Winged Post Volume 21, Issue 3 by Harker Aquila

Pg. 6: MARCH FOR EDUCATION Community rallies for educational funding in San Jose

Pg. 8: SKATING THE CURVES Skateboarders share the culture of their sport

Pg. 15: A SEASON IN PHOTOS Fall sports teams compete in CCS championships

WINGED POST THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF HARKER’S UPPER SCHOOL

500 SARATOGA AVENUE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95129

VOL. 21 NO. 3

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

SAFE AT

HOME?

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Administration emphasizes new security measures and supportive campus culture after threatening graffiti incident disquieted Harker students and faculty SAFE AND SOUND Head of Security Tor Wormdahl and SJPD School Liason Officer Sean Mattocks patrol the campus on Nov. 14.

editor-in-chief & aquila editor-in-chief

As the upper school moves forward from a threatening graffiti message that disrupted school two weeks ago, administrators will maintain a heightened police presence on campus and continue discussing changes to the security system. According to Facilities Director Mike Bassoni, the school plans to add about seven security cameras at strategic points in the school and install more advanced cameras capable of detecting license plates at the front gate by winter break. Currently, the school has 22 cameras around its perimeter that feed into artificial intelligence software. The San Jose Police Department has access to the live camera feeds and works closely with the upper school security team. “We listen to SJPD, we meet with them a lot and ask them, please assess us, tell us how we can improve. We are constantly making minor adjustments, [including] literally the pattern the security officers walk around the campus,” Bassoni said.

On Nov. 5, two students reported a threatening graffiti message in the downstairs Dobbins boys bathroom. The message contained song lyrics that referenced “counting my bullets” and “loading my clips,” followed by an additional line: “don’t come to school tomorrow.” The message prompted administrators to call an immediate allschool meeting that afternoon. Following SJPD’s evaluation, the school operated as normal on Nov. 6 and maintained a police presence to surveil campus, but about 50 percent of upper school students chose to stay home from school, leading to the readjustment of teachers’ class plans and the cancellation of various school events. According to Upper School Division Head Butch Keller, police officers will remain on campus for an indefinite period of time, in addition to Harker’s usual security presence, which consists of three guards during the day and two in the evening, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Security Director Tor Wormdahl’s request, an SJPD officer has been patrolling the area within three miles of

the upper school and can respond to oncampus threats within five minutes.

“We had a great end of the week, despite this hard middle of the week, and we’re going to continue to use this incident as a means of reflecting and getting better at everything we do” IRINA MALYUGINA

eric fang & kathy fang

BRIAN YAGER HEAD OF SCHOOL

At an optional parent meeting on Nov. 12, upper school administrators and Officer Sean Mattocks, Harker’s SJPD liaison, listened to parents’ perspectives regarding campus security and answered questions about the school’s response. Similar threats and events are

occuring almost daily at this point. Four days ago, a shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA killed two students and injured three others, as of Thursday afternoon. Palo Alto High School experienced recent shooting threats when police chased a suspected bank robber through campus on Nov. 4. Iron Horse Middle School in San Ramon went into lockdown upon finding threatening bathroom graffiti on Nov. 7. Along with these events, the graffiti at the upper school served for many students as an unsettling sign of gun violence hitting closer to home. “Up until now, I viewed Harker as a safe place, but it feels like I can’t do that anymore, and we can’t take comments like this lightly,” Nikki Solanki (12) said. “My best friend was at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school during the Parkland shooting, and I empathized with him, but I never really knew what that fear felt like.” Regular school activities have resumed since Nov. 6. Additional reporting by Lucy Ge and Gloria Zhang. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Class of 2023 council elected with new leadership system arely sun

ARELY SUN

co-lifestyle editor

TO THE BALLOT BOX Newly elected freshman class council member Kris Estrada (9) speaks during freshman election speeches on Monday. Freshman inaugurated a new system of elections in which students voted for general class representatives as opposed to specific positions.

Inaugurating a new system of student leadership, the results of the freshmen student council election were announced today, naming Alexander Lan, Kris Estrada, Michelle Jin, Rupert Chen and Zubin Khera as members of the council. Freshmen voted following candidates’ speeches during class meetings on Monday and Tuesday. A new leadership and voting system allowed students to vote for their top five candidates from the 18 running, who will then participate in a general council free of positions such as president and treasurer. Anthony Silk, the chair of the Honor Council, which organizes voting methods, accredits this change to a more equal approach to voting and leadership. “Especially in the freshman year, the

students aren’t really set on ‘I know what a treasurer does, and therefore, I want to be the treasurer.’ In general, the council should work as a collective,” he said. “Only one of the [best candidates] can be on the council. Don’t you want the two best people to be on the council?” The new system also seeks to prevent previous members of the council from having an advantage over new students. Students have different opinions on this new system. Candidate Rupert Chen (9) believes that the system has its benefits and flaws. “I think that it’s an interesting experiment. I know that it’s to try to help new kids have a better say. I’m not sure if it’ll work out, but it’s worth a try,” he said. “I kind of worry that if people just have five people to choose for, they’ll choose the five kids that they know best.”

Sara Wan (9), a candidate who joined Harker at the beginning of the year, has similar concerns. “For the people voting and for the candidates, it’s a lot harder since instead of only competing against the people in your category or position, you’re competing against everyone, so you have to encompass all the traits instead of only the traits you’re specializing in,” she said. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

NEXT UP IN NOVEMBER Nov. 25 & 26

Parent-teacher conferences will be held at the upper school campus before Thanksgiving break.

21 • ISSUE 3 NEWS VOLUME NOVEMBER 18, 2019

2 WINGED POST

Faculty and students perform in biannual talent show. sriya batchu

KA TH

4 HO ALL P

student act, performed by Mahika Halepete (12) who sang Billy Joel’s “Vienna” while providing her own piano accompaniment. She has played the piano since she was four and started vocal lessons when she was eight. This is her second time performing at Quadchella, but her first time performing solo. “I found it a little scary at first, but I perform a lot so I get used to it. Music is a really good way for me to get some stress relief and chill out a little bit and get creative,” Mahika said. A later act featured english teacher Christopher Hurshman and upper school’s Director of Learning, Innovation and Design Diane Main. The pair have done Quadchella together every year since it started at Harker. This year, they played “Falling Slowly” from the movie “Once” and Damien Rice’s “Nine Crimes.” Singing has been a part of Main’s life since she was a child and she enjoys singing and learning new songs immensely. Hurshman is the faculty advisor for the Unplugged guitar club and enjoys playing the guitar in his free time to destress. “It’s fun to sing together and perform. I like to see and learn about the things that students do outside of class and I think this is a way to return the favor and share a part of our lives that don’t always show up at school,” Hurshman said.

Harker’s biannual Quadchella talent show invited students and faculty to watch an array of performances in the quad during long lunch last Thursday. This Quadchella contained a total of four teacher acts and six student acts. Face painting provided by the art club along with popcorn and tattoos were available for the student body to enjoy. Rugs were placed on the ground and background music played both before and after the show. This event took place two days after threatening graffitti was found in a bathroom, which caused an uneasy tension within the student body, but Dean of Students Kevin Williamson and Upper School Division Head Butch Keller both were confident of the students’ safety and let the event continue. “I was worried about Quadchella at first, but now I’m looking forward to bringing back a sense of normalcy to campus,” said Arusha Patil (11), Head of the Student Events Committee, prior to the show. This year’s Quadchella was led by Arusha. She, along with Roma Gandhi (12) and Gabriel Chai (12), were responsible for organizing the timeline, setting up the quad and reaching out to other clubs and the student body. The show started off with first-time Quadchella performer Dr. Julie Turchin, an upper school psychology teacher, who sang “The Babysitter’s Here” by Dar Williams. Dr. Turchin started performing in choirs when she was 10 and has performed a variety of genres her whole life, including singing folk music at her college coffee house. “I saw Quadchella last year and I almost did it in the spring, but I thought it would have been too much to do during my first year, so I told myself I would do it this time. I’m glad I stayed true to that promise because it felt great performing up there,” Dr. Turchin said. Following Dr. Turchin was the first

Y FA NG

reporter

C NI

1. SING IT OUT English teacher Dr. Elizabeth Wahl raises her arms in the air as she sings George Gershwin’s “I Got Plenty o’Nuttin.” 2. SWAN SONG Nathaniel “Nash” Melisso (12) strums the ukulele as he performs his original song “Insight.” 3. A FRESH FACE Kai Burich (10) turns his head to the side as he waits for a member of Art Club to finish painting his cheek.

The last act of the day was a song performed by freshman Sonya He. This is her first time performing at the high school following performances at the middle school’s Coffee House. “This was very different from Coffee House, but I decided to take a leap of faith and go for it. The support I get from my friends and the crowd keeps me going,” Sonya said.

4. ALL SMILES Anish Kilaru (11) and Avery Young (11) laugh together as they listen to a Quadchella performance. Rugs were placed on the ground of the Quad for students to sit on and enjoy the music. 5. IMMERSED Brian Larsen, K-12 Production Manager, closes his eyes as he sings “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen.

Dance teams combine into Harker Dance Company New approach follows years of discussion, eliminating placement issues. esha gohil

ALYSA SULEIMAN

reporter

HANDS UP Charlotte Blanc (12) performs during the Homecoming rally. Both varsity and junior varsity dance teams joined this year to form the Harker Dance Company.

The junior varsity and varsity dance teams merged together for the first time ever to form the Harker Dance Company at the start of this school year. The choreographers, Karl Kuehn, who previously coached varsity, and Rachelle Haun, who coached junior varsity, decided that the timing was right to proceed to switch the school’s dance team system after years of discussion. A variety of factors contributed to the change, the first being that this system eliminates placement issues. “Sometimes, after we place students

into teams, they think that they should be on one team rather than the other, so having one company completely gets rid of that,” Kuehn said. Having one dance team also creates unity between all of the Harker dancers, instead of focusing on JV and varsity titles. “We get to know each other as equal dancers and friends on the same team instead of being on a higher or lower team,” Nikki Kapadia (10), who was previously on the JV team, said. The choreographers pick certain dancers to perform in shows based on both the style of dance and the performance type.

Currently, the team is rehearsing for their holiday performance. Despite reservations earlier on in the process, the teams continued their transition into one and now most dancers on the team appreciate the new changes. “I know that we were nervous during summer, but now it feels good,” said senior Emiko Armstrong, one of three captains who help organize the team, ensure team preparedness and promote team bonding.

WINGED POST 3

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 NEWS VOLUME

Politician Rishi Kumar shares vision for 18th congressional district with journalism classes

Vocal groups perform in annual Fall Concert

SING IT LOUD Harker choirs performed at the annual Choral Concert on Nov. 15

jessie wang

FOR OUR COMMUNITY 2018-2019 Harker Journalism leaders Nicole Chen (‘19), Katherine Zhang (‘19), Prameela Kottapalli (‘19) and Kathy Fang (12) smile for a photo.

BEHIND THE LENS Michael Eng (11) records Kumar for the multimedia aspect of Harker Journalism’s article on him. Students covered Kumar’s visit through an article on the Councilman and his various policies, his background in politics and his life prior to public service.

