SHS Attempts to GO VIRAL with Positive Messaging

What would you do if someone called you ugly on social media? What would you say to friends urging you to start vaping since there is “no nicotine” involved? What would you do if you noticed that the new girl was sitting by herself at lunch? How much time would you give yourself before deciding to post a comment on social media that might hurt someone’s feelings? On the morning of September 19th, Simsbury High School (SHS) freshmen pondered these questions—and many more—during an assembly entitled “GO VIRAL.”

Camfel, the show’s producers, is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California, that “specializes in creating innovating character building programs to help students make the right decisions when facing difficult choices.” GO VIRAL challenges students to make “real” connections with each other, to build authentic relationships, which can be a challenge given all the distractions of this high-tech world.

The presentation in the auditorium at SHS was facilitated by Erin and Justin Ellis, a dynamic husband and wife team, who travel the country giving assemblies like these, each year invigorated by an entirely new 36-minute video projected onto three huge screens. The program began with Erin inviting a group of students onstage to answer some questions designed to begin to open up a dialogue, including, “How do you connect with others?” and “How can your actions influence those around you?” Then they launched the video, which leaned heavily on pop culture, with a soundtrack of current music and scenes from popular movies, eliciting spontaneous cheers from the audience.

GO VIRAL emphasized that establishing connections takes practice, and positivity is contagious. The video supported these themes with testimonials from teens who had undergone hardship and were affected by someone else’s kindness, as well as teens involved in service clubs or athletic teams whose positive actions have already “gone viral.” Concluded the video, “Even the smallest word or action can go viral.”

The presentation also covered topics ranging from dealing with phone addiction, to the dangers of social media, vaping, and other threats for teens, offering small but effective strategies to deal with these issues and lead students to make the best choice when faced with such problems.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Dave Salonia, SHS Engineering teacher and coordinator of the event, invited his class to stay behind to talk about the program’s impact. When asked if it was getting easier or more difficult to communicate, for Evan Odegard, “knowing more people now and talking in class” was improving his ability to make connections. What resonated with Rohan Rajappan most was the concept that yes, you CAN (and should) unplug from the phone, even if it meant “cleansing Instagram” during crucial times like finals when you really need to focus on studying.

Said Salonia as the students departed the auditorium, “Build each other up. Work together. And apply what you learned today in your everyday life.”