Cougar Clause
In Defense of CliquesTuesday, November 14, 2006 By Jen Hasty
It is time to stop bashing cliques. High school cliques have an important function in America. Most people would be completely lost without the benefits of high school cliques. Where else would we learn individuality, loyalty and pride? To start, one of the most important parts of being in a clique is naming it. For example, one might be called “The Lone Four,” and another might be called “The Prep Mafia.” Of course, they would also have to have a handshake, right? These groups have super awesome combinations of different moves to make their handshake superb. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a group that has a handshake? Displaying it should pretty much be an every day routine. Once the name and handshake are established, the look of the members is equally important. Since individuality is such a valuable trait among these groups, they have limited choices where to shop for clothes. Some groups have either American Eagle or Hollister while others might have Hot Topic and Goodwill. Expressing oneself freely is obviously something that means an incredible amount to cliques. I have also heard that such people have to be loyal to their acquaintances. Caring about each other’s problems, never talking bad (or making things up) about members and never talking to other people outside of the group are unwritten rules that all people in cliques have to follow. Of course, an associate may break the laws of loyalty and cause confusion in various ways: backstabbing, talking to members of other cliques, not dressing according to, the clique’s standards, or (heaven forbid) taking someone off of their Top 8 on MySpace. Punishment for such disloyalty is known to be severe. Finally, people in cliques learn so much confidence that it becomes delusional grandeur. For example, computer geeks believe they are smarter than everyone else. Emo kids think that they have the right to feel more deeply than anyone else. Rednecks know for a fact that this land is their land and nobody else’s. Drama kids think that they are more unique than everyone else, and preps just simply think that they are better than everyone else and can get away with anything. Such confidence simply cannot be acquired without cliques. Let’s face it—cliques serve a worthwhile purpose. They are more than a feeble attempt to find “social security” and compensate for personal insecurities as individual people. Jen Hasty is the ad designer for the Cougar Clause. She is a junior and this is her second semester on staff. |