WINGED POST
THE HARKER SCHOOL
Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID San Jose, CA Permit No. 2296
500 SARATOGA AVE.
SAN JOSE, CA 95129
THE UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE HARKER SCHOOL
500 SARATOGA AVENUE, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95129
VOL. 27 NO. 2
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2025
PHOTOS BY SAM LI AND CYNTHIA XIE
History made in f ur sets
inside the
ISSUE
PUMPED UP (LEFT) Varsity girls volleyball co-captain and outside hitter Elie Ahluwalia (12) cheers after winning a point. LOCKED IN (MIDDLE) Outside hitter Ashley Zhou (10) prepares to serve the volleyball. JUMPING FOR JOY (RIGHT) Co-captain and setter Keira Chang (12) jumps up to celebrate winning a point with opposite hitter Nat Tan (12).
05 features
Varsity girls volleyball dominates at homecoming
09 opinions
F
Wi-Fi rollout sparks questions over transparency
Free speech fails First Amendment promise
14 stem
Waymo plans SJC, Silicon Valley operations
17 sports
Girls volleyball, basketball transition to upper league
lily shi, eva cheng, wenjie zou & lily peng or the first time in school history, the varsity girls volleyball team competed in the homecoming game against Branham High School at Davis Field on Saturday. The team won in four sets, marking Northern California’s first outdoor high school volleyball game. “It was really surreal that we got to have this experience because not many schools are able to do this,” varsity
girls volleyball opposite hitter Annabel Huang (11) said. “I’m really happy we beat Branham in four sets because last time we beat them in five, and it was really close. The energy throughout the game was incredibly exciting.” The volleyball match replaced the traditional football game, which was cancelled due to safety concerns over a small roster. Varsity girls volleyball setter Brooke Kubose (12) recalled her enthusiasm when
she learned that the team would play at the homecoming game. “My initial reaction when our team found out was just smiling so big,” Brooke said. “We went to the lower school for a sports assembly, and when they announced there was a volleyball match, all the little girls were really excited, which made me so happy. I also knew all my friends would be in the crowd at the game, and that really meant a lot to me.” This year’s homecoming featured familiar highlights,
with pregame performances and cheerleading all taking place as usual. The “halftime show” between the second and third sets of the match included the crowning of seniors Sophia Ou and Timothy Deng as homecoming royals tug-ofwar between the sophomores and seniors and routines by Harker Dance Company and cheer. In the preliminary tugof-war rounds, the juniors defeated the frosh, and the seniors took the win against the sophomores.
DESIGN BY ASHLEY MO AND TIFFANY ZHU