Our Advocacy Club is one of the newest clubs, being formed at the beginning of the year, but it was a long time coming. After campaigning for the teacher millage in the fall and representing Robinson at the Florida Legislative Conference, their next event is Clash and Connext: a night where students and parents can come debate social media and mental health in this changing age that takes place April 516 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The main event of the meeting is offering a space for students and parents to learn and expand on their knowledge of how social media affects youth and its impacts on mental health and how we interact with the world through a structured debate. While the debate will allow people to share their individual knowledge, the main hope is for people to highlight the contrasts between the positives and the negatives of social media and discover new approaches to how they chose to use it.
“Through this event, we hope to educate students by providing a well-rounded understanding of how social media influences their lives, from mental wellness to online safety,” club president Reina Aitkens (’25) said.
Besides offering the opportunity for the students and parents to discuss the topic with each other, there will be a speaker from the Tampa division of the FBI as well as several TedTalks from experts in the field, offering more advanced, professional knowledge on the subject. After the talks, attendees will be able to ask questions related to cybersecurity and ways to protect yourself and your personal information online.
“We’re excited to welcome a guest speaker from the FBI,” Aitkens said. “They will be sharing valuable insights on cybersecurity and the different aspects of social media that affect both students and parents.”
If you’re interested in learning about protecting yourself from online threats and debating about how social media affects us, the event is open to all Robinson students and parents and has no admission cost.