If you walk into LFA’s student center, the lunch room is seemingly segregated into multiple different groups. The freshmen all huddle in Lower Stu. The same twenty people sit at the high top tables closest to the entrance with the Prep Hockey team always sitting at the table across. Additionally there are the same friend groups sitting with the same people in the same spots. Considering that LFA prides itself on being such a diverse school and having a “Midwestern Heart, Global Mind,” why is it that our school is so closed off to the possibility of interacting with people other than their core group?Why have we embraced so much of clique culture?

Defined by Wikipedia, clique culture is a small group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests rather than include others. Although there is the argument that “clique culture” does not exist due to our mere 400-student size, it is evident that anywhere you go this dilemma is relevant. People sit next to the same people in classes, partner with the same people in sports teams, and overall do not even glance at familiar people. It seems the last time that LFA was together as a whole was at the creation of Fizz—which only lasted for a week and was centered around negativity. And it’s not that LFA’s student body does not get along—because we do—but somehow we just choose not to be a community. It is not until we are ultimately forced to interact with outside groups that those connections are either created or revisited.

This tendency to form exclusive groups isn’t new; in fact, clique culture has been a part of human society since the beginning of time, with different tribes of alike people forming groups. Even after all that time, cliques are still prominent and seen in high schools, sports, clubs, and ethnic groups. People limiting themselves to people of shared traits prevents them from all the potential people that they could befriend. However, people, especially teens, are so close-minded to getting out of their comfort zone.

Clique culture continues to evolve through social media, with all the different apps and amenities offered. For instance, the dreaded Snapchat groupchats that you are randomly added to and immediately spammed with hundreds of messages. But what’s even worse is not being added to one, and all the chatter and inside jokes that follow the next day at school. Further, due to all the communication that occurs in these social media apps, if you don’t have them or aren’t allowed to get them, it prevents you from socializing with your peers.

At LFA, it is highly encouraged to be inclusive of everyone and form connections with people you may not meet elsewhere, so why are we hesitant to use the available resources and privileges of having people from all over the world right in our little community to our best advantage? Connections being made during high school could be connections for a lifetime, and it is key to socialize with people you may not talk to—whether this be by joining a new club, sitting with a different group for lunch, or talking to a new person in your math class. Nonetheless, you don’t want to get a short-changed high school experience, especially when LFA is such an amazing place to form relationships that last a lifetime.

So, how can we, as a school and community, work to stop clique culture? By going out of our comfort zone and opening ourselves up to meeting new people, we can break down the barriers between different cliques. Additionally, organizing more events that encourage participation from a variety of different people enables new friendships and bonds to be made. High school, although it seems long, goes by quickly. Limiting ourselves to small samples of people could not only dim our experiences but also cause us to miss out on otherwise meaningful moments.