![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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 its played such a major role in who Ive 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 Im [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)
![“[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)
![“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent 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)
![“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)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 review – 3/5 stars
The Hunger Games
December 11, 2015
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the final movie in The Hunger Games series, was released on Nov. 20. The movie, directed by Francis Lawrence, featured Katniss and her team from District 13 traveling to the Capitol to try to assassinate President Snow and end the war.
The movie takes place mainly in District 13 and the Capitol, where the rebel forces try to create propaganda of Katniss as the Mockingjay to help win the war.
The film begins right where The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 left off, and Katniss is recovering from the injuries that Peeta gave her when he attacked her in a rage. He too is recovering from his traumatic time in the Capitol where President Snow used tracker jacker venom to alter his memories and make him violent.
Katniss sneaks off to various districts and on several occasions, goes against District 13’s President Coin’s orders. She wants to participate in the war and fight, but Coin holds her back and tells her that she is too important to join in the war effort.
Eventually, Katniss and her team travels to the Capitol and Katniss pretends that she has a mission to assassinate President Snow. As they make their way through the trap-filled streets, and fend off vicious creatures, some characters die in action scenes, which gives the film a more realistic quality, rather than having everyone survive the many ordeals they face. The action scenes provided an interesting break from the plotless wandering that made up much of the film.
This movie hardly focused on relationships between characters, except for several scenes during which Katniss tries to help Peeta recover. As the movie unfolds, it becomes clear that President Coin is just as corrupt as President Snow, made apparent through her subtle interactions with others.
The movie ends with an underwhelming but peaceful epilogue, which makes it seem as if all the people who died for Katniss perished for no apparent reason, especially Prim.
“I liked the fact that they put an epilogue and showed what happened to them as they grew, but I didn’t like the fact that so many people died in it and I thought that some parts could have been more true to the book,” Aarti Kheskani (12) said.
