![“[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 Speech and Debate department held a public debate on the resolution “The United States should ban single-use plastics” on May 1. Held annually during Earth Week, this event raises environmental awareness and showcases student debaters.
Seniors Adrian Liu and Max Xing opened by laying out the main arguments from the affirmative and negative sides, respectively. In a three-minute speech, Max highlighted how single-use plastics exacerbate climate change and damage human health. Adrian cited the importance of single-use plastic tools in hospitals as well as their role in small businesses and supply chains.
Sanghwie Yim (11) and Leon Le (9) followed with the first affirmative and negative rebuttal, extending their side’s arguments and refuting the opposition. Manan Gupta (9), arguing for the affirmative, and Krish Goenka (10), arguing for the negative, closed with the final rebuttal speeches.
“We outweigh [the negation] on timeframe because of the perpetual threat of microplastic consumption, and magnitude, because extinction by climate change affects the 8 billion people living on Earth today and infinite future generations,” Manan said in his speech. “Our impacts are immediate and expansive to people living all around the world.”
Sophomore Anoushka Chakravarty, who helped coordinate the debate, pointed out the complexity of the chosen resolution.
“[The resolution] has a lot of nuance, and I don’t usually see people thinking about it within the climate debate,” Anoushka said. “Usually environmental topics just focus on the environment versus the economy, but this resolution has a lot of different angles to approach it from. There are a lot of good arguments both against and for it.”
Speech and Debate Department Chair Jenny Achten commended the debaters for their collaboration and performance.
“As a coach, I was very happy to see students from a variety of speech and debate events work together to present a persuasive debate for a general audience,” Achten said. “Our students can both specialize at tournaments and adjust to a broader audience.”
Junior Shreyas Chakravarty hosted the event, introducing each student with their Speech and Debate achievements and fun facts about their hobbies. The debaters’ arguments were scripted by participants beforehand to spotlight the students and promote the program to prospective members.
“[The debate] helps with getting more discourse happening about climate change, specifically in this case, single-use plastics,” Max said. “But it has also increased exposure to the program. That’s helpful for freshmen who are currently interested in the program but don’t really know what it’s about.”
