![“[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)
Editorial: Dodging the controversy
Today during school hours, over 700 students in Denver’s Jefferson County school district left class en masse to protest the censorship of the district’s history curriculum.
Also today during long-lunch, approximately 35 Harker seniors occupied the gym to protest the contested verdict of a dodgeball tournament.
After the juniors won one round of the junior versus senior dodgeball championship and tied the other two, referees and spirit coordinators crowned the junior class the victors because they had the most wins in a three-game period.
Because the official rules state that “teams win best two out of three,” the game’s officials and class deans discussed whether or not the juniors’ one round victory constituted a win. After the decision, a number of seniors felt that the winning team should have been the first to reach two wins. Some of the senior team staged a sit-in on the gym floor, refusing to leave until they were warned of consequences.
In the fervor of emotions surrounding class competitions, it is easy to forget that compared to infringements of rights around the world, our dodgeball complaints are relatively minor. Social protest is about fighting for civil liberties and human rights, not contesting a controversial call in a spirit event.
Even so, we understand why the seniors felt compelled to take action in the heat of the moment.
Caught in a heady cocktail of sports, class competition, and herd mentality, it was easy for players’ emotions to escalate. The seniors’ actions may not have been appropriate for the situation, but they are still understandable and relatable.
Rumors circulated following the game; allegations of cheating were made, and the word “corruption” was thrown around. According to some seniors, the referees were not noticing the juniors’ “disregard” for basic dodgeball rules.
Regardless of the validity of the call to declare juniors the victors, the fact remains that controversial calls are made all the time by game officials, from pee-wee baseball to professional sports. The point of sportsmanship is to accept calls whether or not we personally agree with them and move on.
It is within our rights to be angry about a call we think is incorrect and discuss it with the referees or administration, and there were seniors that did that. We are amiss to treat our anger as a justification for protest. We are frustrated because we lost a game, but at the end of the day, it’s just a game.
It is noteworthy that the points of controversy that have inspired the most significant upheaval amongst the student body have been about a hemline and a dodgeball game. Of all the injustices that could have inspired us to action, these are the ones we noticed.
We need to take a hard look at how we react to what we are passionate about. As high school students, we are allowed to care fervently about day to day matters. But we cannot respond to minor disagreements in the same way we would protest major issues.
Jonathan Dai (12) is the editor-in-chief of TALON. This is his fourth year in journalism, and he was previously the photo editor. In his free time, he...
Dodgeballer • Sep 25, 2014 at 5:35 pm
To say that seniors can’t be upset because their reasons are mere “minor disagreements” compared to the issues of other schools is analogous to saying, “you can’t be sad because somebody out there has it worse than you do.” It is ultimately irrelevant, and the Editorial Staff is trivializing the seniors’ actions by juxtaposing it with something obviously and incomparably bigger. If it is the paper’s opinion that the seniors’ trivial issues are not worth protesting, why doesn’t it go focus its time on something that actually is.
Will the actions of Harker students be taken seriously only when we, too, form a 700-person protest on, not dodgeball, but all the rampant hypocrisies that go uncalled?