INQUISITIVE Erica Cai (10) asks Kumar a question during the Q&A following his talk. Kumar recently launched a fellowship program to integrate high schoolers into his campaign, giving them an opportunity to try canvassing, policy research, phone banking and social media marketing.

Annual Shah gallery displays first exhibition

SFGMC visits choirs and performs at upper school

PROVIDED BY ELLEN AUSTIN

ALYSA SULEIMAN

Harker journalism earns major honors

IRINA MALYUGINA

HARD AT WORK Kushal Shah (11) takes notes on Kumar’s speech. Kumar visited journalism classes to talk about his policies, followed by a few hours on campus afterwards to network with students and their families and be interviewed for an article by members of Harker journalism.

jessie wang

EXPRESSIONS Honors Directed Portfolio class sets up its exhibits in Shah Gallery

jessie wang

senior copy editor

Cantilena, Camerata, Signature and Bel Canto performed the Choral Concert on Friday, Nov. 15. This Year’s theme was “Breaking Down Walls.” The concert was held at 7:00 p.m., and was free, although seats had to be booked in advance. “I think [this theme] is really important, expecially in the current state of our society. It’s important to talk about unity and finding similarities and respecting other people’s differences,” Grace Huang (12), Cantilena’s Alto 2 section leader, said. “ I’m really excited about performing because our songs this year are all really good.”

The Winged Post has been declared a Pacemaker Finalist by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) for its 2018-19 coverage, one of only 49 high school newspapers in the country. The online site, Harker Aquila, has been named a Crown Finalist by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for the same. The Pacemaker will be handed out at the NSPA’s November convention in Washington DC and the Crown will be awarded at the CSPA’s spring New York convention. This following Harker Journalism’s wins the previous year, earning two Gold Crowns and one Silver for Winged Post, TALON and Harker Aquila respectively.

Students of the Honors Directed Portfolio class have begun their yearly exhibitions of their work.The first installation in the Shah Gallery will be on Nov. 18, and will feature Ashna Reddy’s (12) work. Each installation will be up for one week, and all students in the semester-long course will be featured. “I feel like on the one hand I’m unlimited, I can do whatever I want, but there’s so many things I want to do. It’s exciting but also scary because you don’t have anyone to guide you — it’s you on your own. It’s straight up you.” Ashna said.

PROVIDED BY SFGMC

TALK THE TALK Councilmember Rishi Kumar discusses his candidacy for California’s 18th Congressional seat. Kumar visited News classes in late October and emphasized the importance of a politician well-versed in the technical culture of Silicon Valley.

IRINA MALYUGINA

PUBLIC FIGURE Councilman Rishi Kumar speaks to students in the journalism room. Kumar is currently running for congress in California’s 18th congressional district.

ANNA VAZAHAEPARAMBIL

Saratoga city councilmember and Democratic candidate for California’s 18th Congressional District, Rishi Kumar visited two of the upper school’s news journalism classes on Oct. 29 to speak about topics ranging from Silicon Valley’s unique “innovation economy” to proper urban planning of housing and roads to the implementation of universal healthcare. Kumar, 52, presents himself as a politician with a real-world, tech perspective. Originally from India, Kumar came to the U.S. for his master’s degree and later settled in Silicon Valley as a software engineer in 2001. To members of the journalism staff, Kumar spoke about the importance of technology and innovation, quoting Congressman Ro Khanna, who called current congressional leaders “technologically illiterate.” “The whole economy is changing,” he said during an afterschool interview. “We need tech leaders who get it and truly believe we can make it better.” Kumar also mentioned the importance of education in the journalism class he visited, stressing that currently, students of parents without a college education are not encouraged to pursue higher education. “We need to look at education as a larger, bigger agenda ... [to] make it better for the youth of our country,” he said.

PROVIDED BY HARKER ART CLUB

reporter

rest of your life if you are able to do it successfully,” Kumar said. Voters in the 18th Congressional District, which includes Campbell, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Saratoga, Stanford and parts of San Jose, can vote for the district’s next representative. The primary election is set for March 3, 2020, and the general election is set for Nov. 3, 2020. Additional reporting by Eric Fang, Aditya Singhvi and Anna Vazhaeparambil. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

ANNA VAZAHAEPARAMBIL

A two-term councilmember of Saratoga, Kumar holds the record for highest number of votes in Saratoga’s election history, gaining 30 percent of the total votes in his re-election. As a councilmember, he has worked on resolving local citizen issues such as crime and water rate increases. Since announcing his bid for Congress in March, Kumar has been actively campaigning to represent the 18th Congressional District, which encompasses the upper school. As a Democrat, Kumar is running against Democratic incumbent Anna Eshoo, who has occupied the office since 1993. “We believe in a data-driven campaign [and getting] a lot of the youth engaged to see how we can get a win later on in the March primary and then in November 2020,” Kumar said. He includes high school interns on his campaign team, calling the addition of young activists “empowerment.” This past summer he started his youth fellowship program, engaging a couple hundred high school and college students in door-todoor canvassing, policy research, phone banking, social media marketing and analytics for his campaign. He values the use these youth “fellows.” “[High school interns learn] not just skills like analytics, but also the soft skills to give an elevator pitch and get the yes votes. That’s a tremendous skill, which will actually stand true for the

sarah mohammed

HEAR OUR VOICES San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus performs in a concert.

arushi saxena news editor

Mitch Galli, associate director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC), worked with various middle and upper school vocal groups on Nov. 7. He also met with upper school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance. He will be returning to the middle and upper schools last Friday for an assembly following fifth period with RHYTHM, the educational outreach program of the SFGMC. Galli worked with Dynamics and Harmonics on the middle campus in tone production and spent the second half of the day focusing on good vocal techniques with high school students.

4 WINGED POST

VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

FOR THE FUTURE Stephen Hughes (‘12), Nick Nguyen (‘15), Sheridan Tobin (‘15) and Raghav Jain (‘16) talk about their college lifestyles during a LIFE meeting for the seniors last Wednesday. The discussion was moderated by seniors Radhika Jain and Adhya Hoskote.

saahil thoppay & athreya daniel reporters

Harker hosted LIFE assemblies for freshmen, sophomore and seniors last Wednesday while the juniors went to the Bucknall campus to visit their eagle buddies for the first time this year. The ninthgrade assembly was a presentation on the laws surrounding sex, bullying and social media usage hosted by Colleen T. Lee (‘06), an associate attorney at Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Kelly Horan, Dean of Academics, presented course selection to 10th graders, advising them to be mindful when choosing difficult classes.. The seniors had a question and answer session with Harker Alumni from Duke University; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; UC Davis; and the University of Southern California.

Car club is hosting The Harker Car Show in the upper school parking lot on Nov. 23 from 9-11 a.m. Students, faculty and staff may sign up at harker. io/carshow to showcase their cars, and watching the show is open to all groups and ages, no sign-up required. “I want to make sure that anyone interested in cars has a means of exploring the hobby. Car culture has a reputation for being exclusive, and I want to reverse the stereotype,” car club president Thomas Rainow (12) said. “We will have a vehicle showcase to distinguish the rare and unique vehicles (such as vintage VW buses or electric sports cars), but equally as important, attendees will display their cars and mingle.”

Fifty-three Harker DECA members traveled to Anaheim to participate for the first time in the Fall Leadership Development Conference, hosted by California DECA, where students were able to network, attend speaker talks and interact in workshops. Attendees were split into three tracks: hospitality, entrepreneurship and leadership, and then presented short pitches related to that track. “I think it was a great opportunity for the freshmen to exercise their testing skills and their presenting skills,” said DECA director of membership Clarice Wang (10).

Veterans’ Day took place on Nov. 11. The annual holiday honored military veterans for their service. Harker students did not get the holiday off. “When I think of Veteran’s day, I think of two words — sacrifice [and] duty. Honor. There are so many adjectives that illustrate what that means. But if I had to rank those words, I would say sacrifice.” Karen Haley, upper school history teacher who served as a Captain in the US Army, said.

reporters

TALKING BUSINESS Business and Entrepreneurship teacher Juston Glass assists two freshman in his class. The fall DECA conference presents an opportunity for freshmen to compete through roleplay interviews and practice for the upcoming SVCDC conference in January.

Medical Club’s Evening of Medicine a success

copy editor

reporters

IRINA MALYUGINA

2020 AMC sign-ups are due by Friday, Dec. 6. The deadline for The actual AMC A exams will be held on campus on Jan. 30, 2020 during a special schedule. For details on the Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS), contact Anthony Silk or join the TEAMS Schoology page. The signups for the USA Biolympiad (USABO) were due last Friday, and the test will be administered on Feb. 5 during long lunch in Nichols 332. Writing pieces are due for the Scholastic Writing Competition by Dec. 12, and art pieces are due by Dec. 1. Art club, in accordance with HELM, held an art and writing workshop session on Nov. 15 in Dr. Douglas’s room. Regeneron entries were due last Wednesday.

amruta dharmapurikar & brian chen

SHOW YOUR SKILLS The poster for the Scholastic Writing and Art Competition, which accepts submissions until Dec. 1 and Dec. 12, is posted on a wall. Its deadline is one of many approaching deadlines for competitions.

WiSTEM hosts club week, raises funds for nonprofit anna vazhaeparambil sports editor

The Women in STEM (WiSTEM) club held their club week during the week of Nov. 11. All profits made from selling iced coffee, boba and baked foods will be donated to the nonprofit WISER, which provides healthcare and education to girls in rural Kenya. The club also showed the movie “Humanity Needs Dreamers: A Visit with Marie Curie” on Thursday, Nov. 14, and moderated a discussion about gender bias in science. WiSTEM ended the week with a panel featuring college students and professionals who spoke to the Harker community about their personal experiences in STEM.

DELECTABLE WiSTEM treasurer Catherine Zhao (12) spoons boba into a cup as she prepares a drink at the club’s fundraiser, which funds the organization WISER. In addition to selling baked goods and tea, they also organized a movie screening and a

The upper school Harker Medical Club held the first ever Evening of Medicine, with 56 sign ups, in the Nichols auditorium last Friday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. One of the featured industry professionals and keynote speaker was Dr. Prasad Kilaru, a Harker parent. He is the Chief of Surgery at the Washington hospital, who spoke about his work as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Dr. Kilaru spoke about the advantages of reconstructive surgery based on the large range of injuries it can remedy. The presentation was also eye-opening to Elvis Han (10) as an exploration of the diverse uses for plastic surgery, and he specifically remembered about how plastic surgery intersected with cosmetics. “I was always curious about how [plastic surgery] could help outside of the cosmetic industry, and hearing his speech was very enlightening,” Elvis said. “It was also the first medical presentation that provided actual photos of the procedures and surgery incisions.”

ISHA MOORJANI

opinions editor

saahil thoppay & athreya daniel

catherine feng

ADITYA SINGHVI

srinath somasundaram

reporters

Academic competition deadlines approach

Car club set to host first Harker Car Show

RETRO A 1958 Chevrolet Impala with a Corvette LS1 engine drives into Harker for the car show. The Harker Car Show will take place Nov. 23 in the upper school parking lot, hosted by Harker Car club.

saahil thoppay & athreya daniel

IRENE YUAN

BUDDIES Fourth grade eagle buddies prepare to throw balls during a game of “Doctor Doctor” in the lower school.

