![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Mayor of Miami, Frances Suarez, visited the Student Union last Monday for a fireside chat where he discussed a variety of topics: his 2024 presidential campaign, climate change, affordable housing, and infrastructure in Miami-Dade County.
“It’s always important to engage in civics. [A]lso political theory. If we never engage, we will never understand the world around us,” Politico Society President, senior Mateo Lowe, said.
Lowe moderated the fireside chat. According to Lowe, the goal of the fireside chat was for students to “gain a greater understanding of what it is to be involved in politics and public policy and administration,” along with a broader sense of empathy when discussing political issues.
Throughout the event, Suarez emphasized the importance of fostering constructive political discussions.
“We have to be able to disagree without demonizing the other side,” Suarez said.
Students like sophomore Nabeel Ishoof enjoyed this style of event and its message, seeing the importance of being politically active as youth.
“If you’re not aware about what’s happening in the world, you’re not going to be able to change anything,” Ishoof said.
A majority of the discussion focused on what the future holds for young adults like Lowe and Ishoof who hold great interest in politics and policy. Like both Lowe and Suarez commented on, the future of America’s democracy is in the hands of the young generation.
“It’s really moments like this where I can hopefully impart some wisdom and answer some of your questions to the next generation of potential leaders,” Suarez said, adding that the new generation’s potential lack of motivation to serve in government is “one of the biggest concerns” he has.
Students in the audience asked Suarez about pressing local issues, particularly climate change. In a shoreline city like Miami, climate change is a prominent issue that is hard to brush off, something Suarez emphasizes throughout his time in public service, even if climate change is not the most prevalent issue to discuss amongst the GOP presidential candidates.
Suarez expressed that the economy and the environment do not exist in a dichotomy like many of his Republican counterparts believe them to be.
“I really thought that the party just needed to semantically talk about the issue differently,” he said, adding that in Miami, “the environment is the economy.”
This story was originally published on The Raider Voice on November 20, 2023.