![“[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)
Hong Kong holds pro-democracy protests
Wikipedia Commons
PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTS: Hong Kong protesters congregate to demand democracy. Protests have been ongoing since mid-September.
Pro-democracy protesters have continued their activism throughout Hong Kong as formal plans for talks between Hong Kong officials and demonstrators also surface.
The protest, termed the “umbrella revolution” based off of the equipment that the protesters bear to protect themselves from pepper spray, developed in opposition to China’s plans for the 2017 elections in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is classified as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, as a result of the 1984 agreement between China and Britain. The agreement’s terms state that Hong Kong would operate under a “one country, two systems” policy, wherein Hong Kong has a different and largely democratic political system compared to communist China.
On Aug. 31, China withdrew from its previous promise to allow Hong Kong citizens to democratically elect their leaders in 2017. Instead, Beijing officials announced that all prospective candidates would first be vetted by the Chinese government before being allowed to run for office.
So far, the umbrella revolution has been largely student-led, with voices like those of 17-year-old Joshua Wong, founder of Scholarism, rising to the fore. Wong along with several fellow students decided to climb over a fence into Hong Kong’s Civic Square to stage a peaceful protest. The students were arrested, escalating the simple pro-democracy demonstration to the umbrella revolution.
According to CNN, talks took place last Friday at 4 p.m. local time, with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam serving as the negotiator on the government’s behalf. Chief Executive of Hong Kong, C.Y. Leung, has warned the protesters on multiple instances against blocking public roads and keeping businesses throughout the area from conducting transactions.
In China, several individuals including established poet Wang Zang have been detained in Beijing. Wang Zang was arrested on Oct. 1 after having his apartment searched and his laptop, router and other electronics forcibly taken, according to Al-Jazeera. As claimed by Wang Zang’s lawyer, the detainment is related to the poet’s support of the umbrella revolution on social media as well as the fact that the poet planned to attend a pro-democracy poetry reading.
Hong Kong remains one of the densest areas in the world with regards to population.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on Oct. 17, 2014.
Elisabeth Siegel (12) is the editor-in-chief of the Winged Post. This is her fourth year in Journalism, and she especially loves production nights and...