WINGED POST MON. AUGUST 31, 2015 | THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 17, NO. 1
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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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NEWS
VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
Plunging into class trips
Juniors and sophomores take rapids and ropes ashley jiang & kshithija mulam
ASHLEY JIANG - WINGED POST
ASHLEY JIANG - WINGED POST
KSHITHIJA MULAM - WINGED POST
photo editor & news editor
PROVIDED BY YATCHEONG AU
FUN IN THE SUN (TOP) Kendall Ka (11) and Kshithija Mulam (11) watch a raft of students paddle past them in a pond. (BOTTOM LEFT) Alexander Chen (10) uses handholds to climb up a tree in a ropes course activity. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Matthew McCallaCreary (10) completes a ropes course activity by balancing himself to cross a tightrope.
The junior class participated in the annual rafting trip while the sophomores went to the yearly ropes course trip on Aug. 20. The juniors started from campus at 6:25 a.m. boarding buses from the upper school campus. Each of the four buses arrived at the rafting location at different times for lunch before students and faculty donned rafting gear and received a safety talk. Several advisories split up into smaller groups in order to fit in the rafts, but the boats stayed in close proximity to allow the entire class to bond. The small rafting groups worked together to paddle through rapids as a team and swam in ponds along the way. “You really learn to bond with each other without all the distractions you usually have because you’re just on the river and you’re facing the waves,” Haley Tran (11) said. “I really enjoyed the trip because there were no distractions like phones or homework, and people don’t have to worry about school yet.” The junior class previously had a choice of three aquatic activities for their class trips, but an overwhelming demand for rafting prompted a change one year ago. Mark Brada expressed his approval of the change to rafting after enjoying the trip last week. “I thought it was much better than past class trips that we’ve done with the juniors,” junior advisor Mark Brada said. “I had gone both on a sailing
trip with another one of my advisories and on the kayaking trip with one of my advisories, and I feel like this was a better experience than either one of those two things.” Following the day of rafting, advisories changed out of their wet clothes, ate dinner, and arrived back on campus in the evening. On the same day, the sophomores class travelled separately to four different ropes courses to swing through the trees with ropes and harnesses. For the first part of the day, the students participated in a variety of team bonding games and activities that focused on teamwork and communicating with others. “I got closer to my advisory and I learned that it’s easier to work with a team than by yourself,” Preethi Madabusi (10) said. After lunch, students participated in various climbing elements that needed cooperation as a team in order to succeed. “We used to go to two courses and as the school continued to grow, we were taking up to 100 students to the courses and not everybody could get through the different elements,” said Dean of Students and sophomore advisor Kevin Williamson. “So this is our second year now using four sites so everybody gets a different experience but similar events.” While the sophomores and juniors attended class trips, the new freshman class enjoyed orientation day on Davis Field. The seniors attended a college counseling class in the afternoon.
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CARPE DIEM John Hawley, Jai Bahri (8) and Justin Au (10) participate in a session at the NJCL Convention in July in Texas. Five students participated in multiple events, earning commendations and awards.
DROUGHT OF LUCK UC Davis student Michael Cullen controls a forest fire in Medford, Oregon with the Grayback Firefighters as the crew’s EMT. The four-year drought in California has lowered the water content in vegetation, causing fires to start and spread more easily.
Wildfires more threatening, last 60 days longer on average Continued from front page “Fatigue can affect an entire crew no matter how physically or mentally prepared they are. My crew is currently on two back-toback tours where we were not able to drive all the way home for our mandated two days off. When both tours are completed, we will have been on the road 31 days consecutively,” Cullen said. 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 com-
bining with oxygen in the air, according to The New York Times. Many water limitations and rules have been set across the state in many cities because of the drought situation and scarcity of water. Billboards are often seen displaying the phrase “Brown is the new green” to discourage residents from watering their lawns; some cities have also enforced rules as to how much water can be used. Because Santa Clara is already conserving water, the government only requires the lowering of water consumption by
eight percent. While for some people the drought and water usage are the most important issues, others in wildfire danger zones have to worry about when to evacuate their homes and how to rebuild them after drought-induced fires. According to Stewart, the two things that the fire department would suggest to people living in fire hazard zones are to prepare for the possibility of a fire with emergency kits and to evacuate quickly when a fire arrives.
Latin students attend national Junior Classical League convention vijay bharadwaj
reporter Five students from Harker attended the National Junior Classical League (NJCL) convention from July 27 to Aug. 1 at Trinity University in Texas. Maya Nandakumar (‘15), Elisabeth Siegel (12), Justin Au (10), Jin Tuan (8) and Jai Bahri (8) were accompanied by currently retired Latin teacher John Hawley and middle school Latin teacher Lisa Masoni. JCL is an organization that encourages the interest in the classical arts of Ancient Greece and Rome. The annual Latin convention holds competitions among members. “I worked on a lot of creative, graphical and classical arts at the convention,” NJCL first vice president Maya Nandakumar (‘15) said. Students individually studied in advance for each of their contests, which include academic tests, arts contests and costume contests. The Olympika and Ludi competitions mimic the original Greek olympic games with mara-
thons, swimming, track and field events. Certamen, another contest, is a trivia style game that can be played competitively. “There were so many events. One of the biggest [events] for the Upper School was Certamen, where Elisabeth Siegel was one of four people representing California,” Hawley said. The convention has a different theme every year. This year’s theme was “tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito,” Latin for “Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.” Students also get to participate in themed spirit week of the convention such as “Tiber Riverwalk,” “Old Western Classics” and “Lone Star-struck by Latin.” “The number of contests that the convention features allows students to show their prowess,” Hawley said. “I would say that it is very successful. I enjoyed it because being part of California delegation is just really impressive for us.” JCL students will participate in the state chapter convention in the upcoming school year.
