculty members stand in the goal with their backs to the shooters, and

This piece was originally published on Harker Aquila on Jan. 12.

ALL PHOTOS KSHITHIJA MULAM

KICKING IT TO THE CURB (TOP) Lindsey Mitchell (12) lines up for a goal kick in last year’s Kicks Against Cancer game. The boys and girls soccer teams played Eastside College Prep last Friday for this year’s Kicks Against Cancer game. (LEFT) Nick Acero (11) dribbles past a defender in last year’s Kicks Against Cancer game. The varsity boys soccer team is currently 3-5 overall. (RIGHT) The varsity girls soccer team poses with a fundraising check for Camp Okizu. The soccer teams sold shirts and other merchandise during the week to fundraise for Camp Okizu.

people take shots at them. Each shot can be purchased for $2 each. Finally, the junior varsity boys team played against the Eastside team at 6:15 p.m. Their record is 1-5-1 this season. Contrary to previous years, where the junior varsity team played first at 3 p.m., this year they

played last. The varsity boys team plays next against the German International School of Silicon Valley today at 3:30 p.m., the girls varsity soccer team plays Mercy High School on Thursday at home and the junior varsity boys team plays at King’s Academy on Wednesday.

In a 107-95 win against the Miami Heat on Jan. 10, Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala scored nine points and had five rebounds and four assists. He now leads the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio with a rate of five-to-one. The Warriors also broke ground on a new arena in San Francisco, which will seat 18,000 people starting in the 2019-20 season. This project is estimated to cost over $1 billion and will cover over 11 acres of land. The Calgary Flames defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-2 Wednesday night on the Jan. 11. Defenceman Dougie Hamilton of the Flames scored the winning shot late in the third period. The match was the Sharks’ second game in their two-night stay in Alberta, Canada, after their 5-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers this Tuesday. The Oakland Raiders are preparing to move to Las Vegas due to their new stadium being built in Nevada, a decision made by the NFL finance and stadium committees. Although this transition is not yet finalized, Raiders owner Mark Davis confirmed his desire to move the team to Las Vegas and are expected to finish filing for the relocation well before the Feb. 15 deadline. Venus Williams beat Stephanie Voegele in the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday Jan. 10. Williams’s win puts her fifth on the list of all-time most Grand Slam wins, and she now has a total of 233 wins.

BACK PAGE

VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 24, 2017

SAYING GOODBYE

Head of School Christopher Nikoloff Announces Resignation NICOLE CHEN

michael sikand

Aquila social media editor

In an email sent to the Harker community on Nov. 28, Head of School Christopher Nikoloff announced his resignation and revealed that he will assume the position of headmaster at The American School in Collina d’Oro, Switzerland, on July 1, surprising students, parents, and faculty alike. Nikoloff’s 17-year Harker career began when he became head of the Middle School in 1999. Three years later, in 2002, he moved to the position of assistant head of school, before succeeding Howard Nichols as head of school in 2005. “I leave with a mixture of sadness, pride and great hope for Harker’s future,” he wrote in the email. “Since its founding in 1893, and through the stewardship and legacy of the Nichols family, Harker has been committed to bringing out the best in each child in all areas inside and outside the classroom.” From both a professional and family-oriented perspective, Nikoloff is excited to expand the horizons of his career in education. “The opportunity to lead a school in an international setting is a pretty rare opportunity, and that’s for the professional level. On a personal level, the opportunity to raise my family in an international setting and in a very different environment was also a factor,” he said in an interview. [I most look forward to] the personal and professional growth from working in an international setting or living in an international setting, any kind of expansion of your mind and social network and your understanding of different cultures.” The American School in Swit-

zerland (TASIS) is a preparatory day and boarding school that houses a diverse student body from around the globe. Founded in 1956 by Mary Crist Fleming, TASIS was the first American boarding school established in Europe. Lyle Rigg, the current headmaster at TASIS, will be stepping down from his post at the end of the school year. He explained Nikoloff’s candidacy and expressed his vision for the future of TASIS under new direction in an email interview. “The TASIS board of directors selected Mr. Nikoloff from a field of many strong candidates. Over 100 candidates applied for the position and seven semi-finalists were interviewed in Virginia bythe steering committee. Mr. Nikoloff was the clear choice of students, teachers, parents, administrators, and board members,” he wrote. Throughout his tenure, Nikoloff interacted regularly with the staff and faculty. Teachers and staff members who know him well and have worked with him closely praise his accomplishments and leadership qualities. Nicole Hall, one of two assistants to head of school, admires Nikoloff’s politeness when interacting with the school and his sense of humour. “One of the things that I think Mr. Nikoloff has done really well is [how] he treats every member of the community with respect, regardless of who you are or where you are. Student or prospective student, facilities, maintenance, teacher, everybody he has treated with respect,” Hall said. “The values that he brings to the community are extremely beneficial to all of us. I am really going to miss all of his really cheesy jokes and puns.” Nikoloff could not pick one

single memory that has defined his Harker experience; however, he recognized a series of accomplished goals that contribute to the legacy he leaves behind. “We have accomplished many of the goals. The science center, the aquatics center, the Davis Field, acquiring a third campus, currently the gym and the theatre are under construction—lots of infrastructure goals were met,” he said. “A strong admissions picture, students reaching their potential in many activities both inside and outside the classroom, alumni and students achieving great things both nationally and internationally—all these things are very satisfying.” Ni Accompanying the email, Board ch of Trustees chair Diana Nichols conols Ha firmed the hiring of a professional ll search firm to find a new head of 2 00 school. Due to the short time frame, S ing 8 the board and the search team are hA considering an interim head, proqu ati vided that the perfect candidate can cs not be found. Ce In addition to outlining the nte search process, Nichols also highr 20 lighted Nikoloff’s leadership. 09 “We are going to be searching for both an interim head and a full time head. The reason is because we started our search very late, and we didn’t know that we would have an open position until quite late, so the Da vis likelihood of being able to find the Fie kind of quality of person that we ld want at such a late date is not high. 20 We’re committed to finding the very 09 best head of school we can for the Harker students,” Nichols said in a phone interview. Fo Nikoloff will continue to serve ur as head of school for the remainder th Ha of the academic year before he and rke his family make the move to SwitrC zerland over the summer. a

CHANGES TO school under Nikoloff

Q&A with Head of School, Christopher Nikoloff

Winged Post: What prompted you to accept the job in Switzerland? Chris Nikoloff: The opportunity to lead a school in an international setting is a pretty rare opportunity, and that’s for the professional level, and on a personal level the opportunity to raise my family in an international setting and in a very different environment was also a factor. WP: Have you visited the school before? If so, when? CN: I was able to visit them this fall. WP: What are you looking forward to most about moving? CN: Just the personal and professional growth from working in an international setting or living in an international setting, any kind of expansion of your mind and social network and your understanding of different cultures. WP: What's your favorite memory at Harker? CN: I can’t point at one memory, but I

can say that, I would say this...any kind of evidence that students are reaching their full potential whether it is in an academic setting, such as the research symposium, or in an extracurricular setting such as a performance, or in the athletic setting such as a football or volleyball game or swim meet. When I see students reach their potential I get very excited in any of those areas. I would probably say one of my favorite traditions is the annual holiday shows where students perform for each other, it really feels like a time when the entire community comes together. WP: What is the most rewarding part of being in the position of Head of School in your opinion? CN: Feeling like you have played a part in helping young people thrive, teachers and staff reaching their potential, feeling like you played a part in institution growing, and achieving extremes.

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