![“[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)
Capitol Hill: What You Missed (Volume 19, Issue 1)
Protesters gather in Seattle’s Hing Hay Park to protest in favor of keeping the DACA program and protecting illegal immigrants from deportation. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with attorney generals and a governor from nine other states, gave President Trump an ultimatum to terminate the DACA program, an initiative which protects illegal immigrants who came to the United States when they were 16 or younger from deportation, before Sept. 5.
September 6, 2017
Healthcare
Despite President Trump’s campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, the GOP push to repeal the act has been effectively killed in the Senate by a decisive 51-49 vote with John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins saying no to the repeal. House Republicans first passed their replacement plan for Obamacare on May 4. The Senate Republicans then introduced their version of the bill on June 22 and a revised version on July 13. On July 26, the Senate rejected both a partial repeal of Obamacare with a two-year delay as well as the so-called “skinny” repeal option, which would roll back parts of Obamacare without offering a replacement. Senator McCain’s unexpected no vote was what ultimately killed the bill in a 51-49 vote.
Dr. Anthony Scott Arend, a professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University, believes that the only way a GOP health care bill would pass will be through bipartisan cooperation to fix Obamacare and not to repeal it completely.
“With the Affordable Care Act having been in place now for a number of years, most individuals realize that there are factors in the Affordable Care Act that are good,” he said. Despite concerns about problems with the Affordable Care Act, a simple repeal would not be something most of the country would want. As a consequence, the only way there will be a new health bill is if there is cooperation in a bipartisan fashion towards something more like a fix of the Affordable Care Act, rather than a completely new bill.”
Staff Changes
Since President Trump took office, there have been dozens of cases in which White House staff members have either resigned or have been fired. First, White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigned reportedly due to his disagreement with the president’s decision to appoint Anthony Scaramucci as the White House Communications Director. Only one week later, Reince Priebus, the former White House Chief of Staff, was unexpectedly replaced by John Kelly. After only a week on the job, Scaramucci was fired after publicly feuding with Priebus and prompting Spicer to resign in protest. The most recent case of staff change was this Sunday in which Sebastian Gorka was forced out of office, according to two White House officials.
Russia Investigation
This past summer, several new details regarding the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential collusion with Russia became public.
The first major disclosure regarding the investigation this summer occurred on July 8, when news came out that Donald Trump Jr. had met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer.
According to Trump Jr., Veselnitskaya claimed to have potentially harmful information about Hillary Clinton, but the discussion largely focused around the topic of adoption from Russia.
On July 26, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided former head of Trump campaign Paul Manafort’s home in Alexandria, VA. With a warrant, the FBI came in the early hours of the morning to take documents regarding Manafort’s finances and historical involvement with Russia.
On Aug. 3, former FBI Director Rober Mueller impaneled a Grand Jury regarding the investigation. Grand juries have the power to level criminal charges.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on September 6, 2017.
