![“[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)
The Electoral College explained
Courtesy of CNN News
A map of the results of the 2016 presidential election. Each state has a certain amount of electors that ultimately votes for their preferred candidate.
December 7, 2016
Every four years, the American people use the electoral college system to determine the President and Vice President of the United States.
The electoral college is currently comprised of 538 electors, who cast their individual votes to elect the positions of President and Vice President. Each state’s electors are nominated by the state legislatures, either by way of state party committee nomination or campaigns for an elector spot, aggregating to a total of 538 individuals from 50 states and the District of Columbia. Whichever candidate wins 270 electoral votes first becomes the winner of the election.
Citizens who vote on Election Day contribute to the popular vote in a certain region or state, therefore supposedly binding the electors to the candidate with the most votes in that particular place. The electors then meet on Dec. 19 at their respective state capitals, at which time they will cast their individual ballots for the President and Vice President positions.
While there is no definite law that requires electors to vote according to the result of the popular vote in their state, some states call for votes casted in alignment with the majority. Other than possibly being bounded by popular vote, some electors are also pledged to political parties.
“In the Electoral College, states are allotted a certain amount of ‘electoral votes’ based on population—these votes are actually what determine the winner of the election [achieving 270 electoral votes is sufficient to win],” Alexander Lam (12) said. “I can’t speak to how much of the population understands the system, but I have generally noticed that people at Harker have at least a surface level understanding of how it works.”
While Trump won with 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 in the 2016 presidential election, Clinton still has over 2.5 million more popular votes than Trump, even weeks after Election Day.
Due to the great discrepancy between electoral and popular votes, many individuals and parties have been pushing for recount in certain states within the past few weeks. The Green Party is pushing for recount in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all of which Trump won. These three states total to 46 votes, which could potentially alter the results of the election, according to BBC News.
While some recounts are driven by the vote inconsistency, many political figures, including three of the four former presidential candidates, have focused on recounts as they claimed the voting system to be rigged and unjust.
The electoral college was established in 1787, in conjunction with the formation of the Constitution, and was created to balance the power of Congress with the power of citizens in electing people to positions of high office.
In every election, certain states are solidly Republican and Democratic. As a result, the swing states, where support for both parties are close to equal, are often the consequential ones during an election.
However, in a state where a majority is ensured, the candidate only receives the same number of electoral votes, regardless of how many more popular votes they may have. In a swing state, a narrow margin in either direction can bind all electors of a state to one candidate.
In the 2016 presidential election, in which president-elect Donald Trump and former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were the major party nominees, many swing states Clinton was predicted to win in unexpectedly tilted in a different direction. Trump won in many swing states, such as Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which eventually lead him to the majority votes.
“[The electoral college] gave a larger voice to small states than it would [have] be if the voting was simply due to population because then states like California would have outweighed those, as we see with the popular vote,” Michael Tseitlin (12) said.
