Winged Post Vol. 17 Issue 1

Page 1

WINGED POST MON. AUGUST 31, 2015 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 17, NO. 1

| www.harkeraquila.com

DROUGHT SPAWNS WILDFIRES

Fall play auditions begin today

Rocky Fire north of San Francisco torches 60,000 acres, outsizing city

elisabeth siegel editor in chief

Students will be able to audition for the fall play, the Laramie Project, beginning today. “The Laramie Project is a very unique kind of play, with a wide range of challenges for students in the conservatory,” theater teacher Jeffrey Draper said. “I’m excited to see who shows up.”

Spirit to launch at upper school

elisabeth siegel editor in chief

The spirit kickoff took place at the upper school on Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event included a raffle, games, brainstorming and a Medican buffet.

Kuehn holds Kinetik Krew auditions elisabeth siegel editor in chief

Movva brothers visit White House

NEIL MOVVA (‘15) presents on flavonoids and diabetes.

PROVIDED BY JUSTON GLASS

Auditions for the upper school’s new all-male dance troupe, the Kinetik Krew, were held last Thurday in the dance room from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Neil Movva ‘15, Rajiv Movva (10), Business and Entrepreneurship teacher Juston Glass and Head of Upper School Butch Keller traveled to Washington D.C. at the end of June to attend the White House’s Celebrating Innovations in Career and Technical Education (CTE) event. First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the event about CTE’s benefits for students, businesses and the economy, as well as the need for students to pursue education wholeheartedly. Glass spoke about the state of the Business and Entrepreneurship program and won the National CTE Innovator Award. Neil presented his technology that utilizes sensors to detect nearby objects, and Rajiv talked about his research on flavonoids in fruits and vegetables in relation to diabetes. They both had the opportunity to speak with other students and educators across the country who work in career or technical education. “There were kids from all around the country and a lot of different organizations, and meeting all of them was pretty cool,” Rajiv said. “We take the path of going to college here at Harker, but it’s actually not so common outside. It was an eye-opening experience.”

News: Matriculation, 3

FIGHTING FIRE (TOP) UC Davis senior and two-year fire fighting participant Michael Cullen serves as team EMT for Grayback Firefighters in Medford, Oregon during August and July. (INSET) The company has been helping suppress wildfires due to the lack of national resources and abundance of fires.

trisha dwivedi & jackie gao sports editor & reporter More than 5,500 California wildfires have ravaged a total of 180,000 acres since the beginning of the year. The ongoing four-year drought that California is facing, which has been known to induce some of the wildfires, has caused California governor Jerry Brown to declare “a state of emergency.” “There was a big difference between the moisture in the green versus what looks dead, the brown vegetation,” said Margaret Stewart, spokesperson for the LA Fire Department. “Now,

Features: Fringe Fest, 7

the water content is so low in the green vegetation. That means fires start and spread more easily.” Among the largest and most active wildfires in California this summer is the so-called “Rocky Fire.”

The water content is so low in the green vegetation...that means fires start and spread more easily. MARGARET STEWART LA FIRE DEPARTMENT

STEM: Arctic Trip, 9

According to NPR, this wildfire alone has destroyed over 60,000 acres of land in the state and forced 1,480 people from their homes. Originating just north of San Francisco, the fire has outsized the city itself. Compared to last year, there have been around 1,200 more fires and 87,600 more acres damaged. Some fires have started in the past few weeks due to thousands of lightning strikes in dry areas caused by the drought. So far, 23 different areas in California have had wildfires. Forest fires often occur because of intense heat applied to arid surfaces such as dead and fallen trees. When exposed to heat, extremely dry plants

release explosive gases, which combust into flames while combining with oxygen in the air, according to The New York Times. Due to the large number of fires this year, many firefighters are feeling the sting of low resources and lack of manpower. Michael Cullen, a senior at UC Davis who is currently taking a two-year fire program commented on the additional risks associated with firefighting. “Another risk is fatigue. It lowers your situational awareness and can make an individual less receptive to hazards in the environment that are not necessarily as evident as fire,” Cullen said. Continued page 2

Sports: Fall season, 11

Back page: Freshmen

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MICHAEL CULLEN

sahana srinivasan asst. STEM editor


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