![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)
Moderating a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is the political version of extreme sports. Honestly, they should get hazard pay. From the start, Trump was on brand—interrupting, deflecting and taking wild detours through his personal greatest hits, like rally crowds and “rigged elections.” Harris tried to be the adult in the room, sticking to the issues, but with Trump at full volume, she may as well have been giving a TED Talk in the middle of a rock concert.
The moderators, bless their hearts, tried everything short of tranquilizer darts to maintain order. Every time they asked a straightforward question—on the economy, immigration, healthcare—Trump took it as an invitation to run an improv set. Harris managed to keep it together, delivering polished responses when she could get a word in edgewise, but her penchant for dodging questions by bringing up her middle-class childhood just seemed like a desperate attempt to connect with viewers. Seriously though, moderating this debate? No thanks, I’ll pass.
By the end, you could see the moderators aging in real-time, like a president in one of those “before and after” photos. At some point, it felt like they gave up and just let the chaos unfold. Honestly, who could blame them? The mute button was probably glowing with heat by the end of the night, and it still wasn’t enough to contain Trump’s tangents about 2020. If there’s a next debate, they might need to invest in a gong.
Harris did what she could. She stayed on message, laid out policy points and tried to appear unfazed by Trump’s stream of consciousness. Her best moments came when she addressed issues like abortion, but let’s be real—how much of that really landed when Trump was doing his best impression of an unfiltered podcast host? The moderators did occasionally get Trump to simmer down for a few seconds, but it was more like a timeout for a hyperactive toddler than a victory for debate civility.
For viewers who actually wanted substance, it was a rough night. If this was supposed to clarify the candidates’ visions for America, it felt more like a reality television reunion special. Harris definitely looked more composed, but the real story was how the moderators held on for dear life, trying to guide two very different debaters through a policy minefield. And while Harris tried to answer, Trump just wanted to bulldoze everything and talk about, well, everything else.
At this point, it feels like debates are more about surviving the spectacle than about learning anything new. The moderators deserve a standing ovation for making it out in one piece. It’s unlikely that this debate will change many minds, but it sure made for good TV—if you’re into political roller coasters.
For the next one, maybe the moderators should be allowed to tag in a wrestling referee for backup. Seriously, they’ve earned it.
This story was originally published on tjTODAY on September 24, 2024.
