An estimated 2,500 people visited the upper school campus on Oct. 9 for the inaugural Harker Day, which combined two Harker traditions – the Family & Alumni Picnic and Homecoming – into a full day of games, food, sports and more.
Attendees traversed the campus, playing a variety of games, including Dance Dance Revolution, air hockey and Skee-Ball. Ms. Carly’s Café, Yoshi and ABVE the Basics served many different kinds of food throughout the day and people packed the Patil Theater to watch performances from lower, middle and upper school performing arts groups. Mini Cat Town, a San Jose-based cat rescue organization, had one of the more popular attractions at the event, as guests flocked there to play with adorable kittens.
Students in attendance were glad to see the community reunite in person after so many months away. “I think the community bonding here is a really nice thing,” said Harshini Chaturdevala, grade 10. “Everyone from all the campuses getting together, it’s a really fun experience.”
Loren Due MS ’85, who lounged at the special alumni meetup area, enjoyed returning to Harker to see “all the teachers and students and staff. It’s great seeing all the activities here.” Due noted that he had seen how the original Family & Alumni Picnic evolved and looked forward to seeing what was in store for Harker Day. “It’s a good carryover from Howard Nichols’ original idea of bringing a community together,” he said.
In the afternoon, the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place, honoring Cole Davis ’10, Drew Goldstein ’13 and Jessica Khojasteh ’11 for their athletic achievements as well as the example they set in becoming global citizens.
In addition to the Homecoming football game, the JV and varsity boys water polo, JV and varsity girls volleyball and varsity girls water polo teams were also in competition, with fans showing their support. Varsity boys and girls water polo, JV boys water polo and JV girls volleyball all picked up wins, while varsity girls volleyball fell to Castilleja.
Toward the evening, guests moved to Davis Field for the start of the 2021 Homecoming festivities, including the tug-of-war contest between the freshman and the sophomores, which was won by the Class of 2024. After two intense quarters of football between the Eagles and visitors Marina High School, audiences enjoyed performances by the Harker cheer squad and the Harker Dance Company and watched the tug-of-war finals between the classes of 2022 and 2025, in which the seniors emerged victorious. The Homecoming game ended with the Eagles falling to Marina with a final score of 26-42.
Today, Harker celebrated the birthday of Howard Nichols (1940-2008), the former Harker president who with his wife, Diana, was instrumental in developing Harker into the school it is today. Every year, the community celebrates Howard’s birthday, which falls on Oct. 10, by enjoying chocolate chip cookies, a reference to his practice of keeping a jar of cookies in his office to let passersby know that he was always available for a chat. During the day, students also learned about Howard’s life and accomplishments. At the morning middle school meeting, the student leadership council gave a special presentation on Howard, and lower school teachers used their homeroom periods to teach students about his vision and leadership.
On Friday, Daniela Lapidous ’12 visited the upper school to speak to Harker’s Green Team about her personal experiences in environmental activism, with a focus on her efforts to get her alma mater, Columbia University, to divest from funding in the fossil fuel industry.
Lapidous, who is now a deputy field director at Green New Deal Network and worked for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, discussed how she became involved with the organization Barnard Columbia Divest (later renamed Columbia Divest for Climate Justice) after her first year at Columbia and began participating in protests, including one in Washington, D.C., attended by 10,000 people.
One of the most significant protest actions she participated in was the eight-day occupation of Columbia’s Low Library in 2016. She and other CDCJ members staged a sit-in at the library in an effort to persuade university president Lee Bollinger to make a pledge of divestment from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies. Lapidous said the occupation was supported by many students, who provided food to the occupiers and attended teach-ins on climate justice.
Earlier this year, Columbia ended direct investment in publicly traded oil and gas companies. Lapidous noted that while there are some caveats (exceptions may be made for companies with a “credible plan” to bring business to net zero emissions by 2050), the progress was heartening. She also highlighted the massive mobilization that took place over nearly a decade for the progress to happen.
Members of the Green Team sought advice from Lapidous on how to achieve their own goals. “In my own organizing, I have found that having conversations with decision makers is great,” she said. “When you come to a difference of values or priorities then it is helpful to have support from students and faculty.”
She also said that setting an example can be inspiring to others: “Even if you start small, seeing other people doing the work can inspire more people to come in.”
Earlier this month, Wajahat Ali MS ’94 appeared on the “On Being” podcast, hosted by journalist and author Krista Tippett. Ali, now a journalist and columnist for The Daily Beast, shared his views on hope as framed by his daughter’s experience beating cancer after being diagnosed at age 3. He spoke with theologian Kate Bowler, who herself was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the age of 35. The podcast in its entirety and a transcript are available at the “On Being” website.
On July 3, beloved former upper school English teacher Marc Hufnagl passed away at his home in Switzerland following a brave battle with prostate cancer. He had been living in Switzerland with his husband, Juerg, after his retirement in 2016. He was accompanied by Juerg, his sister, Jan, and his dog, Nico, at the time of his death. “We are heartbroken from the loss of our beloved Marc, but we know he will live on in the hearts and minds of all those who knew and loved him,” Jan said.
Hufnagl joined Harker in 2001 and taught English at the upper school for 15 years. An avid musician and songwriter, he released multiple albums of original music, and in 2014 performed a selection of his own songs for students. He was a big fan of Joni Mitchell, as evidenced by the poster of the cover art from her album, “Hejira,” that he had hanging in his classroom. After his diagnosis, he contacted upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth to request that it be shipped back to him, which Shuttleworth graciously did.
