![“[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)
In light of yesterday’s election, numerous students expressed strong opinions on the passage of Proposition 30 and the rejection of Proposition 38.
According to the California Official Voters’ Guide, Proposition 30 will increase taxes for citizens who make more than $250,000 a year in addition to increasing sales tax for everyone in the state by 0.25%, effective for the next seven years.
Similarly, Proposition 38’s purpose is to increase taxes on earnings based on income with the promise of additional money going toward schools, early childcare, and repaying state debt.
Many students feel that increasing state taxes will be beneficial to the state public school system.
“[Increasing taxes is] a good idea because [the taxes] aren’t going to increase dramatically, and our [state] needs a better education system. [….] We could use some help for education,” Nikita Ramoji (9) said.
Freshman Jonathan Trinh also believes that increasing taxes will improve the lives of prospective students.
“[Proposition 30] will help a lot of future students […] and innovators,” he said.
However, several students think Proposition 30 should not impact families with higher incomes. Some students also expressed skepticism regarding where exactly the extra money will go.
“I think the intentions are good, but the execution’s probably going to be flawed,” Rebecca Chen (11) said. “Not all the money that we have to pay is going to go to the causes [described]. It’s […] falsely advertised.”
Proposition 30 will be enforced from January 1, 2013, while Proposition 38 was not passed.