PATRIOTIC Upper school math teacher and Navy veteran Anthony “Tony” Silk instructs his class. Other veterans include history teacher Karen Haley (Army), math teacher Bradley Stoll (Navy), and attendance coordinator Scott Engelhardt (Army).

Military members honored on Veterans’ Day

IRINA MALYUGINA

New DECA members attend fall conference

HELEN ZHU/TALON

KATHY FANG

Students attend LIFE assemblies, meet with Eagle Buddies

NEWS

WORDS OF WISDOM Dr. Lisa Zaba, Dr. Zack Vaughan and Dr. Lawrence Fung speak on stage during Evening of Medicine in Nichol’s Auditorium. They provided descriptions of their professions and experiences to students.

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

WINGED POST 5

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 GLOBAL VOLUME

Protests flame across the globe From Ecuador to Hong Kong, protesters demand reform tessa muhle reporter

Government corruption. Tax evasion by the wealthy. Increased taxes for the poor. Around the world, anger over widespread societal injustices is erupting in the form of violent riots. From citizens calling for democracy in Hong Kong to people in Chile demanding for the resignation of their president, millions of protestors have taken to the streets to make their voices heard. With hundreds of people dead and the death count increasing every day, the protests show no sign of stopping. In Chile, when President Sebastián Piñera increased the subway taxes in Santiago by four percent on Oct. 7, he sparked off student-led protests. The increased subway fare was just the tip of the iceberg of problems Chileans are protesting: other major problems include widespread government corruption, wealthy tax evasion and poor health care. On Nov. 10, the Chilean government agreed to writing a new constitution, which was a central demand of the protestors, according to the Santiago Times. In Bolivia, people began protesting after the election on Oct. 20 over claims of election fraud. Initially, the outcome of the general election showed a tie between presidential candidates Evo Morales and Carlos Mesa. Within 24 hours, however, election officials released an updated tally, which showed Morales in the lead by 10 percent, enough to prevent a runoff. Protestors called for the resignation of Morales, who was the longest-serving Bolivian president, having become president in 2006. Morales resigned on Nov. 10, after groups of Bolivian police joined the protests, according to the Guardian News. In Ecuador, indigenous groups and students have been leading the protests since early October, when President Lenín Moreno passed Decree 883, which cut fuel subsidies without a financial safety net for poor Ecuadorians. After two weeks of protests, the president cut a deal with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, which resulted in the repealment of Decree 883 and the return of fuel subsidies. In Lebanon, protests started on Oct. 17 when the government announced a tax-

es, including one on calls over Whatsapp, according to Business Insider. Hundreds of thousands of people went on the streets to show their dissatisfaction for the political system, and the protests caused governmental institutions and banks to close. “The proximate cause of the protests in Lebanon was a set of new tax proposals, but the economy was already vulnerable owing to a growing currency crisis,” Greg Corning, Professor of Political Science at Santa Clara University, said in an email interview with the Winged Post. “At the same time, there is growing frustration with a lack of reliability in basic services like water and electricity and government response to [the] recent wildfires. Many [people] are also frustrated with a political system based on sectarian identity; the Christian, Sunni Muslim, and Shia Muslim communities share the major leadership positions in government.” Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned

“There is growing frustration with a lack of reliability in basic services like water and electricity [in Lebanon]” GREG CORNING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY about two weeks into the protests, leaving the future of the government of Lebanon uncertain. In Iraq, people have been protesting since Oct. 1, their main issues being the corruption and lack of opportunity in the oil-rich nation. The government quickly retaliated but was unable to permanently quell the protests, resulting in more than 250 deaths so far, according to the New York Times. The protesters have made some progress: Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has resigned, and President Barham Salih has called for early elections. Protesters say that they will continue until the entire government has been removed,

according to the Washington Post. In Hong Kong, protestors have been taking to the streets since the Chinese government passed the extradition bill, which has now been repealed and threatened Hong Kong’s political independence in March. The protests have grown more and more violent as tensions between the protestors and police continue to escalate. On Nov. 9, when a student was killed by a fall, many protesters accused the police of preventing emergency services from reaching him. On Nov. 1, Beijing announced plans to tighten its grip on Hong Kong by changing the way Hong Kong’s leader is appointed, further angering protesters. Freshman Jessica Zhou, who has family in Hong Kong, does not think the new rules will be fully implemented in Hong Kong. “If China does impose their rules, things will not be good because Hong Kong has, for the past hundred years, already been so international,” Jessica said. “There’s no way they can fully integrate their rules.” Overall, protests in countries around the world seem to center around longterm issues that have yet to be fully addressed by governments: wealth inequality, corruption and lack of political freedom for the general population. “When you have governments that aren’t listening to the people … you breed this feeling of discontent and this feeling of not being heard,” Carol Green, upper school history teacher, said. “When you have access to things like the internet, and social media and can see that voices are heard in other places around the world, it can cause that [discontent] to boil up.” Upper school history department chair Donna Gilbert believes that the riots may likely incite change. “Things don’t happen in perfect linear form, so they’ll be two steps forward, and maybe sometimes three steps back,” Gilbert said. “But I think [the riots are] changing the landscape of democracy and how it’s manifested.” People have also been protesting in other countries, including Algeria, Haiti, Indonesia, the Netherlands, France, Peru, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, Iran and more. Additional reporting by Michelle Liu.

Chilean police officers under investigation

2000

protestors arrested in Hong Kong

protestors dead in Haiti riots

280

protestors wounded in Iraq demonstrations

protestors arrested in Hong Kong STATISTICS FROM GUARDIAN NEWS, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

21 • ISSUE 3 FEATURES VOLUME NOVEMBER 18, 2019

6 WINGED POST

Herald of a new era

Students launch new history journal ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

OF THE PEOPLE

Education supporters rally for school funding in Downtown San Jose

tessa muhle & michelle liu reporters

news editor & sports reporter

Over 100 people gathered in César Chavez Plaza in downtown San Jose on Nov. 9 as part of the March for Education, an event hosted by GEN-Up, a student-led social justice organization and student-activist coalition. The event featured talks from student speakers and elected officials, as well as a rally followed by a march to San Jose City Hall where students demanded action from local and state leaders in support of the “Schools and Communities First” Act. Marchers followed GEN-Up’s student initiators around San Jose downtown towards City Hall. Sophomores Cady Chen and Saanvi Arora are both members of GEN-Up who introduced other speakers and organized the event. Saanvi, along with her fellow GEN-Up members, led the march, holding up a wide hand-painted sign reading GEN-Up, March for Education and Schools and Communities First. “There’s no reason our public education system should be the way it is now. The teachers have low wages, [and] so many don’t have an incentive or reason to care about their students that much. There’s failing infrastructure [in public schools], and they don’t have mental or physical health resources,” Cady said. “Honestly, everyone deserves an equal education. It’s everyone’s future and the basis for all other social issues. It’s all very intersectional.” The march primarily focused on strengthening the educational system, improving school infrastructure, ensuring a high quality of education and providing a living wage for teachers. Protestors called for the reformation of Proposition 13, a corporate tax which froze property tax at the 1976 level, allowing companies like Disney to pay property taxes at the rate of 5 cents per square foot. In its place, protestors advocated for the adoption of the “Schools and Communities First” Act in November 2020, a piece of legislation that would close tax loopholes and re-

claim approximately 12 billion dollars per year for K-12 public schools, community colleges and local communities. The act would require all property to be assessed at proper market value while maintaining protections for small businesses, homeowners and renters. In keeping with a trend in recent marches such as the climate march in September, the entire event was student-run. A coalition of high school and college-level student activists involving students from around the area involved with various nonprofits and advocacy groups led the effort, inviting students, teachers and activists to fight for better educational funding. Rallies were held in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. To support the march and its speak-

“Honestly, everyone deserves an equal education. It’s everyone’s future and the basis for all other social issues” KATHY FANG

arushi saxena & alysa su

58% of CA public school funding comes from the state

~120 people attended the march

CADY CHEN (10) MEMBER OF GEN-Up

ers, attendees wore red and held printed signs that read “Schools and Communities First.” The morning began with speeches by various students and community leaders. April Sun (10) spoke about her experience as a high school student and her yearn to change the future along with her peers, referring to the public education system as a”network of broken facilities that can’t even ensure the safety of their children, much less provide proper guidance and support.” “[Our education system] is a network of broken facilities that can’t even ensure the safety of their children, much less provide proper guidance and support. And that has got to change,” April said. “So as the next generation that is going off to college and the workforce, we, the students, have to make a difference.” Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Per student funding in CA is $10,786

This is over 14% below the national average Statistics from Public Policy Institute of California

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY MICHELLE LIU

TAKE A STAND Teachers and students walked in the March for Education rally in César Chavez Plaza in downtown San Jose on Nov. 9.

“When writing research papers, looking to previous students’ papers is a good model, and it’s a good way to share different perspectives” PROVIDED BY ANDREW LU

KATHY FANG

Everyone knows of Harker’s student-run magazines Horizon and Harker Eclectic Literature and Media (HELM), but junior Andrew Lu has added a third magazine to this list: the Herald, a history journal that will act as a model to freshman research essays. The magazine will provide model research essays to freshmen and a teaching resource to librarians and history teachers. Its editorial board will edit submitted essay in order to ensure the best versions are used as models. “When it comes to writing research papers, looking to previous students’ papers is a good model, and it’s a good way to share with them different perspectives,” Andrew said. The Herald will be available on the Harker LibGuides in December or January before freshman research essays in

ANDREW LU (11) FOUNDER OF THE HERALD

spring. Copies will be distributed to the library and history department, rather than for purchase. When students need to use the journal, they can access it in a history classroom or the library. In the future, the editorial board of the Herald will release an annual copy in winter. New members of the board will be chosen through an interview and voting. The board plans to expand from the journal to workshops and mentorships for researchers, as well as sophomore and junior model essays. In summer, Andrew realized that Harker does not offer many history publications and went to Bryon Stevens, his AP European History teacher, with a solution: the Herald. Many on the editorial board, including Lauren Liu (9), agree with the lack of support for history and believe that the journal can make it a more popular subject. “History isn’t a subject that everyone prefers, and especially at a school where STEM is the main focus, the humanities are really underappreciated,” Lauren said. The editorial board believes that this journal will change research essays, especially for freshmen. Spencer Cha (10), a member of the editorial board, wished that previous essays were available for the freshman research paper. “As freshmen, we had basically no sample papers,” Spencer said. “But with this journal the freshman will have a better foundation of how to write their research paper.” The editorial board of the Herald believe that the journal will encourage greater variation in research essays and foster student discussion about history. “To engage in scholarly discussion with peers — that’s the vision we want with the history journal,” Andrew said. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

WINGED POST 7

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 FEATURES VOLUME

5 days with legend of jazz

KATHY FANG

“When you work in music, you realize that it’s much larger than yourself, and you’re part of the whole” DAVID AMRAM COMPOSER

Following his artistic philosophy of “hang-out-ology,” one of the characteristics of Amram’s musicianship is that he values community through creativity. “Tell a story. Create a certain atmosphere or feeling of being there,” Amram said in an interview with Harker Aquila. “Everyone has their own reaction to any situation, but when you work in music, you realize that it’s much larger than yourself, and you’re part of the whole.” Amram has written music for movies and theatrical productions, including “Manchurian Candidate,” “Splendor in the Grass” and “Pull My Daisy.” No matter the project, Amram is known for adding his unique sense of rhythm and flair to the

PART OF A WHOLE David Amram conducts the upper school orchestra in the first movement of Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” at Nov. 8’s Speaker Series performance. Amram spoke about his life’s work, offering advice and anecdotes to the audience.

