The Political Activism and Civic Engagement club hosted PolitiCare, an event designed for students to promote political involvement among the student body, in the Coral Gables High gymnasium on March 11. The event brought together students from various academies to discuss civic issues and current events through guest speakers and activities.
Members of the PACE club facilitated the logistics and provided resources to attendees. For some students, the event served as an introduction to local government. To start off the mini convention, PACE organizers facilitated a “this or that” debate-style activity where students moved to different sides of the gym based on their stance on a topic. Guest speakers also addressed social and political issues, emphasizing the impact young people have on their communities.
“A discussion that changed the way I think about civic issues is the different debates the students did after the speakers were done. They would be given a this or that question and then had to go whichever side they agreed with more and then debate with the other. I think it introduced a lot of students to the concepts of political debate and seeing two different perspectives as many of us live in our echo chambers,” junior Nathaniel Woods said.
Each speaker encouraged students to continue educating themselves and to think critically about what is happening in the world today, engaging in respectful discussions around civic issues that matter.
“The presentation that was given by the public defender was most interesting. His name was Hector de Pico. I just really enjoyed the way that he told stories and engaged the audience and I think that it’s a unique perspective to bring into the student body… he really executed something entertaining and informative at the same time,” junior Emilia Kohnstamm said.
In addition to legal perspectives, students heard from local government officials, including Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson.
“I would attend an event like this again because for me it was fun and it was pretty nice learning about things I haven’t learned about before in our city. It was educating and the vice mayor actually took her time and explained and decoded every question and answer that was given,” sophomore Sammy Fonteboa said.
A large turnout of students attended the event, observing speakers and participating in discussions about current political issues. The event provided a space where students could learn from one another and gain new perspectives on important issues.
“I think events like this are important for students because it teaches them things that they had no knowledge on beforehand or little knowledge. For me I barely knew anything of what they talked about but then I actually started to get invested and found it educating on what was happening in our city,” sophomore Dianer Torres said.
The PolitiCare event concluded with a call to action from PACE club organizers, who provided attendees with QR codes linking to voter registration sites and information on local volunteer opportunities. As the PACE club looks toward the next academic year, the board plans to expand the PolitiCare model into bringing more speakers, potentially including more specific workshops on legislative policies and local municipal government.
What was the most valuable part of PolitiCare?
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