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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Sasvath Ramachandran (12) promposes to Yejin Song (12). With prom quickly approaching tomorrow, numerous promposals took place on campus over the last few weeks, ranging from the simple and straightforward ask to the elaborately designed scheme.

To accept or not to accept: Promposals showcase upperclassmen creativity

by Olivia Xu, Reporter April 23, 2022

The anxious pounding of a heart. The awkward upperclassman, standing still with a bouquet of colorful roses and a giant white poster. The surprised classmate, contemplating “to accept or not to accept”...

An illustration of Reagan Ka's (12) prom dress. While many upper school students still approached their princess, prince or even friends in a series of promposals, they decided to live their happily-ever-afters for prom in style.

Ballgowns and bow ties: Students prepare fashion statements for prom

by Trisha Iyer and Ananya Sriram April 23, 2022

“Cinderella never asked for a prince. She asked for a night off and a dress,” romance novelist Kiera Cass said in a Bustle interview. While many upper school students still approached their princess,...

Humans of Harker: Lending an ear

by Trisha Iyer, Reporter April 22, 2022

In senior Nicole Arena’s happiest memory, she’s splashing her friends in the Garden of Eden swimming hole along the San Lorenzo River down in Santa Cruz. She describes the trek down to the water as...

“I want people to be more open about programming and computer science. I know a lot of people say that programming is boring, and in a lot of ways, yes, coding can be, if you let it be boring. I thought programming was boring until I found an application for it that I found interesting. If there’s a subject or topic one doesn’t initially like as much, they should try and be more open and willing to give it a chance," Rohit Tallapragada (12) said.

Humans of Harker: One click away

by Claire Bauschlicher, Reporter April 22, 2022

Sitting down with his laptop in front of him, Rohit Tallapragada (12) quickly scans the hundreds of lines of code within his program, carefully debugging his code for any errors. Although in the past,...

“I definitely feel that stretch and pull between the two parts of me, and that's a difficult part of being biracial — being able to connect with the part of you that's probably less prominent in the world that you live in. Sometimes it feels like you never belong. But it also feels like you can make your own identity because you can be so many different things at once," Justin Fung (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Recipe for reflection

by Michelle Wei, Reporter April 21, 2022

Justin Fung (12) fondly describes memories of watching his grandparents cook traditional Chinese dishes such as lo bak go, a type of turnip cake. Justin would eagerly observe them shred and boil daikon...

“I thought to myself that I had to suppress that fear or face that fear and realize that if I focus on the task at hand, focus on doing what I've set out to do, that's far better than just focusing on any fear and insecurity of what I can and cannot do," John Zeng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Teamwork and tackling

by Medha Yarlagadda, Reporter April 21, 2022

Recalling one of his favorite memories with football, John Zeng (12), the offensive and defensive lineman and captain of the football team, recalls the Harker seven on seven tournament. The competitive...

Students look on as the sprinkler sprays others exiting the library. “I was very surprised, of course, you don’t really see that kind of thing every day,” said Richie Amarillas (12), who was outside the library when the pipe burst. “When I looked outside I just thought it was raining because it was supposed to rain today, but no, it was a sprinkler."

BREAKING: Sprinkler bursts near library, temporarily drenches walkway

by Shiv Deokar, Sidak Sanghari, Grant Yang, and Felix Chen April 21, 2022

Additional reporting by Sabrina Zhu, Sally Zhu, Arjun Barrett and Isha Moorjani.  This is a developing story. Check back on harkeraquila.com for more updates.  A sprinkler head outside the upper...

Despite the arguments for and against changing to daylight saving time year-round, right now, it is not an option due to federal law, which requires states to either continue with the biannual time change or stay on standard time. Currently, Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, and Hawaii are the only two states which observe standard time for the full year.

Standardize sleep with year round standard time

by Margaret Cartee, Asst. Opinion Editor April 21, 2022

Although daylight saving time started on March 13, I still feel the after effects much later — my sleep cycle has not adjusted to the forward shift yet. Unfortunately, I still have to wake up at the...

“I wish people would care about others a little bit more. [In] martial arts, I try to teach our students the strength of character and how to become a good person in addition to developing their physical skills; I want to help them grow into better people because that’s what my coaches did for me when I was younger," Andrew Vodinh-Ho (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Strength in mind and body

by Katie Reed, Reporter April 20, 2022

Firmly gripping a polished naginata with both hands, Andrew Vodinh-Ho (12) lunges forward, face grim and unrelenting as he stares forward in concentration. His black belt, cinched around his waist, flutters...

“I don't really have grand aspirations to change the world. I just want to make something that will impact other people and make them reflect and think about their lives the way that media has made me reflect thinking about my life, whether it's a painting or it's a game," Gloria Zhu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Blurring the lines

by Lucy Ge, Aquila Co-Managing Editor April 20, 2022

Carefully etching into a linoleum block with a sharp metal tool, Gloria Zhu (12) works deftly to make a sketch come to life in a matter of minutes using her latest artistic medium of choice — printmaking....

Sonia Yu (9) leads the freshmen in a section of their class dance. The juniors placed first in the class dance competition, followed by the seniors, the sophomores and the freshmen, respectively.

From heroes to villains: Upper school hosts in-person spring Spirit Week

by Harker Journalism Staff April 20, 2022

Cheers infuse the crisp air on Davis Field. The chants emanating from white, black, yellow and green clusters — freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes dressed in their respective colors — overpower...

“Anything can happen in a tennis match. The score can flip really quickly. In that sense, I have to be really patient. So, in a match, if I’m losing a set, there’s still one more I can play. I have to reset, and I can continue trying," Shika Tseitlin (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swinging into the present

by Young Min, Reporter April 19, 2022

Shika Tseitlin (12) remembers one of his first tennis tournaments after rebounding from quarantine. After playing two tiring matches and beating two people ranked higher than him on the same day, he finally...

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