Goth March in Plymouth

We wear black – and we're proud
Plymouth Evening Herald - Sep 4, 2008
They were among more than 100 goths who marched through Plymouth city centre to mark the anniversary of the mob killing of Sophie Lancaster, in Manchester,

Goths step out with a message of tolerance
Plymouth Evening Herald - Sep 1, 2008

March in Sheffield successful

DEVONSHIRE Green was filled with people of all ages, shapes and sizes on - but there was only one colour to be seen.

The green was a sea of black as around a hundred 'Goths' assembled for a march around the city centre in a plea for tolerance from a society they feel gives them little respect.

Everywhere you looked there was black eyeliner, crosses and an air of melancholy.

The Sheffield Star.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/The-march-of-the-Goths.4444555.jp



Sheffield Telegraph.
http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news2/The-march-of-the-Goths.4444555.jp

US teen tries to stop labelling

Student campaigns against labeling others
Pocono Record, PA - 27 Apr 2008

STROUDSBURG — Most know the saying about sticks and stones doing more physical damage than words.

For Stroudsburg Middle School seventh-grader MacKenzie Kern and others her age, words, particularly labels, can harm the emotionally vulnerable.

Someone wearing black clothes and dressing in dark makeup is a "goth." Someone wearing brand name clothes such as American Eagle or Aeropostale is a "prep." Someone wearing bright, flamboyant colors is a "scene."

And then there are the "skaters," who ride skateboards, the "jocks," or athletes, the "nerds" and the "emos," or emotionally troubled, says Kern, 13.

"You're stereotyping people just because they dress, act or look a certain way or listen to certain kinds of music," says Kern, who has been called a "hippie" for wearing clothes such as a T-shirt with a peace symbol on the front. "People have labeled me and I've labeled others, which is something I'm not proud of."

That's why Kern has taken a stand against "labelism" and is trying to convince others her age to do the same.

Every day since March 27, she has worn a white belt around her waist in school and out in public. From one end of that belt to the other are signatures, almost all of which have been put there by children ages 12 to 16 who support her stance.

"I feel it's important to focus mainly on kids in my age group," she says. "If this generation of kids can set an example by stopping labelism, then maybe future generations can do the same. So far, I have only one signature from an adult, a teacher who told me she believes in what I'm doing and said she's glad I'm doing it."

At one point, Kern had 105 signatures on her belt. But for each person who agrees with ending labelism, there's one or more who say Kern is wasting her time.

"I've had both students and teachers tell me I'll never really change anything because most people will go on labeling," she says. "I've even had students who signed my belt tell me they want their signatures removed because they changed their minds. So, I scrubbed off five signatures, which took me back down to 100."

But that won't stop Kern from trying to raise awareness among others her age.

"There are kids who know labelism is wrong, but don't speak out because they're too afraid of not fitting in," she says. "You don't know what kind of pain some kids might be going through in life and then to be labeled on top of that. No one should be made to feel like they're not as good as anyone else just because other people think they fall into a category."

Susanne Kern feels proud when seeing her daughter stand up for something she strongly believes in.

"I doubt I would have had the courage to do what she's doing when I was her age," Susanne Kern says. "I tell her to keep it up if she feels this passionately about it and don't let anyone discourage her."

Stroudsburg Middle School principal Karen Thomson agrees.

"MacKenzie is ahead of her time," Thomson says. "She realizes a social issue that has plagued teenagers for generations. Kids at this age are trying to figure out their identities.

"Many people think it's human nature to divide ourselves into categories, but labeling is dysfunctional behavior," Thomson says. "MacKenzie is sending out a good message. And she's doing it without causing any disruption in school."

Some problems with the Micro school movement in Oregan.

Small schools aren't pleasing everyone
Mail Tribune, OR

Other schools such as Eagle Point and Lebanon have pulled out of the grant program for similar reasons.

"I think we are really focusing on the dropout kids," Mullaney said. "I think we need to do that but not at the expense of everyone else."

Some Crater students complained that small schools have resulted in an adversarial relationship between students and gang-like behavior based on school identity, with some fights breaking out based on their school allegiance. Students have assigned certain stereotypes to each school, further fragmenting the student body.

Health school freshman Kyle Haviland summed it up this way: The "preps" go to School 1 (health). The "geeks" and "jocks" attend School 2 (business). The "hicks" go to School 3 (natural resources), and the "emos" (punk rockers) are in School 4 (arts).