NEWS
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
Matriculation kicks off academic year justin su & emma yu
ALL PHOTOS KSHITHIJA MULAM - WINGED POST
asst. sports editor & photo editor
BACK TO SCHOOL (TOP) Upper School Head Butch Keller delivers a speech to the students assembled in the Quad for Matriculation. (MIDDLE) Freshmen Srija Gadiraju and Haris Hosseini recite the Matriculation Oath as part of their induction into the upper school. (BOTTOM) ASB Secretary Grace Guan (12) depicts a student breaking the dress code in the annual “Freshman 101” skit.
The Class of 2019 matriculated into the upper school during a ceremony in the Quad on Aug. 21 at 9 a.m. The day also welcomed back all the sophomores, juniors and seniors. Before introducing the 9th graders, all upper school faculty, dressed in black robes, walk into the Quad before taking their seats on the stage. For seniors like Ankur Karwal, president of the Class of 2016, this year’s Matriculation was their last. “I think Matriculation is a really great way to start off the school year, because the first day of school you don’t go directly into classes,” Ankur said. “We sort of relax, meet up with your friends, and I really like that part of Matriculation and it’s always great meeting new people. As a senior, I’ll definitely miss being able to meet new people. It’s definitely one of my favorite ceremonies.” Head of School Christopher Nikoloff started the day off with a speech and an introduction of Upper School Division Head
Butch Keller. Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, performed after he made his speech. Afterwards, the string sextet, made up of May Gao (11), Jason Lee (12), Cuebeom Choi (11), Luke Wu (12), Edward Oh (11) and Kevin Kim (12) took the stage. May, Jason and Cuebeom played the violin, Luke the viola and Edward and Kevin the cello. This year, the skit, used to provide the freshman information about the upper school, became much more concise and direct due to some concerns by administration. It covered topics such as the dress code, wet and dry system, branching out and exploring options at Harker and microaggression and diversity. ASB President Michael Zhao (12) explained the new changes. “This year, we’re taking a different approach than most of the different years, as in previous years there has always been a theme, and usually the skits tended to be a fun way of getting across the message to the freshman to let them know what they need to be ready for
high school,” Michael said. “This year, however, Mr. Williamson had concerns that it started to become more and more of comedy than getting the freshman to actually learn.” Upper School Dean of Students Kevin Williamson oversaw and coached the student councils’ skit rehearsals. “There are a few role playing skits but we’ve changed the format somewhat so that there will be more individual speeches or monologues given to the freshmen class by individual students,” Williamson said. “[It’s] a little bit of a different feel this year.” The student councils of each grade have worked on these skits throughout the summer. “The [meetings] in summer, we’re preparing for the Matriculation skit, rehearsing, costumes, blocking, and we already had to have the lines memorized,” junior class secretary of Alexander Lam said. To finish the ceremony, the teachers recessed and each class split to follow their assigned schedules.
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
Editors-in-Chief Elisabeth Siegel & Vivek Bharadwaj Managing Editor Kavya Ramakrishnan Copy Editor Meena Gudapati News Editor Kshithija Mulam Features Editor Meilan Steimle Asst. Features Editor Maya Kumar Opinion Editor Aditya Varshney
Cramming the calendar The Upper School’s fascination with summer activities
ELISABETH SIEGEL - WINGED POST
OPINION
STEM Editor Vineet Kosaraju
Asst. Sports Editor Justin Su Photo Editors Ashley Jiang & Emma Yu Business Editor Stanley Zhao Adviser Ellen Austin, MJE Wingspan Staff Shay Lari-Hosain Kaity Gee Kaitlin Hsu Vijay Bharadwaj Aquila Staff Sharanya Balaji Trisha Dwivedi Ria Gandhi Ashi Gautam Raveena Kapatkar Vineet Kosaraju
Jenna Sadhu Sahana Srinivasan Justin Su Aditya Varshney Alex Wang
Reporters Adrian Chu Jackie Gao Melina Nakos Lauren Russell Derek Yen Neil Bai Visit The Winged Post Online at www.harkeraquila.com Follow us on social media with the handle /harkeraquila
The Winged Post is published every four to six weeks except during vacations by the Journalism and Advanced Journalism Newspaper Concentration courses of Harker Upper School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129. The Winged Post staff will publish features, editorials, news, and sports in an unbiased and professional manner and serve as a public forum for the students of The Harker School. Editorials are the official opinions of The Winged Post. Opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion 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 advisor. Advertisements are accepted in the Post. However, The Winged Post reserves the right to deny any ad. Letters to the Editor may be submitted to Manzanita 70 or emailed to wingedpost@harker.org and must be signed, legible, and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to Post style. Baseless accusations, insults, libelous statements, obscenities, and letters which call for a disruption of the school day will not be considered for publication. Letters sent to the Post will be published at the discretion of the editorial staff. Mast eagle courtesy of photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen. The Winged Post is the official student newspaper, and it is distributed free of cost to students. 2014-2015 Silver Crown-winning publication 2013-2014 Silver Crown-winning publication 2012-2013 Silver Crown-winning publication 2010-2011 Gold Crown-winning publication 2009-2010 Silver Crown-winning publication
It is the most popular question at the start of the school year: “What did you do this summer?” Summer is the opportune time for students to participate in activities that interest them. Ask any Harker student what the ideal extended summer entails and you’ll hear about long days at the beach, afternoons watching TV or going out with friends or family. But that’s not what happens anymore. Students now use the summer to participate in classes, join internships,
work at jobs and volunteer. Though some of us truly enjoy the real-world experience offered by summer programs, others participate because they believe it’s necessary. Maybe they are right, since 60% of the businesses surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management believe that students need to start focusing on their careers as early as high school. And 90% agreed that a high
school internship increases a student’s odds of entering a better college. Increasingly, high school students feel pressure around balancing academic goals with personal interests. Here in Silicon Valley, home of countless tech startups and industry leaders, the professional culture demands that youths keep improving academically. Whether due to external stressors, such as parGRAPHICS - ADITYA VARSHNEY
Sports Editor Trisha Dwivedi
EDITORIAL THE OFFICIAL OPINION OF THE WINGED POST
SUMMER STRESS While most students found the summer rather relaxing, around 30% encountered some stress along the way.
