![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Classes vote for final T-shirt designs after controversy and copyright issues
Senior Nitya Mani browses through the final T-shirt designs on the class of 2015’s re-vote. All class T-shirts with final designs will be ordered next week.
Classes are finalizing T-shirts in a last round of voting for the most popular design after two weeks of submissions and preliminary voting.
The final round of voting for all classes took place on Thursday, with the exception of the senior class, which held another voting on Friday. With ideas ranging from Iggy Azalea to galactic sombreros, there has been talk around campus of the future of the class T-shirts, though not without some controversy and copyright issues.
After narrowing its choices down to two designs and participating in a vote, the Class of 2015 revoted. Due to the closeness of the previous vote, the 59 students who did not vote, and concerns that the front and back of the shirt did not match, the class council and deans called for the reopening of a vote on Athena. The new vote coupled front and back designs into single options. The heart of the controversy arose in clashing opinions about a design featuring a smiley drawn in Microsoft Paint.
While students and teachers echoed Caroline’s thoughts on the humor of the design, others noted the divide in opinion.
“I guess it’s pretty funny, and I think it’s a fun idea to be more whimsical with our senior shirt design because it’s our last year and all,” Sachin Peddada (12) said. “But I do think it’s a very polarizing design, because I can understand why some people would have a problem with having a really ‘silly’ design.”
Diana Moss, Class of 2015 Dean, remarked that there would always be a difference in preference for design but that she hoped all students of the class would take the time to vote.
“I have a closet full of yellow shirts, so I feel like it’s up to the kids. My biggest hope is that everyone will embrace the decision,” she said.
The Class of 2016 faced copyright infringement issues in their shirt designs. Designs incorporating franchise or artist names and images were against submission rules because by copyright law, usage of those images required permission from the copyright holder. In spite of the rules, some preliminary designs, such as that of Australian artist Iggy Azalea, ignored submission guidelines. As a result, such designs were disqualified and not added to the final voting process. Some students took humor in the situation by submitting a shirt reading “Copyright,” with the “i” and “g” replaced with a “16” to represent their class.
The Classes of 2017 and 2018 also held their final votes this week.
The final T-shirt designs will be announced next week.
Arden Hu, copy editor for the TALON Yearbook, is a senior and has been on staff for three years. She is also part of the varsity tennis team and enjoys...