At New Trier, people are often quick to point out the stereotypical high school hierarchy that exists.

In examining how social hierarchies can be portrayed in movies like “The Breakfast Club” or “Mean Girls,” two movies allegedly based on New Trier, one can also see that the high school social pyramid has always existed.

The real question that arises is whether this social construct has changed, particularly since the time our parents were in high school.

In talking to my parents and reviewing what other parents of The New Trier News writers have said, I learned that although times have changed, parents felt that fundamentally the social construct of high school has remained the same.

At New Trier what separates the “popular” kids from the less popular kids seems virtually the same. For boys athleticism reigns supreme, while for girls it tends to be looks.

However, at New Trier it doesn’t seem that the “popular” and “unpopular” kids are defined as easily. As Danny Schuman, father of Joey Schuman, said, “’The Breakfast Club’ was true. There were the jocks, the nerds, the smokers. It seems like there’s more blurred lines for those crowds now.”

In examining our school from my experiences at New Trier, I feel that the clichés of high school are ever-present in our community. While the lines are absolutely more “blurred,” as Schuman noted, fundamentally the cliques remain the same.

As a society we often mythologize the idea of the quarterback going to prom with the head cheerleader.

Hollywood too has helped to further high school stereotypes with movies like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Mean Girls.”

And while some of these movies are dated, they do serve as good representations of generational issues and high school stereotypes.

As each generation reaches adolescence and experiences all of what high school has to offer, generational changes occur. Our parents had “The Breakfast Club,” depicting the stereotypical high school hierarchy; we have “Mean Girls,” displaying the issues of self-image and popularity, the next generation of students will have their own movies with its own set of new issues.

However, what remains constant is the similarities between the social constructs of each fictitious school.

What people consider the social construct of high school remains more or less the same as when our parents went to school.

But what have changed are the issues within the school. There will always be the popular and the unpopular cliques; it’s simply a part of high school.