ents, peers and cultural expectations, or internal fears driven by the college application process, students would agree that their summer activities revolve around checking off all the boxes on their college résumé. If we glorify colleges over finding ourselves and pursuing our passions, how do we mature? Each summer provides us a golden opportunity to experiment and discover more about ourselves. Whether that means handling bacteria samples at a Stanford internship or relaxing at home, the vacation is a time to contemplate the future and prepare for the upcoming school year.
Outrage over Cecil the Lion highlights ironic neglect elisabeth siegel
editor in chief I woke up, checked Facebook, and there it was, trending as number one on the site. I was still groggy and definitely only half awake, so as soon as I saw the name “Cecil,” I thought the worst — another hashtag to follow the stream of hashtags that seemed to have exploded into mainstream news in August 2014 beginning with the fatal shooting of Mike Brown. Then, I read further. The lion. What? In Zimbabwe, a lion at a national park was wounded and then killed by a dentist and “big-game hunter,” Walter Palmer. International outcry sparked immediately, and various politicians, celebrities and animal conservationists quickly denounced Palmer’s actions. Almost at the same time, less than two weeks after Palmer shot Cecil the lion, Sandra Bland was pulled over for a minor traffic violation by a Texas state
trooper, taken into custody and then found dead in her jail cell on July 13. Activists around the country were devastated, and demands quickly followed for law enforcement to follow up on the suspicious nature of Bland’s death. Bland’s name joined a long list of black individuals killed by police in 2015 and contributed to making July the deadliest month of the year for police killings. Yet the outrage over Sandra Bland’s death seemed paltry, even pitiful compared to the reaction in
the U.S. to Cecil the Lion’s death. Just as a reality check, animals do die all the time, and horrifically so. Why did the outrage over that one lion outweigh the indignation over the polar bears struggling to survive as the ice caps melt or the reef ecosystems collapsing all over the world due to bleaching? Humans are just as responsible for these instances as they are for the shooting of Cecil the Lion. But even that’s beside the point when humans find themselves unable to ex-
MANE IDEA Cecil the lion (above) was killed by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game hunter in early July, leading to outrage over anti-poaching enforcement.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Asst. STEM Editor Sahana Srinivasan
hibit that level of decency for each other. If someone starts bringing up the black lives taken by police, it only takes a moment for someone else to chime in, “But, all lives matter!” or “Maybe they could have been more courteous towards that police officer.” This is not to say that I don’t believe animals deserve rights at all, or that no problems exist with the treatment of animals in this world. I think poaching is evil, I think that animal experimentation is inhumane and that the meat industry in general contributes way too much to humanity’s collective carbon footprint. But the reaction to the fatal shooting of Cecil the Lion is only one instance of a long history of people caring more about or prioritizing the lives of animals over other human beings. Perhaps our fury over animal treatment might result in more successful changes across the world if we show at least that much regard for other human beings first.
HEART OF HARKER My quest to meet everyone in my grade vivek bharadwaj editor in chief
Hello! Nice to meet you. I’m Vivek. I see you in class meeting every week, and I wanted to know your name. Pretty random, I know. Please, don’t get the wrong idea. You see, I’m on a quest to meet everyone in the senior class. Why? Long story. I joined Harker in 9th grade, and it seemed like everybody knew everybody else. The community was a giant jigsaw puzzle, and I had to choose the right spot to fit myself into. I found a circle of friends to spend my
time with and was satisfied but slowly, the circle turned into a bubble. Beyond the initial spate of introductions and satisfied with my social life, I stopped trying to meet new people. During the homecoming rally of my sophomore year, I looked through the sea of drowsy, glazed-over eyes and hunched shoulders, meeting the gaze of countless strangers whose names I did not know. A year into high school, I still felt like “the new kid.” That had to stop, and so I decided to simply get to know everybody. Don’t worry — I don’t keep a hit-list or plaster the
walls of my room with the portraits of my next “targets.” I know, however, that there are clusters of people to whom I still have to introduce myself to, such as the entire Performing Arts department. An imperfect memory doesn’t help either — I can remember names as well as I can stomach Snickers (I’m allergic to them). I imagine that one day, decades from now, I’ll encounter somebody from this class by pure coincidence maybe at work, or at a bus stop when the bus is running 20 minutes late or at a swanky New York masquerade ball. And I worry that despite having spent four
years of our lives studying in the same classrooms, working with the same teachers, and hanging out with friends common to both of us, neither of us will have anything to say to each other. I don’t want that to happen. In fact, I’m making sure that it won’t. Maybe that person is you. So it’s been nice talking! I’m sure we’ll see each other around somewhere. Who knows when our paths will cross again? In this guest column, we encourage all student writers from around the community to share their memorable experiences while at the Upper School. Please email all column ideas to wingedpost2016@gmail.com.