IN THE MOMENT David Amram speaks to Sophia Horng (11), the concertmaster, in front of the orchestra in the performance. Amram emphasizes the value of the artistic community.

TELL A STORY David Amram talks about “Pull My Daisy,” a movie which he composed music for, in the Jack Kerouac English class. Amram has written music for theatrical productions as well.

KATHY FANG

Award-winning composer David Amram traveled to the upper school during the week of Nov. 4 as this year’s artist in residence, bringing a series of music workshops and lectures, as well as his performance at this year’s Speaker Series event on Nov. 8. A lifelong musician, Amram began his journey in composition by scoring films in Hollywood, but soon set off on his own path on composing original music reflecting his personal values. He has played with iconic musicians including Charles Mingus and Thelonius Monk. Amram has traveled the world, gathering musical styles which he infuses into his classical compositions, and his musical spontaneity and originality also mixes techniques that he has learned and adapted from other musicians.

HELEN ZHU

aquila editor-in-chief & design editor

piece, breaking down conventions along the way. “That’s not what was in his heart. He wanted to make original music that spoke to him,” said upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth, who helped organize Amram’s visit. “He also didn’t like Hollywood and the whole system out there. He felt confined.” Throughout the week, Amram taught at various upper school music and English classes, and he also hosted a workshop, entitled “Making Your Music Career Profitable” with CareerConnect on Nov. 5. On Nov. 7, Amram spoke to students interested in creative writing, passing on advice from famous writers with whom he’s worked, such as Jack Kerouac and Kurt Vonnegut. “I think the beautiful thing about Mr. Amram is he reminds us about what is important in life,” Sophia Gottfried (11), a creative writer who attended Amram’s talk on Nov. 7. “He’s had all these wonderful experiences, and it’s not like he did it by getting all straight A’s in school or pulling all nighters studying. He did it by talent and genuine good spirit and a little bit of luck, which is nice to see.” To cap off his week at the upper school, Amram hosted a Speaker Series lecture and performance on Nov. 8 in the Patil Theater, where he spoke about his life’s work, sharing stories and wisdom from his rich career of music, and played Dizzy Gillespie’s “Manteca” with the upper school jazz band, followed by Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” and Amram’s own “En Memoria de Chano Pozo” with the upper school orchestra. Above all, Amram emphasizes the value of the artistic community and creative collaboration, which shaped Amram himself into the musician he has become. “The great composers of the past whose works we still celebrate and the present composers and your fellow composers and the audience are not your enemy, but that you’re part of a whole picture, and just try to do as good a job as possible,” Amram said. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

KATHY FANG

kathy fang & jin tuan

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JIN TUAN

Award-winning composer David Amram brings life of music, wisdom as artist in residence

Just go crazy

SARA YEN

Jin Tuan (12) lives life with lighthearted aura

LIVE AND LAUGH Jin Tuan (12) stands on a windowsill in the RPAC. Jin is the co-president of New Visions for Tomorrow,which fundraises for visually-impaired (VI) youth.

“The universe is huge. Whatever ripple your little sand grain makes in this pond of a universe, those ripples are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Those consequences that you think are going to crush down on you aren’t that big when you are looking at the universe’s scale. And you might say, ‘Why not just stay in bed then and do nothing because nothing I do is worth it.’ Well, then why not do everything then. It’s kind of a way of looking at [life]. Just go crazy.” JIN TUAN (12)

sara yen features editor

Clicks from her Doc Martens hitting the pavement resound as Jin Tuan (12) confidently struts down the path between the RPAC and Main Office. Dark and serious, her clothes both complement and clash with her expressions, which shift from sincere to animated as she speaks about the different moments in her life. Even though her brothers would call her spoiled, Jin never fully identified as pampered until she was applying for boarding schools before high school. “My work ethic was so bad that I wrote the application in six days before the due date. I started it then, and I realized this is what [my brothers] meant by I was never pushed, and I don’t push myself in the same way they pushed themselves or were taught to,” Jin said. “That was when it occurred to me that I should probably have higher expectations for myself.” Over three years later, one way that Jin is fulfilling her higher personal expectations is with her role as co-president for the organization New Visions of Tomorrow (NVoT), which fundraises for visually-impaired (VI) youth in the Bay Area. Responsible for organizing outreach and

fundraising events, she serves as an important leader for the nonprofit. In addition to heightening her personal standards, another advancement in Jin’s maturation since middle school was learning to stand up for herself more and embody resolution. “I used to be a big old pushover. I avoided confrontation as much as possible, so if I could compromise myself in order to make other people happy, I would,” she said. “But I think as I’ve grown, I realize you can go with the flow, but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise yourself.” When discussing the importance of being genuine, as evident by her increased hand motion and quicker speech, Jin strongly advocates for being unmistakably true to oneself. “[Everyone] is given this one life, and you can make whatever you want out of it, so why be unsatisfied with what you’re doing and who you are in order to please other people?” Jin said. “Don’t be sad for other people to be happy. It doesn’t make sense for you to not be yourself, because the universe might not revolve around you, but your life does.” Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

8 WINGED POST

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 LIFESTYLE VOLUME

Skating the curves Local skate parks promote inclusion through acceptance of errors

ILLUST RA BY NIC TION OLE TIA N

ELECTRIC BOARD

nicole tian co-lifestyle editor

“I ordered some parts for the trucks and wheels and such ... It feels so great being able to go wherever you want” NASH MELISSO (12) HIGH SCHOOL SKATEBOARDER

basketball or football, it’s harder to stick with it, because there’s so many rules,” Esteban said. “With skateboarding, everybody has their own style.” While skateboarding now has a flair of its own on the global stage, it has influenced modern culture through video games and movies. Originating in California around 60 years ago, early skateboards consisted of a wooden board attached to metal roller skate wheels and allowed surfers to easily carry their boards to the beach. These rudimentary prototypes evolved into today’s skateboards when companies joined in on the growing trend by manufacturing decks of pressed wood that fit onto the wheels. Now, brands such as Santa Cruz Skateboards, Blind and Element offer decks with various flamboyant

PENNY BOARD • Plastic deck with a waffle textured surface • Fits inside a backpack • Smallest skateboard

N ATIO IAN STR ILLU ICOLE T BY N

designs. Apart from the visual appearance, each deck is made with a different size and specific purpose. For senior Nash Melisso, who owns a shortboard that he recently repainted, skateboarding is a different mode of travel and a way to bond with his friends Thomas and William Rainow (12), who ride a nickel board and longboard, respectively. “I found a trick deck that I really liked,” Nash said. “I took a train up to San Mateo, and I bought it from this guy off Craigslist. I ordered some parts for the trucks and wheels and such, and I painted my skateboard. It feels so great being able to go wherever you want, and it just looks so cool, too.” While Nash began skateboarding with inspiration from his friends, Vani Mohindra (12) was welcomed to the sport during her AP Physics C class, which culminates in individual research projects related to physics. Rather than choosing to explain dark matter or similar concepts, Vani focused on the physics of skateboarding, thinking that it would make a unique demonstration. Basic tricks proved to be a laborious process of trial and error, as it is for many new to the sport, as well as an investigation into physics. “There are battles that are entirely mental, and there’s no physical representation,” Vani, who went skateboarding weekly over the summer, said. “It gets kind of addictive when you get really close to mastering a new trick. You just have to

LONGBOARD • Longer than a skateboard, has a variety of shapes • More stable than a skateboard • Used for cruising and racing • Larger wheels made for greater traction

learn it piece by piece, and then all of a sudden, everything comes together in this fantastic moment of success, and you feel really good about yourself.” Despite the difficulties of first starting out in the sport, skateboarders develop tight bonds and readily welcome beginners. Jeff Chew (‘87) notes that he has met many of his friends while skateboarding since learning alongside the other teenagers in his neighborhood, a sentiment that other skaters echoed. “If you ever fall off and your board goes flying, someone’s always there to grab it for you; if you ever get hurt, there’s always multiple people making sure that you are okay,” Britney Montoya, 32, who goes longboarding with her three children, said. Lounging by a table at the skate park with his helmet hanging loose, Esteban squints at the teenagers diving into the half pipe and watches a friend carve along the bottom of the pool. He flips his board up with his heel and follows, diving back into the freedom of the smooth course. “It’s finding a way to get out of reality,” Esteban said. “Once you drop in, you just forget about everything. No matter what problems you have at home, it just goes away.” Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

ALL PHOTOS BY NINA GEE AND NICOLE TIAN

High schooler Esteban Rodriguez leans against the rails of the Lake Cunningham Actions Sports Park in San Jose, nonchalantly flipping his black board emblazoned with a painted white skull, its bare teeth and exposed gums clenching onto the scales of a red-eyed viper. The azure edges of the board have been scuffed off on the concrete courses of numerous skate parks, and the underside is tattooed with layers upon layers of pop art stickers. Decked out in an all black ensemble save for the orange logo displaying “Perugia, Italy” on the back of his T-shirt, his light brown eyes display a gentle contrast with the outfit. Gliding over to the edge of a skating course sunk into the ground, also known as a pool, he drops down the brim and accelerates down the smooth sides before easily climbing up the opposite side. Suddenly, he leaps into the air with the skateboard floating below the soles of his sneakers, its wheels spinning on in a frenzy. Skateboarding, an action sport that requires athletes to perform tricks in midair, has recently garnered attention as one of the five sports that will debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with men and women competing separately in the events Skateboard Park and Skateboard Street. Apart from the Olympic team, skateboarding is a form of recreation. Esteban, who started skateboarding at age five when his grand-

father bought him a board, finds the sport as a way to express himself and his personal style. “If you start at any other sport, like

NICOLE TIAN

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

• Speed is controlled by the rider shifting weight • Can travel manually after the battery runs out • Brakes triggered by a handheld remote

ION AN AT I STR LE T U L O IL NIC BY

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT A staff member at the Lake Cuningham Skate Park skates down the ramps. Visitors also ride scooters and roller skates.

URBAN CULTURE A man wearing headphoes skates through the Southbank Skate Park in London, which is equipped with banks, ledgers and a set of stairs. The space is known as the home of British skating and has promoted creativity through street art.

LEISURE WITH LONGBOARDING Britney Montoya, 32, skates a longboard through the Lake Cuningham Skate Park. Montoya goes longboarding with her three children.

