FEATURES New laws spin into motion
8 juhi gupta Aquila video editor
VOLUME 15 • ISSUE 4 JANUARY 27, 2014
Humans of Harker, based off Humans of New York, documents the unique, inspiring, off-beat, or surprising individuals that breathe life into this school. Each issue, four students are chosen at random.
JASON JEONG (11) Jason holds up a map of Italy, the country of origin for his favorite foreign film, Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore. Having seen around 30 to 40 of them, he enjoys watching French, Italian, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese films for their artistic nature.
“I watched this Italian movie when I was in 7th grade called Cinema Paradiso, and it was one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever watched.” EMRE EZER (9) Emre swims for his club team, DACA (De Anza Cupertino Aquatics), two to three times a week. Although he has been swimming since the age of six, he has recently had to take some time off to act in the Upper School’s Student Directed Showcase and focus on other commitments.
“My favorite part is
jumping in the pool
and forgetting about everything.” GABI GUPTA (11) Gabi believes that thrifting is a win-win situation, helping both the environment and her wallet. She finds it disappointing that nearby thrift stores are relatively expensive, so she recommends San Francisco for cheaper finds.
“You don’t even have to have an outthere style. You can just get regular stuff that people don’t want anymore or grew out of.” DAMON AITKEN (12) Damon maintains a soccer blog he started six months ago where he follows games, examines statistics, and analyzes transfers. His passion for soccer comes from the excitement and hype of the sport, and how games can conjure a lot to talk and think about.
“Nothing compares to seeing a live game–a last minute goal for the home team, where everyone’s screaming and jumping up and down.
trisha jani & megy appalaraju
Fast facts about you and your wheels
news editor & reporter
1
New laws were passed on Jan. 1, 2014 by Governor Jerry Brown that will affect California students. Common Core Testing System
On Oct. 2, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Assembly Bill (AB) 484, which replaces the current Standardized Testing and Reporting Program with the newly established California Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (CalMAPP) assessment system. According to the California Department of Education, “AB 484 calls for the transition to a system of assessments and assessment tools that cover the full breadth and depth of the curriculum and promote the teaching of the full curriculum.” This new system is composed of comprehensive assessments and Common Core-related tests for english- language arts, mathematics, and grade-level science. These tests are scheduled to be implemented by the end of the 2014-2015 school year to evaluate the school’s performance for the next years.
Bikes
Starting Sept. 16, an updated law for bicycle passing distance, known as the “Three Feet for Safety Act”, mandates motorized vehicles to maintain a distance of at least three feet from a bicyclist moving in the same direction. The motor vehicle must slow to a “reasonable and prudent speed” if this distance is not possible. Even if there is no collision, the motorist will be subject to a fine ranging from $35 to $200 for not following the law. The penalty can rise up to $1000 in the event of an injury.
2
Cars
A new California law allows drivers of certain low and zero emission vehicles to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes even if the occupancy threshold is not met. Drivers with pure zero emission vehicles are eligible for white clean air vehicle stickers, per AB 266. These stickers expire on Jan. 1, 2019. People with cars that meet California’s Enhanced Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle expectations are eligible for a Green Clean Air Vehicle sticker, which also expires on Jan. 1, 2019.
3
Transgender Student Athletes
A new California law, AB 1266, concerns treatment of transgender students in public schools. The law “prohibits public schools from discriminating on the basis of specified characteristics, including gender, gender identity, and gender expression, and specifies various statements of legislative intent and the policies of the state in that regard.” Another stipulation of the law is that all forms of physical education must be equally available to both genders as well as transgender students. It allows transgender students to use facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, and to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with his or her identity regardless of the student’s official biological record. The law has been met with resistance from Supporters of Privacy for All Students, who have collected 620,000 signatures in favor of reversing AB 1266. County registrars are currently verifying signatures, as attorneys debate the timeliness of the signatures. “I understand why there are a large amount of signatures and why people may have reservations because some people may be uncomfortable with an opposite sex in their bathroom or locker room,” Sonali Netke (11) said. “But I do think that for sports teams people should go wherever they affiliate with, like if they view themselves as a girl they should be able to play on the girls soccer team.”
Dec. 9 Club week with bake sale fundraiser
Licenses
Law AB 60 allows the DMV to issue drivers licenses to undocumented people (illegal immigrants). The new law entails that illegal immigrants will be required to take a written and driving test in order to receive a license to increase road safety. The licenses will have the abbreviation “DP” meaning “driving privilege” rather than “DL” for driver license, and the law explicitly bans any discrimination based on the type of license.The new licenses will be officially implemented in Jan. 1, 2015.
4
Teenage Texting
Under SB 194, people under 18 cannot read, write, or send texts while driving, even with a hands-free device. The goal of this law is to promote safe driving with inexperienced drivers.
ALEXIS GAUBA & KACEY FANG WINGED POST
Production at the HELM 2 0 0 2
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KAVYA RAMAKRISHNAN
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Feb. 1
Current submission deadline after two extensions
kavya ramakrishnan reporter
Feb. to May
Review submissions and create design
May 1 Tentative publishing date
?
With several school meeting announcements, flyers, a fundraiser, 73 submissions so far, and hours of work, the Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM) has come a long way since the beginning of the year. By offering incentives such as extending the submissions deadline to the current one of Feb. 1 and offering every fifth submission a $15 gift card, the club has received 73 submissions -- 6 short stories, 3 essays, 5 poetry submissions, 38 photography submissions, and 21 pieces of artwork. Even with the constant reminders and expanding deadlines, many students still did not consider submitting to the magazine due to time constraints. “I don’t know, I’ll probably sub-
.com
gmail
lm@
kerhe o har
it t
subm
mit something, but what’s preventing me is forgetting and being distracted,” sophomore Gurutam Thockchom said. After the submissions deadline has passed, the club will proceed to select those to be featured and create the layout of the magazine. “The club members and editors discuss and then vote on which submissions they’d like to feature, based on the work’s technical aptitude, originality, and whether or not readers are able to connect to it in some way,” Editor-In-Chief Juhi Muthal (11) said. As in past years, artwork submissions are becoming much more frequent as compared to written works. “This year, the largest number of submissions continues to be photography. [...] However, we have fewer poetry and prose pieces, college essays, and faculty submissions,” HELM Webmaster and Designer Katie Gu (12) said.
WINGED POST
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After finalizing the works to be included in the magazine, the design team creates and organizes the final layout and structure of the magazine. Through its members’ increased activities this year, HELM has made itself better known around the Upper School. “Club attendance has definitely gone up since last year, but [....] we hadn’t done any publicity before club fair this past September. As far as publicity efforts go, we’re placing more emphasis on making the club known,” HELM Publicity Coordinator Efrey Noten (12) said. The club has yet to decide whether the magazine will be centered around a theme, something that has been done in past years. HELM expects to publish the magazine May 1, though it may be extended to receive more submissions.