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
OPINION
TALK AROUND CAMPUS What about the new school year excites you the most? “I’m excited to start school again and meet new people.”
“I’m really excited to be on the JV dance team and perform with them.”
-Kevin Tzeng (10)
-Miranda Larsen (10)
“Being an upperclassman, with all the nice privileges” -Sneha Bhetanabhotla (11)
emma yu photo editor
“I’m looking forward to welcoming the students from the Middle School and see how they do, because they’re a new group.” -Shaun Jashan
Considering a quota on clubs derek yen reporter
Students swarm in a crowded gym. Club officers shout to the masses like street-vendors. There is actually a chance of securing a seat in the library. Welcome to club fair. Like many of the other freshmen, I had been warned by seniors to stick to a small number of clubs that I could reliably dedicate my time to. And so I decided only to sign up for clubs that were truly interesting to me. Unfortunately, there was a club for everything, and everything was interesting. There was the programming club, and its sister, the algorithm club; the fast-paced challenges offered by quizbowl and science bowl; the humanities of linguistics and philosophy; and the intricacies of mathematics and economics. By the end of the day, I had only signed up for the clubs truly interesting to me. That entailed about 20-odd clubs. Would I attend all of them regularly? No — by the end of the year, I had effectively signed up for five clubs. Conflicts between clubs invariably arose, and while I did attend many of the other clubs once or twice, I was forced to miss several meetings. This is in no way a new phenomenon. Club mailing lists are filled with unfamiliar faces. While there is no immediate problem in being able to sign up for as many clubs as you wish, I
PROS AND CONS Pros: Expected to increase club participation, especially for smaller clubs Requires students to anticipate their extracurricular commitments Gets students more serious about specific clubs
CLUB QUOTA Johnny Trinh (12) demonstrates at last year’s club fair. Having a club limit could increase club participation by ensuring that students consider their commitments.
posit that students would enjoy clubs much more if they were limited in the number they could join. In being able to join an unlimited number of clubs, students attend clubs less often and inadvertently impact the health of smaller clubs. Because it is possible to join any club, there is no incentive to commit, and attendance rates plummet. When presented with a choice, prospective members will often be drawn to the larger clubs such as DECA on account of their reputation. This disproportionately impacts smaller clubs and c n cause meetings to
be cancelled due to insufficient attendance. When given too many options, students spread their attention across too many clubs and dilute their overall experience. It so happens that more choices aren’t always optimal. In a famous study from 2000, two psychologists found that between a jam stand offering a wide variety of jams and another of just six, the larger stand attracted more customers, yet the smaller stand secured more purchases. To expand on the analogy, if there was a quota, rather
than attracting more customers (signing up for excess clubs), there would be more purchases (actual attendance of clubs). The indecisiveness brought about by being given so many options leads to overall lower student attendance and lists of nonexistent members. If the school imposes a limit to the number of clubs that a student may join — even a generous or unenforced quota — I think that students would actually attend clubs more often, not less, and enjoy themselves more as a result.
Cons: Reduces the number of clubs that students may join Could make it difficult for newer, less known clubs to gain participation because many students may rather sign up for more popular options first.
Gender gap in business: a personal experience ria gandhi
Aquila features editor
“You’re a girl. I can’t let a girl pitch the company to investors.” Those words were spoken by my male teammate nearly three months ago, yet they still echo loudly in my head even today. The gender gap in the modern workforce is a topic that has been discussed in a myriad of newspapers, books and lectures. Over the past few years, I found myself skimming through the articles I read about the lack of women in the field of business and the disadvantage that women are at compared to males. Gender disparity was a faint idea somewhere on the far-off horizon, not an issue close to my heart. This past summer, I was thrown into a month-long whirlwind where I was given the chance to meet 65 other business-minded individuals with a diverse range of talents from all across the world. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the room was the ratio of males to
females. Ideally, the gender ratio should always be 1:1. This allows for a better exchange of ideas and equal compatibility between individuals. Instead, I was shocked to realize that there were 4 males for every female in the room.
“To this day, it is frustrating to look back at the endless instances of gender disparity that I faced over that month.” Throughout the month, it became strikingly clear that it was the boys who were benefiting from the program the most, as they were able to exchange ideas and support each other with the camaraderie that they shared. When individuals were put into groups, the teams composed of only males won compe-
titions and had greater participation than the teams made up of girls. Every girl, including myself, felt overshadowed and slightly overwhelmed. Whenever I raised my hand to answer a question, I was met by glances of surprise from boys across the room. Should I have stayed quiet and not offered my opinion? When my own teammate, someone I was supposed to trust to always have my back, refused to let me talk to venture capitalists merely because I was a girl, I decided that his remark was the last straw. I stood up and declared that if I was a member of the team, I deserved the same opportunities as everyone else. After successfully having multiple conversations with venture capitalists, I realized that this was a problem worth fighting for. To this day, it is frustrating to look back at the endless instances of gender disparity that I faced over that month. I am glad to say that I took a stand and refused to submit to
INDUSTRY STANDARD The majority of dominant industries employ men in greater proportions than they employ women.
the overbearing attitude of my male counterparts, yet it hurts to know that other women and girls across the world also face the same problem. According to the Media Planet’s Empowering Women, women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men earn, even though they are 35 percent better than men at returning invested money to shareholders. With only 14 percent of executives of the S&P 500 compa-
nies being women, it’s time for girls who are still in high school to start showing men that we have the same, if not more, capabilities as they do. My summer has been filled with a wide collection of experiences that I would never give up. But if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the gender gap is real, and it’s worth fighting against.
