A clique can be found within any high school. Joining cliques, having the desire to join a particular clique, and being excluded from cliques are considered a normal part of adolescent development. Joining friend groups helps children to develop, identify, and regulate social interaction. The issue of belonging is extremely important during middle school and high school, and membership in cliques can have a  strong effect on an adolescent’s sense of self-worth. During high school, cliques become more consistent, though their composition may change.

“I think that our high school is filled with a lot of different friend groups. Most of these form due to common interests among students. Athletes hang out with athletes. Theatre kids all sit together. However I feel like people are afraid to branch out from their comfort zone and try being good friends with people they wouldn’t normally think to spend time with. Thus, evolving cliques that don’t necessarily mean to appear. I think that there are many people who don’t fall into these specific labels. Maybe someone does soccer but doesn’t really fit in with his teammates. That leads him to feel like he doesn’t fit in with anyone. When in actuality he wasn’t given the opportunity to meet different kinds of people. So I think the student body as a whole needs to be more open to diversity,” Olivia Gundrum, a senior states.

In large high schools such as Arrowhead, students are exposed to a diversity of students. In which students are more anxious about finding meaningful relationships, responding by seeking out familiar and recognizable peers who offer a sense of security, support, and protection.

“Cliques are abundant, however I don’t see them necessarily as a massive issue. The cliques I see the most around Arrowhead are not outright mean or exclusionary such as you see in the movies or other schools, but merely close knit groups of friends. Though it does tend to become an issue in the classroom. Students refuse to work with other kids that they aren’t close with and that can leave people feeling very isolated creating segregation and self belonging.” Holly Craven, a junior said.

Groups can form around things people have in common. Jocks, goths, preps, musicians, and even the math club are naturally drawn together because they share similar interests. Arrowhead High School students share how they feel their school environment is, and their views on the friend groups spread out around the school campus.

“For Arrowhead school, I don’t necessarily see the “cliques” as a bad thing. I wouldn’t even say that our school has many cliques to begin with, rather friend groups. Based on our respective similarities, we naturally gravitate to those we relate to. I do not see much segregation or exclusion in reference to the groups at Arrowhead. Everyone has something in common with someone else,” Mallorey Wallace, a junior says.

“I don’t find an issue with cliques or friend groups around our school. We are all learning about ourselves, and it is really something that everyone goes through at point or another. Especially in high school,” Hannah Noelle, a junior said.