School meeting recap 2/23/23: United Voices, ReCreate Reading and Culture Week

Student+Diversity+Coalition+%28SDC%29+representatives+Ariana+Gauba+%2810%29+and+Fern+Biswas+%2810%29+speak+about+Culture+Week%2C+which+took+place+from+Feb.+27+to+March+3.+Culture+Week+featured+cultural+performances+from+members+of+the+Harker+community%2C+cultural+visual+arts+and+culture+booths.+

Jessica Tang

Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) representatives Ariana Gauba (10) and Fern Biswas (10) speak about Culture Week, which took place from Feb. 27 to March 3. Culture Week featured cultural performances from members of the Harker community, cultural visual arts and culture booths.

by Felix Chen, Asst. News Editor

Associated Student Body (ASB) President Kris Estrada (12) opened the school meeting on Feb. 23 by remarking on the date’s resemblance to the senior class’s year of graduation. 

Dean of Students Kevin Williamson then discussed Harker’s policy on food delivery services on campus. Harker does not allow individuals to order food services on campus, but if clubs and organizations have a need for food for an event, they should speak with him. 

Upper School Librarian Meredith Cranston announced ReCreate Reading, the Harker Upper School’s summer reading program. She encouraged students to reach out to teachers to sponsor books with them: to do so, students must have a faculty co-sponsor and fill out a form soon to be posted on Schoology.

WiSTEM co-presidents Eileen Ma (12) and Ella Yee (11) invited students to attend their 17th annual research symposium on Saturday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The motto of this year’s symposium is “STEM for all, all for STEM.” The event will feature speakers such as Janice Chen, who co-founded Mammoth Biosciences, data scientist Rohit Vashisht, and Harker alumni Simar Bajaj ‘20 who currently is a pre-med at Harvard University. In addition, Harker students who have conducted research can sign up to present or speak at the symposium. This year, the event will be free-of-charge. 

The Spanish National Honor Society then spoke on La Noche Cultural Hispana 2023, the Spanish Cultural Night, which will occur on March 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. All current and former Spanish students are welcome to attend. Students and faculty will perform at the event, and there will be food as well. Auditions for performances took place on Feb. 27 and March 3 in Main 21. 

Dr. Beth Wahl encouraged students to perform in the Shakespeare monologue contest. She held an informational meeting on Thursday during long lunch. The competition will occur on March 9. 

President of the Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Aastha Mangla (12) introduced the year’s second Books with Barsky that took place on Feb. 25. This meeting was LGBTQ+ themed, and all students were invited to come with a book in mind that related to the theme. 

Harker Conservatory presented United Voices with a video featuring students from across the campuses. United Voices performed on March 3. Additionally, they invited all students to audition for the Harker Jazz Band, with recordings that were due on March 6.

Green Team Officer Shreyas Chakravarthy (10) announced the Food Waste Audit, in collaboration with the Cleanliness Committee, to measure the Harker community’s food waste. The first audit occurred on Feb. 25, and the next will be held on March 17 and April 13.  

Ariana Gauba (10) and Fern Biswas (10), members of the Student Diversity Coalition (SDC), spoke on Culture Week, which took place from Feb. 27 to March 3 and featured cultural performances from members of the Harker community, cultural visual arts and culture booths. Frosh and Sophomores also attended Challenge Day last Friday. 

After the Eagle Update, where they presented Claire Anderson (10) and Abhi Namala (12) as athletes of the week, seniors were invited to the class of 2023 movie night, featuring How to Train Your Dragon, which took place on Feb. 24. Gordon Chen (12) led the attendees in a birthday song for Kris, before dismissing the meeting.