FEATURES
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New teachers, new perspectives ANU DATAR COMPUTER SCIENCE “Computers are everywhere, and I feel the earlier you get your hands on technology, the more comfortable you feel with the advancement that’s happening. Every day there’s a new thing coming up. So I personally feel that getting the hang of computer science is essential at an early stage. I think students at Harker are getting a wonderful opportunity to learn advanced topics at a young age.”
MICHELLE ANDELMAN ENGLISH
meilan steimle & maya kumar features editor & asst. features editor
BYRON STEVENS HISTORY I like history because it’s like reading a newspaper that’s been edited by time, for centuries, for millennia, picking out the most interesting, important, influential stories from the narrative of the human experience. The reason I like to teach history is that it’s ultimately malleable, it’s never static. Time doesn’t actually edit history, people do.
RAE ANN PRADO COLLEGE COUNSELING
“I think literature is at its core about humanity, so I think studying literature teaches you about others’ experiences, and it deepens the level of empathy with which you approach others and the world.”
“For the last three years I was auditing and maintaining freshmen and transfer applications. With that, I’m able to bring that experience and expertise, and I’m doing everything I’ve done over the years in this position, so I’m able to fall right into this. Now I’m on the front side.”
RICHARD BAILEY SPANISH “It is important to learn Spanish because it is the third most widely spoken language in the world and spoken in 22 different countries. It has a beautiful long history and literature and the cinema and art and everything, it is key to understand the language to be able to understand the culture and the art that comes with it.”
SHEVA MOMENIAN MATH “It’s going to be involved with almost every aspect of their future, whether its with work or making financial decisions for their family. Math is a natural part of our day to day lives. “
SANDRA BERKOWITZ SPEECH & DEBATE “I think that [speech and debate] are skillsets that help you to develop critical speaking, critical listening, and critical thinking skills, so those are the skillsets that are most obviously focused on in terms of that. It seems to me that students who are planning on going to college, all Harker students, students who are planning to go into fields like science could certainly benefit from that.”
CLIFFORD HULL LATIN & HISTORY “With Latin, I think Latin is such an integral part of English. If you were to take latin out of English, there would not be very much left. Sixty percent of English would come from Latin. Also, learning about the ancients will teach you lessons from the past. You know they always say and examine life is not worth living if you don’t study or look at the past, you’re going to make the same mistakes, so theres a lot of stuff that you can learn.
DAVID CASSO CHEMISTRY “Chemistry offers great problem solving skills and life skills. There’s chemistry all around us... weather, and it’s understanding how our bodies work or just trying to cook breakfast or dinner, or make cookies. It’s everywhere. Learning chemistry and really understanding it allows us to understand our world and function in it at a much higher level.”
CHRIS THOMPSON BUSINESS & ECONOMICS It’s important for students to learn about business, entrepreneurship and economics because they’re really about life, and even though there’s this perception that business is for adults, the business of life is buying and selling ideas and items and all sorts of things, so it’s really the most practical course in the curriculum from my perspective. ALL PHOTOS MEILAN STEIMLE & MAYA KUMAR - WINGED POST
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FEATURES
VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
On the Fringe
Harker Performing Arts visits Edinburgh Fringe Festival
ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY HARKER PERFORMING ARTS TUMBLR
emma yu
BREAK A LEG (TOP) In Scotland, Madi Lang-ree (‘15) sits in the spotlight, performing as one of the stars of Harker’s production of “Into the Woods.” The audience they attracted from the Royal Mile watch her shine. (LEFT) Shivani Awasthi (11) allures people along the Royal Mile by transforming into an affectionate, milky white cow. If anyone desired, she would allow them pet her. (RIGHT) he performers huddle up, encouraging each other to give their audience the best performance they can possibly provide. The spotlight awaits for them to cast shadows onto the stage floor.
photo editor Edinburgh — the bustling capital of Scotland is where it all took place. Pamphlets gliding from hand to hand, spreading the news of an amazing show. Singers enchanting the ears of a future audience. Spirited shouts arousing curiosity. Taking place 24 hours a day for 25 days in August with over 250 venues, 3000 different shows, and performers from over 50 countries. This is where the world’s largest performing arts festival, held every year since 1947, took place. The Fringe Festival. The name “fringe” comes from the festival’s exclusive origins. Performers must be nominated through competitions. Nominations are submitted to the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) from local competition finalists or winners. AHSTF recently began requesting nominations from esteemed directors and judges since not all schools have access to the competitions. Harker nominations come from judges at competitions Top Honors, California Musical Theater Honors programs and the Ohlone College Theater Festival. Naomi Molin (12), who took part in musicals since seventh grade, talked about her favorite parts of the festival. “You’re always on the go and I love that about it,” she said. “It was one of the best experiences of my life so far. You meet a
lot of cool people like other high theater kids from all over America but also just random street performers. It’s incredible.” This year, 2,500 school were nominated, 200 applied, and 44 were selected to represent AHSTF.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life so far. You meet a lot of cool people like other high theatre kids from all over America but also just random street performers.” NAOMI MOLIN CAST MEMBER IN MUSICAL Invited every year, Harker attends once every four to perform that season’s Spring Musical at the festival, which this year was “Into the Woods.” The 43 people from the Harker School this year arrived in Edinburgh on Aug. 4, staying for a total of two weeks with two days in London. The festival started on that Friday. Harker’s performers, like everyone else at the fringe, promoted their show on a famous street in the city, the Royal Mile. The next chance for Harker to revisit this experience again will be in in the year of 2019.
