![“[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)
Antimicrobial resistance discussed at UN General Assembly
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
World Health organization
October 16, 2016
The UN General Assembly convened at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss the root causes of antimicrobial resistance and to form an international coalition to confront it as a global health concern on Sept. 21.
Antimicrobial resistance is the process in which pathogens build resistance against medicines and antibiotics through evolution and natural selection. These processes impede the treatment of infections and diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses.
The unnecessary use of antibacterial products in daily life is creating a natural selection situation that eliminates non-resistant pathogens and increases the number of immune pathogens.
“When you use antibacterial products like hand lotion, you will kill many bacteria. But there will be some that will survive, and because they have such short generation time, those that survive will very rapidly increase in population,” science department chair Anita Chetty said. “Now you have a gene that has increased in frequency and that is resistant to that lotion.”
Antimicrobial resistance may also stem from how antimicrobials are used to treat food, including crop soil, fish and other livestock.
“In animals that are raised for meat or milk, they found that it’s just easier to feed them all antibiotics instead of case by case,” upper school nurse Clare Elchert said. “That is inappropriate use, and that’s causing accelerated resistance of bacteria to medicines”
The meeting is the fourth time that the UN General Assembly has tackled a health issue—the others were on HIV, Ebola and noncommunicable diseases. Antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the most urgent global health concerns.
In recent years, forms of Tuberculosis, HIV and malaria in recent years resistant to multiple drugs have emerged. If not addressed, serious health, social and economic problems will arise, impacting the medical world and the development of countries.
Countries agreed to support international action plans on antimicrobial resistance developed based on the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, formulated in 2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance addresses the causes of antimicrobial resistance by highlighting the importance monitoring drug-resistant infections, controlling the amount of antibiotics used and avoiding misuse of antibiotic medicines, specifically for human health, animal health and agriculture.
Representatives at the General Assembly called for more appropriate use of existing antibiotics, better hygiene in hospitals and farms and safer water. In addition, they encouraged investment in researching and developing new, affordable medicines and tools to replace those that have become ineffective, as well as making a wider range of medical treatments available to more countries.
UN General Assembly and other relevant stakeholders will come together to further discuss antimicrobial resistance in September 2018.
