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

As new restrictions on abortion medications arise after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, women grapple with losing the ability to make decisions about their own bodies. The abortion debate arose in the 1800s and continues to shape political and social divides in our country.

Pulse of the People: Reaching for the right of choice

by Vika Gautham and Hima Thota May 12, 2023

​​Content Warning: This article contains mentions of abortion, rape and incest. Since June 2022, women across the country have grappled with the consequences of this decision when the Supreme Court...

 While popular culture associates Gen Z with short attention spans and addiction to technology, Stanford research shows that Gen Z strives to address current issues and solve them, whether through protests, activism, and more. “It’s our collective responsibility to ensure that we hear a variety of distinct and diverse perspectives in order to produce the most holistic and effective policy,” Gordon Chen (12) said.

Pulse of the People: ‘Our collective responsibility’

by Vika Gautham and Desiree Luo March 28, 2023

Content warning: This article mentions gun violence and abortion.  When Sara Bhowmick (12) became a political intern for Saratoga City councilmember Rishi Kumar the summer before her junior year at...

Climate strike attendees wave their signs and flags in the air on their way to Plaza de Cesar Chavez on Friday. Upon their arrival, the group formed a semicircle in the plaza to listen to various speeches from people involved with stopping climate change.

Pulse of the People: Youth demand environmental action at local climate strike

by Sabrina Zhu, Kinnera Mulam, and Sally Zhu April 27, 2022

Ten upper school students attended the Silicon Valley Youth Climate Strike 2022 for a march and speeches in downtown San Jose on Friday, Earth Day, at 4 p.m.  Green Team members and Green Team...

Harvard graduate students Amulya Mandava (06), Lilia Kilburn and Margaret Czerwienski filed a lawsuit against Harvard University for its handing of sexual assault allegations against anthropology professor John Comaroff. The graduate college community began pressing charges against Dr. Comaroff for sexual misconduct starting in 2012 when he worked at the University of Chicago as a professor.

Pulse of the People: Speaking out in the silence

by Sarah Mohammed, Sally Zhu, Michelle Liu, and Sabrina Zhu April 11, 2022

The foundations of institutions, the bricks on which they stand, feel strong. Supportive. Easy to rest upon. A bulwark of protection. But what happens when they totter or tilt? When parts of the building...

An illustration of a photo album, reminiscent of those of families that were forced to give up personal belongings such as family photos due to being forced to enter concentration camps.

Pulse of the People: ‘Never forget, never again’

by Alysa Suleiman and Emily Tan December 3, 2021

Harker Aquila spoke with upper school faculty and students, local Jewish synagogue members and Holocaust research experts on the lasting impacts of the Holocaust and the value and necessity of integrating...

Art Club members stand behind their work after the completion of the Love Not Hate mural in Downtown Palo Alto on June 12. Club members painted the mural in support of the Stop AAPI movement and to show solidarity with the AAPI community.

Pulse of the People: Where color and paintbrushes meet local issues

by Sally Zhu, A&E and Lifestyle Editor June 22, 2021

If you were to walk down University Avenue in Downtown Palo Alto the summer afternoon of June 12, the streets would be filled with tables outside restaurants, families and many large canopy tents to block...

More than 1000 protestors gather at San Jose City Hall to protest hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) on Sunday March 21. The protest was just one of many happening across the nation after the recent spotlight of Asian-directed attacks.

Pulse of the People: Not a new issue

by Alysa Suleiman and Nicole Tian March 22, 2021

This article has been updated on March 26 to reflect additional resources provided for the upper school community. What does an “Asian American” represent? A computer engineer at a Silicon Valley...

Dr. Bettina Love of University of Georgia kicked off Black History Month at the upper school with her talk on issues including structural racism, the evolution of Black culture and the history of African American oppression and its lasting impacts.

Pulse of the People: “Call out injustice, call out racism”

by Lucy Ge, Nicole Tian, Emily Tan, and Sarah Mohammed February 19, 2021

“Shut it Down, Ferguson is Everywhere,” read a framed portrait in the background of University of Georgia Professor Dr. Bettina Love’s Zoom screen in reference to the 2014-2015 protests after the...

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