Don’t be fooled by the title-“High School Musical” suggests a bouncy, sing-along, sugar-injected existence. We’re “all in this together,” right? Wrong. I’m specifically referring to the elements that make an institution a high school.

In a high school, there are rules that need to be followed, and not just in a literal sense. There are social rules that the student body demands should be adhered to, such as staying in your assigned clique. Don’t wander out of that clique, or you might face social rejection.

Sound familiar? It should, because here in our cozy AU universe, there are in fact particular divisions within the student body. There are, of course, the athletes (separated by their sport), the sororities and fraternities, the bandos, the Ashbrooks, the theater kids, the foreign exchange students and people who naturally flock together by their major. There are undoubtedly far more than that, though the point is not necessarily what they are but the fact that they’re segregated at all.

It’s only natural that people congregate towards the groups they want to be a part of, shying away from others. But it shouldn’t have to be that way.

In an ideal college community, I imagine people not feeling restricted to the group (or in some cases, groups) they belong to. I imagine it being very much unlike high school, where an individual doesn’t feel pressure to stay put in one clique. Why does someone have to be defined just by what they’re a part of?

Here’s the problem with having such specific cliques: I get the sense that some groups have a higher “status” than others. At AU, I think there’s a powerful social hierarchy that students are hesitant to admit.

After all, that’s what really adds the icing to the high school cake. Students separating themselves is one thing, but placing a higher importance on some groups is completely another. This inequality is propelled entirely by the students themselves, which makes me think we actually want to have this sense of social order.

I’ll never forget when my brother visited AU for the first time. Not more than thirty minutes later, he had already cast a judgment on the campus: “It’s like an over-glorified high school.”

I’d say he’s right. We insist on flocking to our assigned groups, while any deviation from these groups means mass confusion. Could you imagine an Ashbrook wandering over to the athlete section of Convo, right by the TV and condiments bar, and sitting down at one of the tables?

Maybe this is oversimplifying things. My point, though, is that we do have our cliques and maybe there is pressure to conform to a specific group.

My other point is a little more unsettling. Is it possible, that no matter how many years we are past high school, that we will always carry with us those childish tendencies? I’d say yes.