"Some kids will say, 'Get out of here; you're an emo,'" said arts school freshman Katie Jones.The hostility between students in some of the schools prompted a group of seniors to launch a "Hate Kills" campaign, plastering the campus with messages to encourage acceptance of others.

Despite the division, both Kyle and Katie said the theme-based courses do make classes more interesting and easier to understand.

Emo problems in Peru and Mexico

Peru: Understanding the Emo Youth in Lima

And they are defenseless because a friend told me that he had seen many of them beaten by gangs and by punks that hang out around the Spanish Cultural Center for their appearance.

In Peru misunderstandings abound and the media hit a new low using "fake" emos in a tv programme:

About a month ago, on the local television program Close Enemies, there was a program dedicated to emos, which ridiculed and treated them poorly. The blog Descarga Directa [es] published a video, which showed part of the program, on his post “Emos on the television: Noooo!! [es]” However, what had added to the controversy was the discovery that part of the program was made with emos especially created for the occasion. This is what El Blog de Cayo [es] said on his post “False Panelists… False Emos [es]“:

Once again evidence of how this is a worldwide problem.


MTV continue their examination of Emo attacks with some interesting research. Glad to see there are some true punks in Mexico.:

Behind The Emo Attacks: We Head To Mexico City
MTV.com

So why does the threat of violence persist? And why are these different classes of kids — punks, goths, metalheads and emos — at war with one another? Well, according to Josh Kun, a professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications and the author of "Audiotopia: Music, Race and America" (which had a chapter dedicated to Mexican rock), the issue at the heart of all this is one of identity. In very simple terms, Mexican youth cling to the essence of what it means to be a punk or a metalhead — and they will fight to the bitter end to protect that identity from any and all infringement.

"In Mexico, rock culture has always been this super outlawed thing. ... Kids there attach themselves to a countercultural movement because it's about survival — it's an intensity we're not used to here in the States," he said. "In the '60s, rock was outlawed — you would be arrested if you were playing rock music in public, and your hair would be cut by the cops — and so there's always been this aura of it being 'rebel' music, and kids are drawn to that. To extremes.

"Punk has not been commoditized and mainstreamed to the extent it has here in the U.S., where something like 'emo' is in it's third or fourth wave, and there's nothing particularly 'alternative' about it," Kun continued. "In Mexico, it's still an underground identity, and it's taken to extremes. ... It's really striking how overly sexualized it is. Emo kids are so-called 'emo-sexuals' and punks are super-macho and straight. So when they fight, it's about identities."

And despite the rather glum predictions of those in the scene, Kun says there are already signs that emo kids are beginning to be accepted. He points to an instance in Tijuana, one of the sites of the original violence, where rather than attack emos, punkeros decided to embrace them, because it was the punk-rock thing to do.

"Basically, the punk leaders there came together and told all the other punks that violence was not the 'punk' thing to do," he explained. "They said that if you were a true punk, you'd learn to accept the emo kids, because they're different just like we are."

Russia Mexico coverage

More on emos in Mexico:

Experts point to intolerance when violence against teens jumps ...
Houston Chronicle, United States 6 Apr 2008

Meanwhile in Russia violence flares when Anti fascist punks organise a demonstration about being targeted by neo Nazis (check out numerous earlier posts about Russian Neo Nazis):

Anti-Fascists Chased by Police

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sergey Chernov / The St. Petersburg Times Anti-fascist protestors participating in an unsanctioned march along Nevsky Prospekt on Tuesday evening.

A large group of anti-Nazi youth activists walked down Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s main street, in an unsanctioned march protesting neo-Nazi violence in memory of a murdered activist this week. Twenty six were detained by the police soon afterwards.

More than 150 young men and women belonging to unaffiliated the Antifa (militant “anti-fascism”) movement, most with faces covered with scarves and carrying flares and banners, marched 1.5 kilometers from Alexander Nevsky Ploshchad to Ploshchad Vosstaniya during a heavy snowstorm at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

The protesters carried two large red banners reading “Make Nazism History” and “Trash Nationalism” and chanted slogans, such as “Antifa,” “Go into the Street and Take the City Back,” “The World is Multi-Colored, Not Brown” and “No to Nazis of Any Kind — from the Street to the Authorities.”