Summer loving activities:
Students spend summers in service SAHANA SRINIVASEN - WINGED POST
ria gandhi aquila features editor
I AM DECA Freshman Logan Bhamidipaty works on his team’s Idea Challenge product during DECA launch. Materials students could use for their product included popsicle sticks, glue and pipe cleaners.
sahana srinivasan
PROVIDED BY EESHA CHONA
asst. stem editor DECA officers hosted a three-day launch event from Aug. 12 to 14 at the upper school campus for incoming DECA participants. Officers organized activities and lectures designed to introduce new members to all parts of the program. The launch event included opening and closing ceremonies, lectures on writen events, roleplay games, and a scavenger hunt. The proceedings started on the evening of Aug. 12 and lasted throughout the days of Aug. 13 and 14.
Senior Shannon Hong, the Executive Vice President, described it as a chance to welcome the first-year members as well as teach them about the competition. “[It’s] to educate the younger generation on what DECA does, so how we compete, and then teaching them about the culture of DECA and inviting them into our family,” Shannon said. Students can learn more about DECA during the club fair on Wednesday, Sept. 10, or during its events fair, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, both of which will take place in the gym at lunch.
MEILAN STEIMLE - WINGED POST
3, 2, 1, DECA Launch 2015
Eesha Chona (12) spent her summer building a nonprofit that she co-founded last year along with her brother, Aneesh (‘13). The Association of Teens Against Cancer (ATAC) is an organization that aims to help children and teenagers with loved ones who have been diagnosed with cancer. The Chona siblings were inspired to start ATAC after their own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. “We noticed that there is a lack of support provided to the children of parents diagnosed with cancer,” Eesha said. “There’s tons of support for the patient, of course, and their spouses, but the children are unintentionally ignored. And when my brother and I went through this situation in our family, we had each other to lean on for support, but we realized that not every child is that lucky to have a sibling or even a friend who underwent the same experience.” ATAC allows children and
teenagers to share their voice with the world through blogging, and the association provides education on the various types of cancer. There is also a directory of hotlines for teenagers to call if they need support during a crisis. In addition to providing support nationally, ATAC is active in two continents and has given over 200 individuals access to healthcare through fundraising, but it hopes to continue to grow. “Both my brother and I hope to extend ATAC’s domestic and international footprint,” Eesha said. ATAC will also release an app this fall that allows children to send personalized cancer ribbons to their loved ones.
RUNNING FOR A CAUSE Eesha Chona (12) and her mother pose with a sign supporting the cure for breast cancer.
STEM
VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
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Summer Arctic research expedition explores climate change vineet kosaraju
SHARANYA BALAJI
PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEPHANIE HUANG
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JACK ROTHSCHILD
STEM editor
(TOP) BARREN EXPANSE Students marvel at the sublime beauty of the Arctic landscape. (BOTTOM LEFT) EXPLORE GALORE Akshay Battu (12) points out a feature of the landscape to the rest of the research expedition group. (BOTTOM RIGHT) ARCTIC POST Edward Sheu (12) mails a letter from the northermost post office in the world. In July, 12 students embarked on an expedition to research the effects of climate change on the Arctic environment and habitat.
ICE ICE BABY Akshay Battu (12), Isaac Smith (12), and Tong Wu (12) present samples collected from the Arctic for their research projects. The biology trip to the Arctic took place from July 14 to July 29.
reindeer, enjoyed both the opportunity to perform unique research in the field and the chance to meet with other researchers. “Most of [the researchers have worked] on this exact cruise line for around 10 to 20 years, and they would tell us all
these stories about polar bear encounters, or their own research,” Stephanie said. “The cool thing was that we also got a lot of opportunities to meet the captain and talk with them and we got to work closely with the crew on our projects.”
FAST FACTS
Arctic sea ice is decreasing at a rate of 13.3 percent per decade, according to NASA. • Ocean acidity has increased 25% in the last two centuries according to National Geographic. • Weather Underground states that Arctic temperatures are increasing at twice the rates of the rest of the world. • Scientists say that 2° Celsisus is the tipping point for widespread drought and mass extinction.
Apart from having the opportunity to do field research, the trip also offered several lectures directly on the ship, covering topics from geology to Arctic geography and wildlife. David said that he appreciated the ability to both perform research and attend the lectures, as they were each informative in their own ways. “The lectures were very informative and really helped us understand the changes occurring, but field research is its own experience,” he said. Beneath the Arctic’s deceptively beautiful landscape lies the serious problem of global warming, which has a variety of detrimental effects from damaging polar bear habitats to causing unprecedented flooding. According to NASA, arctic sea ice is decreasing at a rate of 13.3 percent per decade. On the trip, students had the opportunity to research the effects of climate change and see how it was changing the Arctic landscape. “We got to see firsthand that climate change is a problem, and we saw ice falling off the glaciers by the tops.” Edward said. Although the location for the next climate change research trip has not been decided, the science department plans to host the expedition biannually and welcomes suggestions from the student body. Currently, Chetty is considering a wide variety of options including Africa, Australia, and the Galápagos Islands.
