Opinion

Clubs Need to Change

Clubs should be after school instead of during school.

Allison Bartlett, Senior Staff Writer

December 16, 2025

Illustration by Emma Matthews (’26) depicting an I.B. student thinking about electives that aren’t offered at Robinson .

It’s a random Monday, and suddenly everyone starts shouting that it’s club day, it’s like Robinson’s version of an ill-announced snow day. Often, it is challenging to remember when club day is, and it typically means sitting around in a strange room you’ve never had a reason to enter before joining the club, or in a classroom with essentially busy work. Neither appears to be particularly appealing.

Instead, I think Robinson should implement a system where clubs are in session after school, before school, and on the weekend. This is because of people who join clubs just to get out of class. I hate when people go to clubs but don’t really share the interests of the club. It creates a division within the club of the people who actually want to be there vs the people who are just trying to skip class. The people skipping in during the school day clubs would most likely become suddenly less interested in clubs that they don’t actually want to be a part of, which may lead to Robinson having a more involved community.

Furthermore, if we had clubs on the weekend or after school, it would allow for longer meetings. Some clubs need more than a 45-minute meeting. Not having it in school would allow for clubs to be more flexible.

Additionally, sometimes clubs overlap. If there are about five clubs per period, it’s possible to have two clubs you’re interested in at the same time. This forces you to either stick with one or to awkwardly shuffle off mid-period. If it’s after school, the chances are a lot lower for two clubs to be at the same time.

Skipping class is an enormous issue within Robinson. The tardy lockouts discourage it, but the during school clubs during school hours seem to encourage it? It doesn’t make any sense. Clubs are a way for people who are completely uninterested in clubs to skip class without consequences. Having them after school will make this more lively and contribute to Robinson’s community.

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About the Contributor

Allison Bartlett, Senior Staff Writer

Allison Bartlett is a junior and a staff writer for Knight Writers. This is her second year on staff. Bartlett hopes to continue writing more opinion pieces or have more opportunities to cover unique events, such as the culinary competition she wrote a feature on last year. “Going to the event [culinary competition] was really fun, I felt like I was part of it and it was nice that I was helping Chef too. It was so interesting, I didn’t know that culinary was so big, and all the things that go into it,” Bartlett said. Bartlett is an active member of the IB program and is beginning the arduous junior year. “I can tell it’s going to be a lot of work, already I have two essays and a project due this week,” Bartlett said. To wind down after school she enjoys finding funny movies or shows on prime video and is currently enjoying the animated series “Hazbin Hotel”. Additionally, outside of school, Bartlett enjoys participating in Starlets and the friends she found through the team. “I originally joined because in freshman year, I found myself with just large chunks of time where I was laying around doing nothing, so this is a good way to fill it and socialize at the same time,” Bartlett said. At home she can be found multitasking to the extreme: doing homework, listening to a pop-rock album and watching a new show all at once. “Yeah honestly I feel like I’m always doing random things at home or like two things at once. I just like to explore and find a good playlist or a good show for the day,” Bartlett said. In the future, she aspires to attend the University of Florida due to its attractive components and her affinity to Florida’s warm weather. (Profile by Anika Sanka)