“He was a great, great person,” said Shuttleworth.
During his time at Harker, Hufnagl commuted to his job from Oakland each day, just one example of his remarkable dedication to teaching. “In one of my last conversations with him, he said that he felt great pride in being part of this institution and in seeing the students excel the way they do while at Harker and after Harker,” said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs. “Knowing that he even had a small part in the students’ success filled him with great pride.”
A Caring Bridge page has been set up for people to leave dedications, and several Harker alumni have posted remembrances of their former teacher. “As a former student, he filled my heart with love for a subject I never thought I could love,” said Edward Sheul ’16.
Sahana Narayanan ’16, who is studying at the New England Conservatory for her master’s in jazz voice, said, “In my formative years, you modeled a contemplative life of endless artistic and spiritual self-inquiry. Thank you for your kindness and time.”
Those wishing to make a donation in Hufnagl’s honor have been asked to support Cancer Support San Francisco Bay Area and the Swiss Cancer League. A celebration of Hufnagl’s life is planned for Friday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m. at the Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill, located at 1520 Lakeside Dr. in Oakland. As space is limited, attendees are encouraged to RSVP by emailing juero@att.net.
Middle school mathematics department chair Vandana Kadam recently won the Edyth May Sliffe Award, which is awarded to middle and high school math teachers who have shown dedication to teaching by motivating students to participate in the American Mathematics Competitions. Kadam last won the award in 2018. Candidates for this award are nominated by colleagues, students, parents and administrators, and winners are chosen based on criteria such as demonstrated improvement in AMC scores over multiple years, increased participation in the competitions and increased participation in invitational events such as the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO).
Today, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced that 52 Harker seniors, more than 25 percent of the Class of 2022, were named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of high school students who took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test as juniors. They become finalists by submitting a scholarship application that includes their academic record, a summary of participation in school activities and awards they’ve received.
This year’s semifinalists are:
Malar Bala, Laszlo Bollyky, Erica Cai, Teresa Cai, Cady Chen, Charles Ding, Alice Feng, Adheet Ganesh, Yvan Grinspan, Arnav Gupta, Elvis Han, Victoria Han, Catherine He, Mark Hu, Angelina Yuzifovich, Sinaya Joshi, Vishnu Kannan, Saahas Kohli , Anirudh Kotamraju, Aidan Lincke, Alex Liou, Michelle Liu, Aaron Lo, Kavita Murthy, Kate Olsen, Sujith Pakala, Muthu Panchanatham, Vienna Parnell, Rishab Parthasarathy, Anishka Raina, Sasvath Ramachandran, Bodhi Saha, Dhruv Saoji, Yejin Song, Cindy Su, Aditya Tagore, Emily Tan, Keshiv Tandon, Zeel Thakkar, Rohan Thakur, Nicole Tian, Michael Tran, Pranav Varmaraja, Austin Wang, Daniel Wu, Esther Wu, Alina Yuan, Irene Yuan, April Zhang, William Zhao, Emily Zhou and Gloria Zhu.
On Tuesday, upper school jazz band members attended an impromptu master class by pianist Dalton Ridenhour in the Patil Theater. A specialist in stride piano, the style that developed from ragtime, Ridenhour talked about the history of ragtime, which was influenced largely by classical and folk music, and its influence on jazz piano. Ragtime became popular with people who played the piano in their homes and purchased sheet music of ragtime pieces to perform for their families and friends. In New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, Ridenhour explained, residents would host “rent parties,” where musicians were hired to perform and attendees would pay admission in order to help tenants pay their rent. James P. Johnson, an early notable stride pianist, was a frequent performer at such parties. Ridenhour performed pieces by both Johnson and influential ragtime composer Scott Joplin to demonstrate both the differences and similarities between the two styles.
Upper school students flocked to the annual Club Fair on Wednesday to find out more about the dozens of opportunities available to students in a huge variety of fields and interests. Nearly 80 tables were set up at the event, each staffed by club members who offered information to students and answered their questions.
Groups such as the Art Club advertised their activities with creative posters. “We host very exciting events and there’s no art experience necessary,” said senior Michelle Liu, an officer with the Art Club. “We host workshops and speaker events and we’ve also been doing some murals lately.” The club is also planning life drawing sessions that are free for anyone to attend.
The Dungeons and Dragons Club was one of several clubs at the event organized around specific hobbies. “We provide game masters to run D&D games for anyone who wants to play, if they’re experienced, or if they’ve never played before or if they just want to try it out,” said Bauer Muhle, grade 11. “We offer a space and people who all run the game for them.” The club, which started last year, plans to hold workshops for people to learn the game and help them develop their in-game characters.
STEM fields were a significant presence at the Club Fair, including the Psychology Club. “We host meetings throughout the year to talk about different psych topics that would be interesting to people,” said junior Athena Wu, a representative with the Psychology Club. Some of the events the club has planned are focused on lectures, while others involve discussion among attendees. “We’re very excited to be back in person and do much more interactive activities,” said club member Defne Avkarogullari, grade 10.
Sixth grader and chess enthusiast Omya Vidyarthi won a gold medal at last month’s 17th Annual North American Youth Chess Championship, which hosted more than 400 entrants from the Canada, Mexico and the United States. Vidyarthi competed in the U12 Girls category and won with a score of 8.5 points out of a possible 9. She is now eligible to earn the Woman FIDE Master title from the International Chess Federation. As a bonus, Vidyarthi also took second place in the blitz chess side event!