![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)
On Dec. 20, 2020, two candidates campaigning for a four-year term on the BOUSD school board found themselves deadlocked with 1,805 votes apiece.
To break the tie, the election turned to an unconventional solution: a single die rolled twice by each candidate. The sum of both rolls would determine the winner of the coveted, policy-making school board seat.
Incumbent Gail Lyons, BOUSD trustee, rolled a two and a one, while 26-year-old challenger Lauren Barnes (‘16) rolled a pair of ones.
One dot determined the winner.
Had just one more Brea resident voted, a citizen’s voice — not luck — would have determined a powerful local position.
BOHS students who will be eligible to vote need to understand the value of their ballot, especially in local elections.
Shaping city policy, determining school board seats, enacting safety measures for our community, and voting for a bond that will improve the district’s aging campuses are just a few examples of the importance of casting ballots in this year’s election.
Take, for instance, Measure H, the BOUSD School Board Bond on the ballot in November. If passed, there will be funds to replace deteriorating roofs and electrical systems, remove asbestos and lead, modernize classrooms, expand science labs, improve accessibility for students with disabilities, incorporate up-to-date instructional technology, and more.
For the vote to pass, 55% of Brea voters must vote “yes” for the bond. (The last time the citizens of Brea voted in favor of a school improvement bond: 1999.)
Your vote also matters on a statewide scale. This year, voters will decide on propositions that could affect the right to same-sex marriage, the increase of the minimum wage to $18/hour, and the expansion of mental health services.
Nationally, young voters will choose between former president Donald Trump and his pick for vice president, JD Vance, and Vice President Kamala Harris and her pick for VP, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
If Harris is elected, our generation will be partly responsible for voting into the Oval Office the first woman — and the first woman of color, at that — in our nation’s 248-year history.
This election may have a record-breaking youth turn-out at the ballot box, with superstar musicians like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish leading efforts to register new voters before the Nov. 5 election.
On Sept. 10, following the first, and possibly only debate between candidates Trump and Harris, Swift posted to her Instagram account (with its 284 million followers) her endorsement of Harris and Walz, which led to a surge of 405,999 visits to vote.org.
On Sept. 17, National Voter Registration Day, Eilish spoke directly to her 119 million Instagram followers, also endorsing Harris and Walz, and encouraging fans to check their voter registration status at iwillvote.com.
When so much is at stake — abortion rights, immigration reform, and taxation to name a few — choosing not to vote should not be an option.
Especially when registering is so easy: You can pick up a voter registration form in front of the inside ASB window in the main office, or even register online. Both options take mere minutes to complete.
And voting is just as easy: There are mail-in ballot drop-boxes in front of the Brea Civic Center and at the Brea Sports Park, and there will be polling stations at the Brea Civic and Cultural Center (Community Rooms A and B) and at the Brea Community Center.
To all newly eligible, and future, voters: register to vote (Oct. 21 is the last day to register), educate yourselves on the issues that matter most to you, and make your voices heard at the ballot box.
Every ballot cast ensures that our leaders are elected for their values and capabilities, not by lucky die rolls. Your vote can shape the direction of our community.
So to all new and veteran voters: Cast a ballot in the November elections.
This story was originally published on The Wildcat on September 17, 2024.