HOW DID YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT WI-FI? While in the Arctic, students lacked regular Wi-Fi and cell phone access. “At first, it was a little weird, the first day or so, but honestly we spent the days doing so much [...] it was just hanging out with the other people on the ship [...] It’s honestly so nice spending time with all these people.” EDWARD SHEU (12) “There was so much to do that we didn’t really notice it. [...] We would open our phones and scroll through Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook messages, but then nobody was as glued to their phones anymore.” STEPHANIE HUANG (12)
ALL HEADSHOTS PROVIDED BY JACK ROTHSCHILD
PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEPHANIE HUANG
T
he natural snow-capped mountains rise slowly out of the fog as senior Stephanie Huang’s plane prepares to land, completing the small one hour journey from Norway to a settlement in Svalbard called Longyearbyen. As she exits the flight, the first thing she notices is the pristine, unmarred environment, characteristic to only the most remote of places on the planet. She joins the remainder of her group, 11 other Harker students and two faculty members, and prepares to embark upon the journey of a lifetime. For the first time in school history, she and her fellow explorers have the opportunity to tour and research the Arctic. This summer, while others were browsing Facebook and dreading the return of homework assignments, 12 students visited the Arctic on a biology trip from July 14 to July 29 to research and explore the effects of climate change. The students include David Zhu (11), Sharanya Balaji (12), Elena Bronder-Chang (11), Edward Sheu (12), Jack Rothschild (12), Davis Dunaway (11), Sarah deVegar (11), Isaac Smith (12), Chandini Thakur (12), Tong Wu (12), Akshay Battu (12), and Stephanie. Each of the students who attended the trip carried out research projects of their own, with help from Science Department Chair Anita Chetty and biology teacher Dr. Gary Blickenstaff. Stephanie, who studied the changing migratory patterns of
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STEM
VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
Chemistry teacher infuses ceramic with depleted uranium Andrew Irvine uses chemistry to create unique glazes vivek bharadwaj editor in chief
“I was excited about it beacuse of its potential color development. I also thought, it’s uranium. It’s such a bogeyman in the periodic table.” ANDREW IRVINE CHEMISTRY TEACHER turns it over in his bare hands, explaining that the plate he created is a piece of art. “I was excited about it because of its potential color development of the glass. I also thought, it’s uranium. It’s such a bogeyman in the periodic table,” Irvine said. According to his measurements, the depleted uranium
ALL PHOTOS BY VIVEK BHARADWAJ
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine holds a clicking black box a few inches away from a pastel-yellow, glazed ceramic plate just a little larger than the size of his hand. The face of the plate is sculpted with ridges and rough crannies, and the yellow is tinted in places with tones of dusky gold and pale red. Tickticktickticktick. As Irvine brings the box, a Geiger Counter for detecting radiation, closer to the plate, the clicking speeds up as more and more tiny alpha particles bombard the counter’s detection tube. “It’s cool that it’s actually setting it off,” Irvine remarks with a smile. The Geiger Counter’s ticking and the distinctive color of the ceramic both owe themselves to a remarkable quality of Irvine’s plate: its infusion with a salt of depleted uranium. Irvine picks up the plate and
RADIOACTIVE ART (TOP) Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine holds a jar of uranium dioxide. (BOTTOM LEFT) A Geiger Counter is used to detect radiation. (ww RIGHT) Irvine created a ceramic plate inflused with depleted uranium.
emits radiation at 400 times the natural background level. Despite this, the radiation, mostly alpha particles, cannot pass through skin to cause damage. “You’d think that by holding this, it would be bad. It’s not. It sounds bad when you put it here,” Irvine explains as he holds the plate close to the Geiger Counter to unleash a flurry of ticking. He removes a glass bottle in the shape of an oversized inkwell from a box. It contains a few powdery-looking nuggets of raw uranium dioxide in a shade of yellow lighter than the plate, but just as intense in color. In the
process of creating his art, Irvine sculpts the plate and prepares the glaze himself, mixing in the salt that gives the artwork its
FAST FACT Depleted uranium is also used in commercial aircrafts and to shield from radioactive materials. otherworldly hue. “I’ll make a glaze body, and in this particular solution I put in 40 percent lead carbonate, which makes it very glassy. I’ll
make my glass mixture, and then I’ll add an absurd amount of uranium,” Irvine says, gesturing to the plate. He creates his pieces in sets that take seven to eight hours to create and 13 hours to bake in a kiln. Irvine is not the first artist to incorporate radioactivity into his artwork. The artist and nuclear scientist James Acord worked with material from spent nuclear fuel rods in his pieces. Nor is he the first to infuse ceramic glaze with the mildly radioactive material — the glazes of Fiesta dinnerware plates were once infused with bright red uranium
dioxide. The company has since abandoned the practice. “So you wouldn’t eat off [this plate]. I would say ‘definitely not food-safe’. It’s pretty to look at,’” Irvine adds. He explains that acids and solvents in food might leach uranium from the glaze and into the human body. Antique dinnerware and the odd art project aside, the high density of depleted uranium makes it useful for a variety of commercial applications, including as ballast in commercial aircraft and as shielding from more highly radioactive materials. Despite this, the material is not easy for private citizens to obtain. “I went through some different commercial vendors, and they rejected me because I didn’t meet their policy of use,” Irvine explains, adding that he received the uranium from a vendor he works with. “I called up the nuclear regulatory commission and spoke to their PR person, who sent me a long list of the regulations. As a hobbyist, I’m allowed to acquire and be in possession of up to 15 pounds of depleted uranium.” Irvine believes that uranium is stigmatized as a material because of its association with high radiation and atomic bombs. “Its controversy is related to its use in nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. But really as a material, when it’s depleted, its radioactivity is not the issue,” Irvine claims. “It’s [as] toxic as lead - you wouldn’t want to eat a spoonful of lead. [But] I could take my finger, rub it on that yellow stuff, and not worry about getting cancer.” To Irvine, adding depleted uranium to ceramic is no gimmick; it’s a powerful artistic statement. “My hope is that it will separate me even more from this idea of pottery as ceramics,” Irvine said. “Like, ‘Oh, that’s a cute mug!’ I don’t want to make mugs. I want to make fine art.”