The march was held to mark nine days since the death of Alexei Krylov, a 21-year-old anti-Nazi activist who was stabbed to death by an estimated 15 neo-Nazis on March 16 as he was heading to a punk concert near the club Art Garbage in Moscow.

It was reported that the attack was planned using a website for fans of the Moscow Premier League soccer team Spartak. Three days later an anti-Nazi march that reportedly drew 300 activists was held in the center of Moscow.

Anti-Nazi activist and punk musician Timur Kacharava, 20, was killed in a similar attack in St. Petersburg in November 2005.

In St. Petersburg, the marchers distributed leaflets about Krylov’s murder and asking for financial help for his mother and two younger sisters. Another leaflet described the ideology of “Autonomous Antifascism” and called for street-level resistance against neo-Nazism.

“Antifascists went down to the demonstration to state that they are not going to tolerate neo-Nazi violence, which has become an acute problem in Russia. Reports about attacks on foreign students and killings of migrants have ceased to shock anyone. They have become routine,” said the Antifa group in a statement on website www.piter.indymedia.ru.

“Attacks are also committed on representatives of countercultural youths who try to resist neo-Nazis. Over the past 2 1/2 years, five anti-fascists from different cities were killed for their convictions, St. Petersburg musician Timur Kacharava among them.

“The whole history of the anti-fascist movement shows that it can only be a success if it uses all available tactics of resistance (not excluding direct physical counteraction).”

The police, which has disrupted most demonstrations with no official permission issued by the authorities in recent years — even though the Russian Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly — were not aware of the march, which had been organized in secret, and only reacted when the march was almost finished, as protesters reached Ploshchad Vosstaniya.

Apparently taken by surprise, several policemen tried to stop the marchers from crossing Ligovsky Prospekt, and when they failed, blocked the entrance to Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro, so the group went down Ulitsa Vosstaniya and then turned in the direction of Ulitsa Mayakovskogo.

Arrests started near the Novotel hotel where a policeman attacked a straggler, pushing him to the ground. The protesters’ leader, who gave commands through a megaphone during the march, was detained soon after, along with other activists who tried to run away through courtyards but found themselves trapped.

After reaching Ulitsa Zhukovskogo, the main group ran away in an organized fashion. The police failed to catch them.

“Twenty six citizens were detained, but five of them turned out to be minors and were immediately released and turned over to their parents,” said Vyacheslav Stepchenko, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry in St. Petersburg, by phone on Thursday. According to Antifa’s statement, the minors were only released after 11 p.m.

According to Stepchenko, the activists were detained according to two clauses of the Administrative Code, Article 19.3 Part I (“Failure to Follow a Policeman’s Lawful Orders”) and Article 20.2 (“Violation of the Regulations of Conducting Meetings, Marches, Demonstrations and Pickets”).

The rest of the detained activists were released on Wednesday afternoon, when the court ruled to send their cases to their local courts. Failure to follow a policeman’s lawful orders is the gravest offence of the two and can lead to up to 15 days in custody.

“We didn’t inform the authorities about the march because they wouldn’t have permitted it anyway,” said a participant, who asked that his name be withheld, by phone on Thursday.

“We also didn’t need to advertize it because we can gather that many people without any publicity.”

This year has seen a rise in racially-motivated violence in Russia, with St. Petersburg following Moscow in the rate of incidents reported.

An Uzbek man and a woman either from Yakutia or Buryatiya, were reported to have been stabbed to death in St. Petersburg this week, in addition to three other racially-motivated killings and a number of beatings this month.

For a change someone is doing something positive in the States:
Students talk acceptance and friendship at summit
Greeley Tribune, CO - 4 Apr 2008
But I see people in school going, 'oh, they're emos,' or 'they're gangsters' and stuff."

a:

German youth culture vs UK

Interesting article compare life in Warrington where someone was recently killed by violent yobs to Germany where peaceful goths roam the streeets:

ALCO HELL FREE ZONE
Sunday People, UK - 19 Jan 2008

Drunk teens still plague hero Garry's estate yet Warrington's twin town stays calm.. WHY?

It's Friday night in the town where dad-of-three Garry Newlove was kicked to death by a gang drunk on cheap supermarket booze - and nothing much has changed.