WINGED POST 9

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 LIFESTYLE VOLUME

More than just

ALL TOS

P HO N

U LY S ARE

S BY

the Braids.” The large bust on the top of the Maestrapeace illustrates Guatemalan indigenous rights activist Rigoberta Menchu holding two goddesses: an African water goddess representing the flow of female power and an Aztec goddess breaking free of rock, symbolizing release from oppression. Art such as the murals found on the walls of Clarion Alley and the Women’s Building demonstrate the human desire to “make marks” on the world that has continued since prehistoric times. Cave paintings such as the famed Lascaux caves date from as early as 20,000 years ago, according to the Bradshaw Foundation. In comparison with graffiti that lines alleys in modern cities, both genres of art feature painting on walls to depict themes of life during their respective eras. “There is that impulse to record your presence in the world. That is something that is very strong in us humans. We see that from eons ago, but nowadays, it’s very relegated to young people,” upper school art teacher and artist Pilar Agüero-Esparza said. “You could say that impulse is trying to develop your identity — trying MULTICOLORED HOMAGE TO CULTURE The multicolored edifice of to claim space. Sometimes, it could be to the Women’s Building in San Franciscommunicate with others.” co contrasts with the pale grey sky. This impulse’s impact ranges from The women who bought the structure fine art to fashion as all art forms involve put out a call to local muralists and surveyed nearby residents for what a sense of timeliness that street art’s clanthey wanted to see represented on the destine nature demonstrates. walls. The innate desire to make marks on the world resulted in art forms that influENOUGH IS ENOUGH: STOP KILLING OUR CHILDREN A fearful mother ence urban life and changed the look of holds her child close in a mural by cities. Often, the law forbids making these Mel C. Waters. Clarion Alley includes marks unless the art was commissioned. murals done by artists of varying skill, In San Jose, according to California Legethnicities, artistic styles and ideas on social justice. islative Information, criminal charges depend on the damage of vandalism and, at maximum, result in a $10,000 fine and a jail sentence. THE WILL TO LIVE Arab leaders Rasmea Odeh, Mehdi Ben Barka, Naji Di“Street art is technically afullah, Leila Khaled and Basel Al Araj stand strong in a mural by the Arab vandalism in a sense. Unless Resource and Organizing Center. The mural celebrates their lives and you have permission, you’re features a translation of the Tunisian poem “The Will to Live.” not supposed to leave your THIS CITY IS NOT FOR SALE A teenage girl protests the gentrificamark on the walls,” artist and tion of San Francisco in a mural by Ivy Jeanne McClellan. The title self-described street-art-lover of the work was inspired by a statement against privatization of Gina Partridge (12) said. “So public spaces. I think it’s really impactful WE ALL DESERVE A HEALTHY AND SAFE COMMUNITY that all these artists know that A mural by the group Hospitality House features a crowd they can get in trouble with of people of varied age and racial background holding the law by putting their art a rainbow sign advocating for a healthy and safe and their message out there, community. The alley hosts a total of 700 murals, according to the project’s website. but yet they still do it because it has so much meaning to WE WANT RESPECT. FREEDOM. LAND. them.” HOUSING. PEACE. JUSTICE. Two Black Visit harkeraquila.com Panthers demand rights in a mural by Emory Douglass. The Clarion Alley for full article.

N ATIO STR

Sandwiched between a hot pink complex and a beige building in San Francisco, a colorful alley decorated from top to bottom with murals hides in plain sight. Painted words, flowers and symbols extend down the concrete of the narrow street and flow into other sentences and designs. Clarion Alley is just one of the San Francisco Mission District’s prime examples of street art. According to the travel magazine Timeout, San Francisco ranks in the top three cities in the country for murals, just behind Los Angeles and Chicago. Beyond being considered “Instagram-worthy” by the millennial population, San Francisco’s street art has deep cultural and historical meaning, including but not limited to activism, diversity and equality. According to the Clarion Alley Mural Project website, the project’s founders intended for the location to be a space that supports “political, economic, and social justice messaging.” Each mural speaks out against inequality through both direct and hidden messages. While portraits of bold activists dominate some sections, others feature profiles of mothers clutching their children. Satirical political cartoons contrast with images of fearful families. Just one block away from the myriad murals of Clarion Street, the multicolored edifice of the Women’s Building stands against a foggy sky. The building is the only female-operated community center in the country and is a sanctuary for all, as stated by a rainbow sign outside of its doors. Guide and co-founder of local tourism group Wild SF Tours Wes Leslie said, “This is what has been called a four-storytall standing ovation to women’s liberation.” A large-scale mural wraps around each of the faces of the building. In addition to intricate designs and masterful artistry, each of the four walls pays homage to feminism and indigenous cultures from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. “It’s highly symbolic as well. Pretty much everyone on here is either a real person in history or represents a culture,” Leslie said. The most well-known mural on the right side of the building, named Maestrapeace, a pun referring to the Spanish term for “female teacher,” features prominent women in history. For example, it celebrates historical figures such as artist Georgia O’Keeffe and World War II hero “Little Wanda with

ILLU

arely sun co-lifestyle editor

AND

Street art speaks out on public walls

3 4 5

Mural Project has existed for 25 years and extends across one block in San Francisco’s Mission District.

10 WINGED POST

Perspectives

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 OPINION VOLUME

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY TAN

In this repeater, two authors with contrasting viewpoints discuss an issue of prominence within our local or broader national community. On Sept. 24, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. With new impeachment developments every day, the question arises: should the nation be so focused on impeachment?

President’s actions warrant scrutiny Impeachment distracts government opinion editor

As of late, after the house impeachment inquiry was first launched, a national conversation has been sparked about whether Donald Trump has committed “treason, bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors” as laid out by the constitution. For those who don’t know, many, including House Democrats, have alleged that Trump engaged in a “quid pro quo” with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on July 25. He is being accused of leveraging his presidency and his ability to give a military aid package to Ukraine to influence Zelensky into investigating political rival Joe Biden, who at the time was the Democratic presidential frontrunner, and his son’s business dealings.

The actions being investigated by the House deal with the very integrity of the country and its top elected official, the president, himself It is easy to draw the line between this event and President Trump’s previous morally inconsistent actions and see the pattern of the lack of logical grounding of his defenses. Many have done this, pointing out Trump’s flaws. While being a flawed human being does not disqualify him from the presidency, his recently investigated actions certainly do. I have read the incomplete transcript of the call (released by the White House) between the presidents of the two nations, and while some argue that it constitutes an abuse of power or extortion, which even still could be part of the “high crimes or misdemeanors” part of the constitutional language on impeachment, his conversation seems to lead to one word: bribery, a federal crime. Trump implic-

itly promises a $400 million military aid kathy fang package to Ukraine and a meeting with aquila editor-in-chief Zelensky in return for looking into Hunter Biden’s business ties. Furthermore, Ever since the impeachment inquiry former national security advisor John was first opened, impeachment has been Bolton has reportedly labeled the call as a a part of the common Ameri“drug deal.” Trump’s questioncan vernacular. Radio stations able — or, better put, alarming democrat-led spend hours unpacking the — actions warrant immediate HOUSE MUST VOTE twists and turns of the House collective attention. The issue through a majority inquiry into President Donald is not with an unfit president not elected by popular vote but to pass articles of Trump’s affairs with Ukraine. The New York Times now rather with his actions, namely impeachment sends its subscribers a daily the bribery that is palpable impeachment briefing, a dense when reading the transcript of email replete with names, legal the call. terms and semantics. Still, there is an arguTo an extent, this ment against impeachcoverage is warranted: ing Trump because we are living in an voters can do it themimportant time in selves if they see fit. American history, After all, according watching the fourth to data website president since this FiveThirtyEight, agWHAT DO YOU THINK? country’s founding gregated polling data shows that only 48 SCAN THIS QR CODE TO SHARE face a formal impeachment inquiry. percent of Americans YOUR OWN OPINION ON The question of political support impeachment. THE ISSUE. quid pro quo, especially But this argument lies on leading up to an election year, the fallacy that voting in the is no trivial issue, and investiga2020 presidential election is suftions into the soundness of our ficient for determining PresiREPUBLICAN-led current president’s dealings dent Trump’s fate. Simply put, SENATE MUST VOTE with foreign countries are our founding fathers did not WITH A 2/3 more than warranted to ensure put the burden of impeaching the president on the American MAJORITY to CONVICT the security of our democracy. At the same time, the people, making us wait for THE PRESIDENT preoccupation of our politithe next general election, but cians and journalists with the rather on our elected officials to minutiae of the impeachment investigaact swiftly and immediately. The actions being investigated by the House deal with tions hampers the ability of Congress and federal legislators to do their real job: to the very integrity of the country and its top elected official, the president himself. legislate and to govern. Given the number of national social issues that call for The impeachment process may be long and require much of Congress’s attention, urgent solutions, such as climate change, healthcare reform but waiting until the next and gun regulation, election to address bribery we need our governin the highest office sets a dangerous precedent. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

ment to be concentrating on addressing the American people’s needs. As important a symbolic gesture as impeachment may be, it does not solve the climate crisis or fix our medical insurance system. Furthermore, what good will impeachment actually yield? The Senate is currently occupied by a Republican majority that is expected to act in the president’s favor, so at most, the inquiry will result in a House impeachment vote along partisan lines that is shot down by another partisan vote in the Senate. After all, the purpose of impeachment is, as Founding Father Alexander Hamilton writes in No. 66 of the Federalist Papers, to maintain “an essential check” on “the encroachments of the executive” and hold the president

We need our government to be concentrating its time and effort on addressing the American people’s needs accountable. Americans will have an opportunity to exercise that power in next year’s election and deliver the verdict on whether the president is fit for office. All this isn’t to say the House shouldn’t investigate the president’s affairs. The national security of our country is at stake, and that certainly isn’t something to be taken lightly. If anything, this impeachment inquiry will help restore some stability in America’s foreign affairs, reasserting Congress’s duty to put checks on the president’s power to engage in relationships with other countries. But beyond that, impeachment should not dominate the American political psyche any more than the more pressing issues of climate change or healthcare reform. Impeachment should be taking a backseat to these pressing national issues. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

ILLUSTRATION BY NINA GEE

srinath somasundaram

WINGED POST 11

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 OPINION VOLUME

Reporters

Sriya Batchu Isha Moorjani Brian Chen Tessa Muhle Athreya Daniel Saahil Thoppay Michael Eng Nicholas Wei Lauren Liu Sabrina Zhu Michelle Liu Sally Zhu Amruta Dharmapurikar Sarah Mohammed Anmol Velagapudi Visit The Winged Post online at www.harkeraquila.com Follow us on instagram with the handle @harkeraquila

The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism: Newspaper Concentration and Advanced Journalism: Newspaper Concentration courses at Harker’s upper school, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, California 95129. The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, sports and STEM articles in an unbiased and professional manner and serve as a public forum for the students of The Harker School. Editorials represent the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters represent the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Winged Post. All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Winged Post in no way reflects the official policy of The Harker School. The opinions expressed in this publication reflect those of the student writers and not the Harker board, administration, faculty or adviser. Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to wingedpost2020@gmail.com and must be signed, legible and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to Post style. Baseless accusations, insults, libelous statements, obscenities and letters that call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to The Winged Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff. The Winged Post is the official student newspaper of Harker’s upper school and is distributed free of cost to students. 2018-2019 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist 2017-2018 NSPA Pacemaker 2017-2018 NSPA Best-in-show publication 2017-2018 Gold Crown-winning publication 2016-2017 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist 2016-2017 Silver Crown-winning publication 2015-2016 Gold Crown-winning publication

EDITORIAL: THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST

eart of Harker amla rashingkar guest writer

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

Prioritizing ourselves

No excuse for violent threats In the downstairs Dobbins boys’ bathroom during the morning of Nov. 5, an as-yet unidentified student graffitied two lines from a J. Cole song: “I’m counting my bullets / I’m loading my clips.” They added a third: “Don’t come to school tomorrow.” That threat led to the following actions: a call to the police, an on-campus police visit and a mandatory meeting at 2:45 p.m. all during that same day to alert the community. Our dazed student community had to come to terms, often for the first time in our young lives, with our own mortality. Although no incident occurred at school during the rest of that week, many chose to stay at home, which was a valid choice. Feeling safe, especially physically safe, takes precedence over any homework assignment, project or obligation. This event has left an indelible mark on the community. The possibility of a gun threat will continue to linger beyond the period of excused absences or police

presence. And we must find a healthy way to cope. Our fellow students, teachers, and community are experiencing the same emotions — distress, anger, fear. Talk to a friend. Rant. Vent. Check in, and show that you care. The event has also served as the latest reminder of the country’s gun violence problem. We have no excuse anymore to treat the epidemic as detached from us, so while intellectualizing the problem may have sufficed until now, we need to think practically. The problem is here. We can only address it through concrete and constructive actions as a community. But as a whole, the community’s reaction to the event has been less composed. Rather than engaging in meaningful conversation about the threat or its emotional impact, we have let gossip run rampant, which only serves to further scare or enrage the community pitting groups of it against each other. Rumors hold us back. Let’s step forward.

