![“[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)
Juniors change class T-shirt design
Juniors receive their T-shirts the morning of the Homecoming rally due to a possible misinterpretation of their class shirts
The junior class T-shirt was changed earlier this week after the original design was found to be possibly spelling out a racial slur.
The T-shirt design’s possibly offensive text was a mistake, according to both Dr. Matthew Harley, Junior Class Dean, and the student designer, Kevin Ke (11).
The original design of the class shirt with the front spelling out “juniors” with multicolored splotches behind the words in white font. The back had the same basic design, instead saying “Living Legends.”
Dr. Harley spoke about the issue.
“Nobody saw anything unusual about any of the designs.” Dr. Harley said “We had over a hundred juniors voting online, looking at these different designs without any issues. When we got the shirt with the winning design, at least one student, it popped into their head that this section of this part of the word is actually a racial slur.”
Dr. Harley also made clear that the situation would not repeat itself, due to the unintentional nature of the offensive word.
“When Ankur [the junior class Secretary] informed me of the problem, I understood why the shirt may needed to be changed.” Kevin said “I’m just frustrated because we should have caught it before we printed the shirts so we wouldn’t be so tight on time.”
Dr. Harley also discussed the necessity for the shirt to be altered.
Junior class Vice President Sanil Rajput (11) commented about the noticeability of the mistake.
“That’s the issue with the T-shirt, initially, you won’t see it, but the moment you hear about it, you know it’s there and you can’t miss it.” Sanil said.
The decision to change the shirt fell mostly upon Dr. Harley with assistance and advice from the junior student council officers.
Junior class Spirit Coordinator, Edward Sheu, also shared his opinion of why the change to the shirt was necessary.
Dr. Harley worked with a screen printer to adjust the design of the shirt. The printing over of the original design cut down on the cost of changing the shirts greatly by not purchasing entirely new ones, but instead adapting the originals.
If the junior class treasury is unable to pay, the administration may be drawing on funds from different budgets to cover the costs.
Melina Nakos (12) is a reporter for The Winged Post. This is her third year as a part of the journalism program. She loves to spend time with the rest...
Shannon Su is the Managing Editor and Executive News Director of Harker Aquila. She joined the program as a reporter her freshman year and has held many...