Wherever society exists there will be social distinction.  Where there is social distinction there will be certain people who prefer to stick together.  Often they are referred to as social groups but when they exclude certain people, they are called cliques. 

     Some teachers say that cliques are not as evident here as they are in certain other schools, mainly due to the fact that basically all students came from the same kindergarten and everybody knows everybody else.  Yet in the halls, in the cafeteria, and even in classes, there is a certain feeling of separateness of groups. 

     A lot of teens claim that “everybody can sit with everybody else and they won’t be rejected”.  While it is true that many won’t be rejected, it is still rare that people will “sit with everybody else,” especially when they see them more different than what they are used to.

      Often on entering high school, kids who share the same interests tend to flock together because of the unfamiliarity of the situation.  As years pass, they become accustomed to sitting with that group and usually never step out of their own boundaries.

     One student claimed that “there aren’t any cliques, but in the cafeteria you can definitely see how the people divide.  The ‘preppy’ people sit at the top level and the ‘ghetto’ people sit in the lower level.” This not only shows that social divisions are apparent, but also that cliques, while not outwardly exclusionary, exist, if only at a minimal level.

     Social groups, or ‘cliques’, will exist in any school and there isn’t much to be done about it.  People, especially teenagers, will always prefer to stay with the everyday familiarity of the faces in their own cliques.