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‘BE THE CHANGE’ 500 SARATOGA AVENUE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95129
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF HARKER’S UPPER SCHOOL
VOL. 21 NO. 4
MONDAY, MARCH 2 , 2020
IRENE YUAN
Challenge Day bridges gaps within community
UNMASKED An employee at a Cupertino CVS puts up a sign on a mask shortage.
CDC encourages precautionary measures against COVID-19 as infections continue to spread
co-lifestyle editor & reporter
Double doors swing open to welcome a stream of students jumbling their way through a tunnel of dancing faculty members, the upbeat music mixing with laughter and high-fives. Despite the early morning, all the participants of Challenge Day join in, pumping their fists and springing up to the center of the auxiliary gym to hold a dance party when the leader hollers, “We’re about to play a game!” Challenge Day was held on Feb. 6 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the auxiliary gym with 100 students and 20 to 30 members of the faculty attending, led by two members from the anti-bullying program with the same name. This event focused on mindfulness and Challenge Day’s motto, a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that reads, “We must be the change that we want to see in the world.” Registration for the workshop was limited to 80 to 100 students, and members of student council and honor council were further encouraged to attend by Dean of Students Kevin Williamson. Head of Upper School Butch Keller announced the event at a meeting on Jan. 13, addressing incidents that compromised the school’s tenets. The day was broken up into various activities before and after lunch. Teachers welcomed students in after a meeting with the Challenge Day leaders. Participants then engaged in introductory games for the next half-hour before breaking off into “family groups,” which each included five to six people, both students and faculty, who bonded through the rest of the day. Upper school math teacher Dr. Lola Muldrew, who participated this year,
attended a Challenge Day workshop in the early 2000s. She first proposed the idea a couple of years ago to target issues regarding empathy, diversity and racism at school. “Their leaders are really well-trained to get people to open up, break down their walls and see their connection to other people through doing fun things together and then having important conversations,” Dr. Muldrew said. “What’s important is that when you are listening to someone else, you are holding space for that person and you’re letting them be seen and heard.”
“[I hope] to talk about [differences] in a way that’s not so scary, to talk about it in a way where we’re together as a community seeking to understand” SHARON YAN
nicole tian & sarah mohammed
MARK JANDA HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHER
A major theme, recognizing the similarities between people in the community, was incorporated in the activity titled “If you really knew me.” Each member shares their own experiences while others in the family group show support through their attention, emphasizing the importance of comfort zones in showing vulnerability. “I hope to see an increased willingness and ability to talk about
difference, difference in gender, race, culture, orientation,” history and social science teacher Mark Janda said. “And [I hope] to talk about it in a way that’s not so scary, to talk about it in a way where we’re together as a community seeking to understand where people are coming from and not judge or jump to conclusions, but really just to listen and empathize.” For some students, Challenge Day presented an opportunity to reconcile differences and encouraged transparency about personal struggles. “I’ve been dealing with a lot of issues around the school regarding race, so I was hoping to come to this and to see some of my classmates here to get a perspective on them,” Brian Pinkston (11) said. “I saw some of the people who had been racist to me in a new light. It helped humanize both of us, because we found out that we had gone through a lot of the same struggles, and that really brought us on the same side and taught us to stick together through this.” The goal of Challenge Day is to extend those lessons to everyday practice, even after the event has passed. “Know that it is safe to stand up for yourself and it’s safe to stand up for somebody else, that you’re safe to go and reach out for help, so that somebody can help you be that ally,” Dr. Muldrew said. Students who attended feel that such events encourage empathy and inclusivity and also noted that they would like to connect the community by continuing to hold similar events. “I also hope that the administration sees the need for more programs like Challenge Day, but on a consistent basis that can be implemented into the community and really build up the Harker community to be more inclusive and more supportive,” Natasha Yen (11) said.
As of Feb. 27, there are 33 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in California and a total of 59 confirmed cases in the U.S., according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department advises residents to continue to “engage in their regular activities and practice good health hygiene” during this time of the year as it is also the height of the flu season. Good hygiene practices include frequent handwashing with soap and refraining from touching the eyes, nose or mouth as it may lead to additional spread of germs. Other precautionary measures encouraged by the CDC as COVID-19 spreads includes “school dismissals and social distancing in other settings” if conditions worsen, as “early layered implementation of these interventions can reduce the community spread.”
“Our students’ safety is paramount, and so we will not ever compromise that in any way for anything” MEGY APPALARAJU
SPREAD THE LOVE Arjun Virmani (11) and Keshav Bhanot (11) smile as they go in for a hug. Students arrived among pumping music.
SHREYA SRINIVASAN
news team
ANITA CHETTY SCIENCE DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Santa Clara County also states that “healthy people should not be excluded from activities based on their race, country of origin, or recent travel,” reiterating a message emailed to parents from Head of School Brian Yager on Jan. 31. In the same email to parents, Head of School Brian Yager also asked students who must travel to China during the coming February break from Feb. 8-17 to remain home after their return to the Bay Area for at least 14 days, the incubation period of the virus. Students in this scenario who self-quarantine will be assisted with maintaining their studies, and their absences will be excused. This story continues on page 4. DESIGN BY JIN TUAN