I watch as clutch of scowling hoodies knock back can after can of lager outside an offlicence in Warrington before wandering off to cause mayhem and fear.

ALCO HELL FREE ZONE
Sunday People, UK -19 Jan 2008

A gang of Goths gather in the street on Friday night with bottles in their hands - but there's nothing menacing about these teenagers.

The bottles contain water because here there are no badges of honour for binge-boozing, drunken vandalism or beating up innocents.

I'm in Warrington's twin town Hilden 20 miles from Dusseldorf in Germany. Both towns have rich and poor suburbs, high-rise flats and the same Adidas-clad chavs, sports-mad teens and anti-establishment Goths.

But when it comes to the behaviour of teenagers, Hilden is in another world.

One of the Goths, Kevin Sadowski, 17, trots out the age-old moan that "there's nothing to do here" - but he still won't be going home with a criminal record.

He tells me: "I tried booze at about 12. But getting 'hammered' as you English say, and smashing windows or hurting someone is just pathetic. If we do drink we have one or two cans of beer because it tastes nice.

"But if you cannot have fun without booze, you must be a bit odd."

In the town's Area 51 youth centre - one of three in the 57,000-resident town which runs regular concerts, fitness classes, sports matches and cinema nights - 15-year-old Sadine Udder tells me: "I can't understand British teenagers.

"Why would I want to stand out in the street drinking then cause trouble and crime just for the sake of it?

"That's stupid. My parents would kill me. And I would be scared of the Polizei."

Sabine and her friends are not the Brady Bunch.

Ranging in age from 12 to 17, some have a sneaky cigarette and all admit to having tried alcohol.

Jessica Baker, 14, says: "I once got so drunk on beer I passed out. Everyone laughed at me.

"I didn't feel good about it and no one thought I was cool. I didn't do it again."

The gang also tell of a pal who once went to hospital after boozing. Their voices are low and faces ashamed. Having your stomach pumped carries no status here.

At the Polizei station, the duty cop claims it's been a busy night for youth crime. But while in UK towns that means fights and maybe a stabbing, in Hilden it means three boys arrested for kicking street lamps. Chief of Police Wolfgang Busch recoils when told about Garry Newlove's fate at the hands of drunk yobs.

A few years ago Hilden feared alcopops were becoming popular and set up a task-force between council, police and youth services.

It had two aims - to make sure there were enough youth facilities and to punish young offenders within weeks of a crime so they learned their lesson quickly.

In this town, carrying a knife will earn you two weeks in jail. If you have repeated behavioural problems you face being sent to Siberian boot camp.

For nine months you will have to collect firewood to keep warm, dig your own toilet outside your hut and pump water from a well.

Herr Busch, who is to meet Warrington cops to discuss techniques, added: "The worst youth crime we had was a youth murdering another eight years ago.

"But they were both foreigners visiting here."

More media lies about goths and emos

A newspaper article insults a goth teen just for liking his friends!!

You silly Lotto!

Dec 9 2007 by Nathan Bevan, Wales On Sunday

NOW for a new weekly section called Well, Bloody Give It Back Then...

First recipient of the WBGIBT Award is £8.4m Lotto winner Jenny Southall from Newport.

Or, more precisely, it’s her teenage son Jamie who I’m naming and shaming for refusing to move from their pokey council house a mile away. Apparently, the young goth doesn’t want to leave his friends behind – besides, he’s probably only recently finished painting his entire bedroom black and has no doubt just perfected infusing his sheets with the rancid stench of fetid teenager.

Jamie, with that much dosh you can buy more friends, better looking ones, ones who don’t cover their faces with Mother’s Pride while listening to Fields Of The Nephilim records.

Last time I looked Britain was a free country people can wear as much or as little makeup or the clothes they want. If you don't like that well then move to Iran or another country where teenagers can be arrested for dressing in the wrong way or listening to the wrong kind of music.

In an article on the remake of the classic St Trinians fifties films is par for the course for the Daily Mail. Unless the film does portray emos as self-harming goths which I certainly hope it doesn't.

Meet the tribes of St Trinian's | the Daily Mail

6th December 2007

Modern girls: (left to right) Trustafarian (Juno Temple), Chav (Kathryn Drysdale), Geek (Lily Cole), The Emo (Paloma Faith), Posh Totty (Tamsin Egerton. Click ENLARGE to see the full profiles

There is a geek with granny glasses and knee-length skirt who is such a computer whiz she can mastermind a multi-million-pound art theft.