Left in the dark: PG&E outages expose disconnect

ILLUSTRATION BY JIN TUAN

Editors-in-Chief Eric Fang Gloria Zhang News Editor Arushi Saxena Assistant News Editor Lucy Ge Features Editor Sara Yen Assistant Features Editor & Graphic Designer Emily Tan Lifestyle Editors & Graphic Designers Arely Sun Nicole Tian Opinion Editor Srinath Somasundaram STEM Editor Mark Hu Sports Editor Vishnu Kannan Senior Copy Editor Jessie Wang Copy Editor Catherine Feng Photo Editor Irina Malyugina Assistant Photo Editor Irene Yuan Design Editors Nina Gee Jin Tuan Columnists Kushal Shah Jin Tuan Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Aquila Editor-in-Chief Kathy Fang Aquila Managing Editors Arya Maheshwari Varsha Rammohan Aquila Sports Editors Aditya Singhvi Anna Vazhaeparambil Aquila Sports Team Vishnu Kannan Alysa Suleiman Kushal Shah Saurav Tewari Muthu Panchanatham Humans of Harker Editor Saloni Shah Humans of Harker Team Erica Cai Esha Gohil

arushi saxena news editor

It was the night before Diwali, and we had just concluded a day of re-organizing the house, embellishing our corners with traditional Indian decorations and placing diyas, mini oil lamps, in every room. My parents had stepped out for a couple hours to run a few last errands, and finally done with my tasks, I sat at my desk and began to do my homework. In the midst of an annotation, I heard a click. The low buzz of my light fixtures no longer hung in the air, and I was blanketed in darkness and silence. My story is not unique. I was one of the over 2 million people to be affected by the second round of Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Public Safety Power Shutoffs. While it was inconvenient, I understand the company’s motive for taking such extreme measures to prevent a possible wildfire. But in the shutoffs’ aftermath, fires still occurred, and customers suffered nonetheless.

I’m not advocating for less protective measures; these shutoffs may very well have impeded another potential wildfire. Regardless, PG&E requires a shift in its approach to fire prevention. Better communication, coupled with more public oversight is a strong first step. Over the course of that Saturday, my family and I received 17 texts warning us that our power would potentially be shut off. Without specific details, we clamored the entire day in preparation, unaware of when or if we would lose power. Despite its role as a public utilities firm, PG&E’s primary goal is to acquire profit. So by allowing members of the community on its board to lobby for the interests of its customers, the entity can more comprehensively understand customers’ needs and adjust. With more oversight, the company will be held responsible for its actions, unable to work solely for its own benefit. These steps are just two of that the company should take to mitigate the impact of necessary power shutoffs in the future. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

Like most of you, I grew up thinking school was my priority. I walked into high school yearning for a high GPA. I wanted to be the poster child for everything I did. The word “stop” didn’t exist in my vocabulary. I always wanted more. The desire to impress my parents and my peers lurked behind me like a shadow.Most of my friends and classmates were, and still are, like me. The people at this school are some of the most articulate, well-rounded and intellectually driven people I’ve met. But there’s a difference between self-motivation and unintentional self-destruction. I’ve too often seen someone forget to take care of themselves in their quest for improvement. As we progressed through high school, late nights and early mornings spent studying became a common occurrence. Eight hours of sleep was no longer my norm;

As we progressed through high school, late nights and early mornings spent studying became less of a single event and more of a common occurrence it was a lofty goal I rarely attained. Science has shown again and again that a developing teenage mind needs around nine hours of sleep a night, yet our disregarding of this has turned into a joke. Like our sleeping schedules, a lot of our eating schedules are irregular, partly because we skip meals to study and partly because we plan our lives around studying and extracurriculars. I know this isn’t just me; when I can’t find a friend during lunch, it’s almost always because they are studying in the library instead of eating. Too many people lock themselves in a room to work and forget to look at the world around them. In a group of people this talented, it’s not hard to feel inadequate. Sometimes, conversations can feel like competitions. Everyone here is brilliant and unique and has something to off. Perspective comes with experience and years most of us don’t have. Uncertainty looms over our future, and a constant grind and domineering work ethic are convenient security blankets. Most of us are haunted by the fears of not being good enough or amounting to nothing. However, every alumnus and adult I’ve vented to has told me that they’re not true; we’re all extraordinary, and we will all do something great with our lives. As difficult as it is sometimes, we need to take care of ourselves. Getting some sleep won’t solve all your problems, but there’s a chance that it will make you feel better. We can’t expect to be at our best if we don’t feel like it. Sacrificing health for achievements has and will continue to take a toll on us. Take a deep breath, try to get some sleep, and check in with your friends. I’m guilty of a lot of this too, and I regret not trying to take care of myself earlier. I wish I had taken off my blinders earlier and spent more time making memories with my friends than stressing over how I’d look on paper. At the end of the day, my accomplishments will have their weight, but none of them will truly matter if I’m not happy enough to enjoy them. I need to be my own priority. There are ways to keep the fire alive without burning the match out. Life is short, but high school is shorter. Let’s make this time count. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

12 WINGED POST

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 STEM VOLUME

MICHAEL ENG

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Hands-on, ready for robots New robotics members start preparing for build season

ROV

GE P

IA Z

LOR

These sub-teams include design, mechanical, software, machining and electrical, and the new students choose the section that interests them the most, where they will further cultivate more specific skills. “They’ll show you how to do it, and then you’ll do it, and if you mess up, they’ll just show you how to do it correctly,” Emma Biswas (9), a new participant of the robotics program, said. “So it’s very hands-on, and you’re not just sitting there and watching.” Most of the time, the trainees work independently, in pairs, or at most, groups of three. This gives them personalized mentors and different learning experiences. “In the process of doing a project, the [younger students] are able to ask specific questions about the task at hand, and they are becoming more confident as the training season progresses. You see them doing more [activities] by themselves, and they also become more comfortable with asking questions,” Hari said. Visit harkeraquila.com for full article.

MICHAEL ENG

A group of young engineers gather around a table on a Thursday afternoon in early November, wearing clear goggles and curious looks. They observe closely as Chloe Affaki (11), Machining Director of Harker Robotics, drills one centimeter holes into a metal plate, carefully showing the precise movements. Every week, high school students involved in Harker Robotics meet in Nichols Hall Starting from August and continuing through January, the training season is a time for preparation before the build season. Older students refine their skills, and they share their knowledge and talents with the younger members. “At the beginning of the year, members split into different sub-teams. Once you pick a sub-team, the respective directors have training projects planned for the training season, and these projects can be a variety of things,” said Hari Bhimaraju (11), Operations President, who’s been in robotics since her freshman year. “Right now, for example, we’re working on an off-season robot.”

WATCHING TO LEARN Alina Yuan (10) watches Anand Rajamani, one of the Harker Robotics mentors. There are five mentors in the robotics program that teach members.

MARK HU

reporters

IMA

MARKING A LINE Emma Biswas (9) draws out a line to measure out. New members are trained on different tools, so they can use them by themselves in the future.

GUIDING ROLE Quentin Clark (12) adjusts a part of the robot in Nichols. Electrical team members are taught the various components of the robot during the off season.

isha moorjani & sabrina zhu

YG ED B

MICHAEL ENG

LEADING BY EXAMPLE Kate Olsen (10) instructs a newer student, using files on her laptop. There are 15 student leaders.

FROM THE BASICS Aditi Vinod (11) shows Rohan Rashingkar (10) how to design a robot piece.

Harker Dev heads toward future Standing behind the mic in front of the entire student body and faculty, Bennett Liu (12), John Lynch (11), Gloria Zhu (10) and Chirag Kaushik (10), the four admins of the upper school’s software development organization HarkerDev, preview applications coming soon to the upper school, like a platform to streamline submissions for announcements at school meeting. On top of that, Dev is planning on releasing both an online volunteering platform and a college counseling drop-in platform in the near future after receiving approval. Behind these applications is a tightknit group of 10 sophomores, juniors and seniors who decided to join for various reasons. “[Computer science] was a field that was really interesting to me, which is why I decided to join. I still think it suits my interests really closely,” member Bowen Yin (10) said. “Going through the process of making the whole app and then being able to release it and have lots of people use, I think that’s really satisfying knowing that the things that you’re making actually help people on a daily basis.” Unlike most student organizations at Harker, Dev doesn’t have weekly meetings or officers each with a different focus area. There are only two positions: members and admins, and most communication between the sub-teams for each project occurs over chat or video calls. However, that hasn’t prevented the group from bonding over the years. “It’s been a lot of fun. One of the things that I really like about it is that, in sort of a weird way, we all get along in a

way. We don’t have a president of sorts. We’ll have admins but it’s nice where there’s that dynamic where everyone’s friends and so it’s not really a high-stress environment.” John said. In addition to the several upcoming projects, Dev has already put out many widely used applications with which both students and faculty interact on a daily basis. One of Dev’s first projects was a drag-and-drop course planner, which started off as a small project until the team pitched their idea to administration, who then put their more efficient system into official use. After came bell schedule, Dev’s most popular app to-date which displays updated schedules and class times. HarkerPay, used mostly by student

“We try to get projects that serve the broader community as well as things where we can learn to develop” JIN TUAN

emily tan asst. features editor

BENNETT LIU (12) ADMIN OF HARKER DEV

vendors, allows students to charge purchases directly to their student account, dismissing the need for carrying around easily-stolen or lost cash. While each project differs from the next, after Dev receives a request for an app or devise an idea themselves, they create a project proposal in which the team outlines the frameworks to be used, features of the app, the target audience, its purpose and its demand. From there, Dev communicates with administration,

IRINA MALYUGINA

Innovation marks the group behind bell schedule, HarkerPay

FOR THE PEOPLE The four Harker Dev admins, Gloria Zhu (10), Chirag Kaushik (10), Bennett Liu (12) and John Lynch (11), give an announcement at school meeting. They presented their new developments, including a platform to streamline announcements.

who then refers them to the appropriate contact point for the resources needed. If there is a high enough demand for the application, then Dev assigns a project lead and three to four people begin working on the code; from that point to the project’s finish can be anywhere from six months to a year. “In terms of workflow, our workload is pretty variable. It can depend on what stage you are in the project and what stage you are in the year and your other commitments,” Gloria said. “So some weeks you might work zero hours and then some weeks you might work 11, 12 hours.” However, not all of that time goes directly toward churning out new sites; many projects consist of re-working current apps (like keeping bell schedule updated with changes.) In addition to maintenance, because of Dev’s increasing prominence in the Harker community in its role as a web development organization, upcoming projects will be going through a more rigorous process unlike any other process Dev has gone through in the past.