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SPORTS
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
news editor & Wingspan staff editor
As the school year starts, athletes who play fall sports have begun preparing for the beginning of their season. Girls’ Volleyball Varsity girls’ volleyball held their first official practice on Aug. 14. This year, the girls plan to surpass their performance last year where they finished second in CCS finals and advanced to the semifinal round in Norcals. The varsity girls’ volleyball team will play against Homestead High School in their first match on Sept. 3. Girls’ Tennis The varsity girls’ tennis team started officially practicing on Aug. 14. This year, the team will have an additional head coach, Eileen Schick. Narrowly missing an undefeated record last season, the girls look forward to playing even better than last year and hope to advance further in CCS finals as well.
Football Followed by a summer of preseason workouts, the varsity football team officially started their season on Aug. 10 on Davis Field. This year, the team will be led by a new head coach, Mike Tirabassi. “I think for this season, all the guys have really improved,” William Park (11) said. The team will have their first game on Sept. 4 on Davis Field against Yerba Buena.
Cross Country Varsity cross country had their first official practice of the school year on Aug. 14 at Rancho, San Antonio. Led by Head Coach Scott Chisam, the team captains are Niki Iyer (11), Alexandra Dellar (12), Jack Rothschild (12) and Lev Sepetov (12). “It’s going to be a good season; we had 12 people at practice [on Aug. 10],” Sepetov said. Boys’ Water Polo Varsity boys’ water polo started their season on Aug. 14. The team, led by Head Coach Ted Ujifusa, lost many seniors but still plans on improving from its last season. “Although last year we had a stronger shooting team, this year we are better all-around,” Mikhail Ivkov (11) said. The team will play its first match against Fremont High School in the Singh Aquatic Center on Sept. 15. Golf Varsity girls’ golf kicked off their season with their first practice on Monday. Led by Head Coach Ie-Chen Cheng, the girls look forward to improving as a team even more from last season where they placed third in league championships. “We have around six new freshmen joining the team this year, so that’s very exciting because we’ll have a lot of new blood, a lot of new people that can play,”
KJ MULAM - WINGED POST KJ MULAM - WINGED POST
Girls’ Water Polo Varsity girls’ water polo officially began their season on Aug. 14. Since many of last year’s key players were seniors, Head Coach Allie Lamb plans to rebuild the team through the incoming freshmen. The girls will play their first match against Fremont High School at the Singh Aquatic Center on Sept. 15. FALLING INTO A ROUTINE (RIGHT, TOP) Doreene Kang hits the volleyball during the girls’ volleyball summer practices. (RIGHT, MIDDLE) The football team practices running plays during their summer
practices. (RIGHT, BOTTOM) Andrew Chang (9) hits a water polo ball during summer practices for guy’s water polo.
KJ MULAM - WINGED POST
kshithija mulam & kaitlin hsu
KAITLIN HSU - WINGED POST
FALL SPORTS (TOP LEFT) Karen Tu throws a water polo ball during summer practices for girls’ water polo. (TOP RIGHT) Alexis Gauba finishes her swing during summer practices for girls’ golf. (BOTTOM LEFT) The Girl’s tennis team warms up during practices throughout the summer. (BOTTOM RIGHT) The cross-country team prepares for their upcoming fall season.
KJ MULAM - WINGED POST
EMMA YU - WINGED POST
KJ MULAM - WINGED POST
Fall athletes begin after-school practices
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VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 1 AUGUST 31, 2015
ALL PHOTOS BY VIVEK BHARADWAJ
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WHO ARE OUR FRESHMEN?
GOLDEN YEAR (LEFT) 119 freshmen responded to a poll sent directly to the Class of 2019. (RIGHT) Freshmen Trevor Thompson, Neil Tiperneni, Arushee Bhoja and Allison Cartee participate in the centipede walk during freshman orientation.
Class of 2019 matriculates as largest class yet, takes part in orientation meena gudapati & kaitlin hsu copy editor & reporter
SUN SALUTATIONS (TOP) Link Crew forms a human tunnel around Elizabeth Yang (9) to welcome her to the upper school. Link crew were the first students on campus last Thursday to welcome the Class of 2019. (BOTTOM) English teacher Michelle Andelman talks with her advisory during freshman orientation. The Class of 2019 first met their upper school advisors last Thursday during orientation.
Ninth-grade students attended the freshman orientation to meet and participate in activities with their advisories on the upper school campus on Aug. 20. The activities, which included relay races, a centipede-walk and time to splash around in the swimming pool, allowed the freshman class to scocialize and familiarize themselves with the upper school campus.
“My favorite would probably be the ping pong [game]; it was really fun,” Ihita Mandal (9) said. The games provided an opportunity for students to bond with their advisor and fellow advisees. “What I love about my advisees is they’re very caring and thoughtful and engaged,” Dr. Lola Muldrew said. “I think that the field day we spent together really bonded us; we’re necessarily bonded because we are spending some time together.”
The new freshman class is the largest in school history, with 160 students from the Middle school and 37 students who have not attended Harker in the past. Applications for the Harker Upper School were due around the middle of January, and decisions were sent out on March 17. By June, most admitted students responded with their attendance decision. During the selection process, the admissions staff evaluated applicants based on their test scores, grades,
extracurricular activities and dedication. In addition, they searched for students who brought a variety of perspectives to the Upper School. “We’re looking for diverse backgrounds, experiences [and] perspectives that will add to our community because the student body is only as strong as the students that are there,” Upper School Admission Director Jennifer Hargreaves said. “Having that diverse perspective can help enhance the experience for every student.”