High School Cliques

There are a very high amount of cliques in high schools throughout the United States. Many teenagers believe the only way to be recognized is to be in with the popular crowd. How can cliques be regulated so that the people who do not fit in are not traumatized for the rest of their lives? There are many factors that bring out cliques in high schools, some are based on wealth, style, race, and interest. But in many cases there are cliques that are mixtures of these types. In my opinion, they all can be very demeaning.

Economic status is often a big factor in cliques. Realistically, rich and the poor do not go hand in hand. The children of wealthy people look down on people that are poor. Cliques divide people through "class." It seems like if your family's bank account isn't off the charts you cant be friends with other people whose families are. Money isn't everything. Therefore these kids are missing out on opportunities to get to know other kids that might be just as fun to hang out with but just not blow all their money.
This clique is a cross between the well off, athletes and the most fashionable. They are known and labeled throughout every high school as the "cool kids," but in actuality tend to be pretty smart but actually kind of bad. Normally they get away with everything and anything because of parental influence. When they do get into trouble it is often kept secretive. They tend to be pretty sneaky but yet they also might have a bit of favoritism shown towards them because they are in many activities. Some of these kids tend to not be open minded to others and/or their ideas, which is sad in a way because they go their whole high school career with no other outlook but their own. It is no wonder why the average teenager suffers from depression and suicide attempts at least once in their life because they feel as if they cant deal with the "stress" of fitting