“The more extensive projects such as HarkerPay and the ones that have a web presence, those are actually going to require an outside evaluator to come in who specializes in security to go through and look at their code and do a code walkthrough to make sure it doesn’t have any web security holes that can be easily compromised,” said HarkerDev adviser Dr. Nelson, whose job entails reviewing project proposals and determining whether to terminate or continue with that app’s development. When it comes down to it, in addition to being an advanced group of strong programmers, Dev is also an organization dedicated to the Harker community and to its members. “Dev serves two purposes. The outward facing one is to create a bunch of stuff to help people, but the inner one is also just to learn while you’re doing it, to get a feel, work on projects, have fun, and that’s for the members,” Bennett said.

WINGED POST 13

21 • ISSUE 3 STEM VOLUME NOVEMBER 18, 2019

#TeamTrees raises environmental awareness YouTubers unite to plant 20 million trees by raising $1 per tree

1,000,000

Marc Benioff

900,000

ELF Development A/S

250,000

Susan Wojcicki

200,000

ILLUSTRATIONS BY NICOLE TIAN

Elon Musk

oak

willow

STATISTICS FROM TEAMTREES.ORG AS OF NOV. 14 AT 2:46 P.M.

gingko

The Plan:

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY TAN

1,000,001

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY TAN

Tobi Lutke

STATISTICS FROM TEAMTREES.ORG

Top Donors

Mark Rober

MrBeast

YouTuber and former NASA engineer

YouTuber and philanthropist

Twenty million trees planted by December 2022

california redwood

MA R

TERESA CAI (10) “Although I think it’s a good cause, I’m a little skeptical if they’re going to pull it off because 20 million trees will take up a lot of space.” MA R

STATISTICS FROM ARBOR DAY FOUNDARTION

ILLUSTRATION BY ARELY SUN

“After seeing more prominent YouTubers that would have the team to verify that kind of information start promoting it, I looked more into it, and it seems like a legit cause.”

million cars’ CO2 Pollution off the road each year

MAHI KOLLA (12)

water bottles per person a year in water runoff saved

1.24

SR IN

Goodyear Blimps of Chemical Air Pollution Removed

365

What has the upper school said on the pledge?

14,000

the equivalent of filling the water bottle of every person on earth every day for a year, and they will remove 115,000 tons of chemical air pollution, which is enough gas to fill up 14,000 Goodyear blimps,” Cohn said. Not only will trees reduce levels of greenhouse gasses, but also they will form microclimates, supporting animal life through the production of fruits and nuts. “[Trees are] really good at conserving water which seems kind of intuitive because you’re like they hold water, you have to water them but the water kind of stays in the area,” Sutton said. “They’ll hold it in their tissue, so they can make microclimates and can cool cities down.” Through eco-friendly efforts to protect the Earth, the Harker Green Team has supported the campaign from the start. “Preserving our environment is something so important and luckily, funds are being placed in the well being of our planet,” Sachi Bajaj (11), secretary of the Harker Green Team, said. “Besides being key to improving our climate, the benefits of saving water, purifying the air, and potentially being a source of energy in the future are all reasons why [the Harker Green Team is] super supportive about this.” Additional reporting by Irene Yuan.

OMASUN DA HS AT

A large black number hovers momentarily at 19,999,966 on a live YouTube subscriber count and suddenly spikes past 20 million; James “Jimmy” Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has just reached 20 million subscribers on YouTube. The ensuing torrent of comments and Reddit posts all prompt him to do something big to celebrate: plant 20 million trees to save the earth. And, on Oct. 25, that’s exactly what he did. Donaldson began a global campaign known as #TeamTrees to raise $20 million for the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest tree-planting nonprofit, to plant the same amount of trees by Dec. 2022. The project, organized by Donaldson and Mark Rober, former NASA engineer and current YouTuber, has called the YouTube community together to spread the word to the world. Youtubers including the Try Guys, Smarter Every Day and The Slow Mo Guys are participating in encouraging their subscribers to donate. The concept is simple: one dollar given, one tree planted. Donations have, as of now, reached 14.5 million trees, including donations from Tesla CEO Elon Musk,

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY TAN

STEM editor & design editor

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke. All donations are sent directly to the Arbor Day Foundation which will then plant all the trees solely by individuals starting Jan. 2020. “The twenty million trees are going to be planted by individuals in state and national forests and other government lands throughout the United States and all continents except for Antarctica, which will result in 1.24 million cars off the road per year,” Danny Cohn, spokesman for the Arbor Day Foundation said. Although the trees will not fully prevent the spread of climate change, they are a part of the ongoing solution. By absorbing carbon dioxide as they grow, trees remove greenhouse gasses that remain trapped in the atmosphere and warm the Earth. “As [trees] grow they take in carbon dioxide, and that’s one of the best ways to offset the carbon dioxide that we release,” Jeff Sutton, upper school AP Environmental Science teacher, said. “So if you can plant more trees than fossil fuel that you consume, you can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.” With enough trees, the impacts will be felt at a worldwide level through saving water and removing pollution. “They will result in 1.5 billion cubic meters of avoided water runoff which is

M RA

mark hu & nina gee

JACOB HUANG (9)

“I don’t know if there’s any hard proof of them actually planting the trees. I haven’t seen any evidence of them.”

14 WINGED POST

21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019 SPORTS VOLUME

It wasn’t just a sport: wrestling was a family

Talk around the mat

One athlete’s reaction to elimination of wrestling program

Other Harker wrestlers weigh in

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE LIU

[Wrestling] is harder than a lot of sports than people think [are hard]. You have to watch your weight, get in a certain mindset, things like that. Quite frankly, I [will] miss the aggression, the competition, and the general practices.

editor-in-chief

Kobe Howard (‘19) lay face down on the wrestling mat, his arm trapped behind his back by his opponent’s knee. I hovered above my seat, praying that he wouldn’t give up. “Throw him off your back,” I shouted. I knew how vulnerable Kobe felt. I remembered breaking my ankle in the middle of a match and pushing through to a victory, but no one knew how close I hed been to giving up that day. “Grab his arm and throw him off your back,” I shouted. This time, Kobe arched his back upwards and rolled his opponent off his back. I sat down, feeling as if a weight had lifted off me as well. Wrestling is often misconstrued as an individual sport. However, we all have a hand in each other’s improvement. Whether it’s giving our all or cheering on teammates during their matches, team sports such as wrestling are built

upon reciprocity — the idea that if one teammate benefits, all the others do as well. The hours of conditioning, the shared feelings of disappointment at a loss, the mutual moments of pure bliss at a win — these are what unite a team and inspire us to keep trying. For five of my middle and high school years, I had a family in my teammates and coaches, and an opportunity to develop my leadership, strength and character every day. Then last spring, I found out that the Harker wrestling program would be cut this school year. The reasons: not enough team members and the cutting of the middle school program a couple years prior. I was shocked. I had been to every wrestling senior night since seventh grade, and it hit me that I would never wrestle for Harker again, let alone have a senior night of my own. Most importantly, I realized that future athletes at Harker would never be able to experience the formative memories I have made as a Harker wrestler. While

I can understand Harker’s choice to discontinue resources to a small program, I’m disappointed that the school hasn’t looked more into alternative ways to support team members in following their passions. Despite the program being cut, I know that I will always have the family I gained along the way, but new studentwrestlers will never have the chance.

ERIC FANG

eric fang

PINNED Former Harker wrestling head coach Alvin Cacdac pins down Eric Fang (12) during a wrestling practice held last year. The wrestling program has been cut this year due to an insufficient number of interested athletes.

- Sophia Gottfried (11), on what she will miss most about wrestling

“I was pretty sad. Our coach told us the program would probably be cut at League Finals last year, and then after League Finals, I was pretty disappointed cause I thought I could do much better next year. - Bobby Wang (10), on his reaction upon hearing that wrestling was being cut

“I started wrestling in middle school, in 6th grade, and that was a dare. But then I actually started liking it, and I got gains from the season, so I was thought it was a good sport to continue, so I kept doing it. - Ava Lett (10), on how she started wrestling

Up and running again: Anna Weirich bounces back from injury

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

sports reporter

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

GET SET Anna lines up at the start at the Blackford track during a practice. In October 2018, she suffered a second metatarsal stress fracture that ended her season.

LAST STRETCH Anna runs down the final stretch of a 400m dash at practice. “I was so scared to come back. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to be the same runner I was,” Anna said.

All eyes focus on the final stretch of the race as the runners come around the bend. A streak of white breaks through the line of runners, expending the last of her energy to finish the race. Leaving the other competitors behind, Anna Weirich (11) sprints through the finish line, a triumphant and determined grin forming on her face. As she runs back to her family on the sidelines, her competitive smirk morphs into a more cheerful smile. An athlete from a young age, Anna has continued to hone her craft, training for years to be an elite runner. Ever since her mother allowed her to participate in 1-mile runs as a child, she decided to become a long distance runner and has joined both the Cross Country and Track and Field teams. “I just love the atmosphere and community of running. When I first started running, I hated it so much. The more I ran, I began to like it a lot more. Now it’s a part of me,” said Anna. “I started running in sixth grade because I was good at it, but towards the end of middle school, I loved it because it was fun.” However, like the trails on which she runs, Anna’s running journey has had its obstacles. In October 2018, Anna suffered a second metatarsal stress fracture that resulted in the end of her season that year. The grade four fracture occurred during a race, in which Anna ended up placing fifth despite the injury.

“My foot started hurting really bad. Then, I ran the last two miles because I didn’t think it was anything. I thought nothing was wrong with me and that I was fine, but when I finished I couldn’t walk” said Anna. Anna’s recovery journey involved cross training exercises such as the stationary bike, swimming, and strength conditioning. Although she was unable to run, Anna still supported her fellow runners by coming to cross country and track meets. Her spirit to keep pushing forward fueled her teammates to run faster and improve.

“[Anna] is always bringing the team morale up. While she is focused on running fast and winning, she definitely prioritizes her team” DELANEY LOGUE

muthu panchanatham

RITIKA RAJAMANI (10) VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER

“During meets, she is always the one that cheers on everyone at the start and end of a race. Even when she was injured, she still came to every meet to show her support. Anna is not only very talented, but she is also a really supportive team member, and it’s great having her as part of the team,” Erica Cai (10), one of Anna’s teammates, said.

