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High School Cliques

Decent Essays

Every school has cliques; small groups of people with similar interests who hang out exclusively with one another. But are cliques harmful to the high school environment? The definition of a clique can go down to a specific detail and its effect has a wide range. Cliques tend to stay on the negative side, so is the 5% of positivity enough to keep high school a safe environment? The classification of cliques is based off of the labels students are given. Labels are usually given to students in middle school and they only get stronger and more detailed throughout high school. Students are labeled and the cliques that accept them are based off of that label. For example, a girl that has a poor reputation and has been labeled “easy” would join a group of “players” or other girls that have been labeled the same as her. A guy that is in band, enjoys school, and has straight A’s would get the label “geek” or “band nerd” and he would stick to the clique the band students have formed.

The cause of cliques is a teens craving for emotional satisfaction. A teen gets a feeling of belonging once they’ve been accepted in to a clique. Another cause is a teen’s personality, which leads in to common interests: sports, shopping, school work, band, drugs, alcohol, etc. “Judging and being judged have always been an unofficial part of the high school curriculum and it increases the chances of cliques” and “To fit in is important biologically; we live in groups and we want to fit in and when a

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