Although Anna prides herself in her running ability, she understands that one bad race is not the end of the world. Instead, she focuses on running her hardest and helping both herself and her teammates develop. Anna’s close friend and another of her teammates, sophomore Ritika Rajamani, describes a moment when Anna helped her compose herself before a race. “The race was in 95 degree weather and everyone before me had run extremely badly. Ten minutes before my race, my nerves really hit me. Anna really helped me and calmed me down, explaining to me that if I gave it my all, the time or my place didn’t matter,” said Ritika. “She is always bringing the team morale up. While she is focused on running fast and winning, she definitely prioritizes her team.” This year, Anna returned to the sport that she loves. Although she was afraid of coming back after eleven months, Anna ran in the Lowell invitational and placed in the top 10. Anna slowly returned to her normal form and even achieved her fastest time for a 5 kilometer run at the Capital Cross meet, with a time of 18:04. “It was definitely really hard. I was so scared to come back. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to be the same runner I was,” said Anna. “I knew all I had to do was stay positive, and hopefully come back even stronger, both mentally and physically. I think the injury made me realize how much I loved the sport. Coming back, I was able to enjoy it so much more.”

SPORTS

WINGED POST 15

VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

ESHA GOHIL

Fall sports successes: a season in photos

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

FIERCE FOREHAND Gina Partridge (12) swings at the ball during a match. The girls tennis team reached CCS semifinals after major upsets against Cupertino and Menlo-Atherton High Schools.

PRECISE SHOOTING Rohan Sonecha (12) shoots the ball during their league tournament game at Singh Aquatic Center. Their final record was 16-14 overall.

BLAZING A TRAIL Kara Kister (9) runs at the Crystal Springs Cross Country Meet during the league championships. The varsity girls team qualified for CCS for the first time since 2015.

ACUTE ACCURACY Natalie Vo (11) putts the ball into the hole during the girl’s golf teams game against Castilleja on Oct. 17. Natalie qualified to the State Championships individiually.

ALYSA SULEIMAN

KATHY FANG

ERICA CAI

SPRINTING INTO CCS Rigo Gonzales (9) runs during the varsity boys race in third league meet. Rigo, who finished 14th of 53 runners, qualified to CCS individually.

ALYSA SULEIMAN

SEALING THE BLOCK Emily Cheng (12) and Lauren Beede (12) block a ball from the outside hitter. The girls volleyball team hosted a Dig Pink Fundraiser earlier this season, aimed at promoting breast cancer awareness. The girls then went on to win the CCS D4 championship against Sacred Heart High School, making them the second team across all sports in Harker history to win a title. The girls moved onto the CIF NorCal tournament where they lost to Central Catholic High School, 14-25, 18-25, 15-25.

LINING IT UP Claire Chen (9) lines up her putt during the girl’s golf team’s senior night. Claire shot a 75, three over par at the NorCal Regional Championships, qualifying to the State Champtionships.

As fall sports conclude their playoff runs, four winter sports — boys basketball, girls basketball, boys soccer and girls soccer — began practices last week. The athletic department discontinued wrestling this year, citing a lack of student interest. “There’s not enough interest to make it a viable program. Love the sport, but its just been declining in numbers for the last couple of years. They stopped it at the middle school a few years ago,” athletic director Dan Molin said. Boys basketball will add a freshman team this year in addition to the junior varsity and varsity squads. Both girls and boys varsity teams will play their first games of the season in Hawaii this year, where they will compete against local Mauii teams. “I’m really excited for this

DRIBBLE DRIVE Giovani Rofa (12) dribbles the ball during varsity practice while Srivishnu Pyda (11) guards him. There are three boys basketball teams this year.

Nov. 25 & 26

Girls soccer begins their season against Lynbrook on the 25th. Boys soccer’s first game is against Saratoga on the 26th.

Nov. 20 & 25

Boys basketball’s season gets underway on the 20th against Santa Clara. Girls basketball faces Seabury Hall in Maui for their first game on the 25th.

DODGING DEFENDERS Senior Asmit Kumar evades a steal attempt by Ryan Tobin (11) during practice. There are three boys soccer teams this year.

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

UPCOMING WINTER SPORTS GAMES

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

aquila sports editor

year, and I think we’re going to do pretty [well]. We miss our seniors from last year, but I think we have a lot of young talent now that can fill the void.” varsity boys basketball center Eric Zhu (11) said. Boys soccer has added a frosh-soph team this season due to a greater number of players compared to previous years. The Kicks Against Cancer match will also still be happening this year, although this may no longer be an annual event in the future. “Kicks Against Cancer is about coming together as a community to support a cause that everyone can relate to, and the best part is seeing everyone in the stands wearing purple before the match,” varsity player Sasvath Ramachandran (10) said. “I’m especially excited about making the banners and posters in the weeks leading up to the match, because it makes the actual night all the more worthwhile and meaningful.”

LAYIN’ IT UP Alexa Lowe (10) drives to the hoop for a layup during a practice for the varsity girls basketball team. There are two girls basketball teams this year.

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

aditya singhvi

ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Winter sport practices kick off

PRECISE PASSING Emma Boyce (11) passes to a teammate as freshman Zain Vakath attempts to steal the ball. There is only one girls soccer team this year.

16 WINGED POST

VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

BACK PAGE

Changes on the horizon: As Sonoma County recovers from Kincade fire, Bay Area considers lessons learned from PG&E shutoffs eric fang & lucy ge

ERIC FANG

editor-in-chief & asst. news editor

AFTERMATH The Kincade fire destroyed the 150-year-old cellar of Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg, Sonoma County. With the community’s help, the owners have begun to rebuild.

G ERIC F AN G

FA N

ERIC

PR O

P H OT

RAY RIORDAN SAN JOSE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

$1.6

PR O

374 STRUCTURES DESTROYED 60 STRUCTURES DAMAGED 4 PEOPLE INJURED 200,000 PEOPLE EVACUATED

SOURCE: CAL FIRE

ERIC FANG

156

DIANN KITAMURA SANTA ROSA CITY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT

ERIC FANG

$122

“Unfortunately, our district has become well versed in dealing D B Y DIA N N KI DE I with crisis situations T V O because we have been through so much since the Tubbs fire.” A

$34

ASH AND SMOKE A mailbox on Chalk Hill Road bears the Kincade fire’s mark. After firefighters fully contained the fire on Nov. 3, Cal Fire lifted all evacuation orders.

“We learned that, as we build our critical facilities as a city, we need to make sure we include emergency D BY RAY RIO RD DE power generation, VI O maybe from alternate capabilities like solar.”

ERIC FANG

MEI-LIN TEIBER SODA ROCK WINERY EMPLOYEE

BURNT OUT A scorched car sits parked on the side of Chalk Hill Road in Healdsburg, Sonoma County. The Kincade wildfire threatened 90,000 structures at its peak.

“We’ve had overwhelming support from all over the world. There’s a lot of tradition and history here.”

Sophomores Ysabel Chen and Sujith Pakala, who live in Silver Creek and Evergreen respectively, both expressed confusion at the timing of the outages. “When they shut the power off, it wasn’t windy, but when they kept the power on, it was really windy, and so I don’t know what their thought process was for that,” Ysabel, who lost power for three days, said. In response to the shutoffs, over 25 California cities and counties have supported San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo’s proposal to turn PG&E into a customerowned cooperative. Concurrently, San Francisco plans to continue efforts to buy PG&E’s grid in the city, though the company rejected the city’s $2.5 billion offer last month. “[PG&E’s] assets serving San Francisco would allow us, as a local government, to make all the decisions necessary to provide safe, affordable, reliable service,” Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for power at San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, said. “That underpinning is

AREA OF PG&E SHUTOFFS

NEIL NICHOLSON SONOMA COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT CAPTAIN

PH OT

CHEMISTRY TEACHER WHO EXPERIENCED SHUTOFFS

“For the Tubbs fire [in 2017], we were in life safety mode. For the Kincade fire, we were able to engage the fire because everybody had evacuated.”

738,000+

the HOMES & BUSINESSES same LOST POWER IN PG&E’S objective BERKELEY PLANNED SHUTOFFS SOURCE: PG&E behind what San Jose is doing.” SAN FRANCISCO Meanwhile, PG&E reported on Oct. 18 that shutoffs may become PLEASANTON a regular occurrence in Northern California for the SAN MATEO next decade. In response, San Jose’s emergency services are gearing up for HARKER similar outages in the future. “What the shutoffs helped us recognize is that after the SAN JOSE next big earthquake, which we do anticipate, power will be a significant problem,” San Jose Director of Emergency Management Ray Riordan said. “This gave us a dry start to looking at what our future might be.” During the shutoffs, the Emergency SANTA CRUZ Management Department acted as a liaison between PG&E and the public and set up call centers to communicate PG&E REPORTED A with critical medical and rehabilitation facilities. “When we found out in May that PG&E planned to do these shutoffs, we BILLION LOSS got our departments together and started FOR THE THIRD Oct. 9 QUARTER OF 2019 developing a power vulnerability plan, SOURCE: PG&E which is the first plan like this to be put Oct. 26 together,” Riordan said. “We felt we were PG&E HAS RECEIVED Oct. 29 ready, and it was just a matter of when it was going to occur.” Over the next 60 days, the department PG&E WILL BILLION will conduct a thorough evaluation of the IN DEBT FINANCING TO COMPENSATE city’s response. Ahead of the full report, EXIT BANKRUPTCY AN AVERAGE OF Riordan noted three lessons learned from SOURCE: PG&E the shutoffs: San Jose needs to first build critical facilities capable of generating emergency power from renewable PER AFFECTED HOME OR BUSINESS sources, second identify a variety of SOURCE: PG&E emergency resource contractors to avoid competition with neighboring areas and lastly improve its coordination of data DAMAGE/HAZARD with PG&E. INCIDENTS IDENTIFIED SOURCE: PG&E As local and state entities continue discussing ways to deal with future outages, many in the Bay Area see the shutoffs as a sign of inevitable change. ROAD TO RECOVERY “Losing power is a new development in the Bay Area lifestyle,” upper school THE KINCADE FIRE’S IMPACT: chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine said.

MAP BY ERIC FANG, DATA: PG&E

LUCY

ANDREW IRVINE

RESPONDING TO CRISIS

MILLION+ PEOPLE &

“Losing power is a new development in the Bay Area lifestyle. We’re in a new reality”

VALLEJO

ERIC FANG

Following Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) mass power shutoffs last month, the Bay Area is evaluating potential changes to utility delivery and emergency response in the region. In four rounds of shutoffs throughout October, PG&E plunged over 2 million Bay Area residents into cold and darkness, in some cases for as long as a week. Faced with historically high winds in Northern California, the state’s largest utility company opted to take aggressive action to reduce the risk of sparking a wildfire. Customers across the Bay Area criticized PG&E’s lack of adequate communication during the shutoffs. “[PG&E] called to say ‘we will be turning off your power later,’ when our power was already off,” Griffin Crook (12), whose San Jose home lost power multiple times in October, said.

(TOP) RETURN HOME Flames blackened the vineyards of one family’s home in Healdsburg. Nearly 200,000 evacuees have made their way back to Sonoma County. (BOTTOM) RECOVERY UNDERWAY Sonoma County residents flocked to Soda Rock Winery’s tastings last weekend as the historic institution begins to rebuild.