There's a chav Essex girl and a freakish creature with pink and black hair who is so emotional that her eyeliner is constantly running down her face.

"The actresses chosen to play the St Trinian's girls needed to be uncompromising, upfront, genuine, and most importantly independent minded, and this is exactly what we got," says director Oliver Parker...

"Girls at modern schools today are divided into gangs and cliques. By visiting a number we were able to plug into the mindset of today's girls and get a sense of which bands they were talking about, what cliques they had and what slang they were using."

"We went round to lots of schools to do our research including posh public schools and comprehensives,' adds co director Barnaby Thompson.

"After talking to the girls for ten minutes, what was interesting was that they all talked about the same things. So we have Chavs, Emos [emotionals - self-harming teenage Goths], Trustafarians, Geeks and Posh Totty in this film.

But hey this is the Daily Mail which printed one of the most inaccurate and stupid articles ever written on emo (and there is great competition for that particular award) in August 2006. Check out:

EMO cult warning for parents | the Daily Mail

Oh yes watch out for those fearsome emos...

The Emos - short for Emotional - regard themselves as a cool, young sub-set of the Goths.

Although the look is similar, the point of distinction, frightening for schools and parents, is a celebration of self harm.

Emos exchange competitive messages on their teenage websites about the scars on their wrists and how best to display them. Girls' secondary schools have for some time been concerned about the increase in self harm.

One governor of a famous boarding school told me that it was as serious a problem as binge drinking, but rarely discussed for fear of encouraging more girls to do it.

Although it is invariably described as a 'secret shame', there is actually a streak of exhibitionism about it.

The internet has many sites dedicated to Emo fashion (dyed black hair brushed over your face, layering, black, black, black), Emo bands (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), Emo conversation (sighing, wailing, poetry).

Kerrang responded by pointing out the Daily Mail knew nothing about Emo. Anyone with a passing interest in youth culture could see the article was so stupid it was amazing. Emos=goths makes no sense what so ever as for the bands it lists as being emo well.

The interesting thing about the film is that it clearly is based on the real tribalistic divisions in schools which do result in conflict. Interestingly a recent initiative in Somerset deals with the same themes:

Kids teach adults a lesson
Weston & Somerset Mercury, UK - 5 Dec 2007

YOUNGSTERS dressed up as 'chavs' and 'emos' to help members of Nailsea's older generation understand more about youth culture.

Three pupils from Nailsea School, in Mizzymead Road, were invited to a Neighbourhood Watch meeting to try to improve relationships between the two generations.

Scott Davie, Libbi Cooper and James Daley donned drainpipe jeans, tracksuits and hoodies as they explained what members of different culture groups liked wearing and what their interests were.

The meeting was part of an initiative by Nailsea School and the Neighbourhood Watch group to try to breakdown barriers and stereotypes between the younger and older generations.

Nailsea School teacher, Dilly Taylor, said: "We are looking at ways of getting the two generations together, to get rid of some of the fear for the older people, and to encourage youngsters to be more conscientious in looking out for the older generation in their communities."

Members of Nailsea Neighbourhood Watch are now planning to give a presentation to youngsters at the school about the aims of their group.

Chairman Don Plevey said: "We want to develop a relationship between Neighbourhood Watch and schoolchildren because older people often perceive youngsters as some kind of threat, when they aren't.

"We are convinced that if we establish a relationship between youngsters in the town it will help prevent vandalism and other problems. We are also thinking of setting up a Watch scheme for youngsters."

Pupils have been thinking of ways to spend more time with older people in the community.
One of the suggestions includes inviting members of the group to the school cafe or meeting up with them in town to try to forge friendships. About 3,800 households in Nailsea belong to the Watch scheme and members meet at the United Reformed Church hall in Stockway North on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm.

Derelict-Day of the Lost - Alternative Weekender suuported by Liverpool Capital Of Culture

The Liscard Alternative has been given a grant as part of Liverpool Capital Of Culture 2008 Celebrations. For a Subculture Day/Alt Festival called Derelict-Day of the Lost (in memory of Sophie Lancaster and all Alts and LBGTs that have lost their life in the past year).

"Feb 2008- Derelict-Day Of The Lost: a WEEKENDER of discos,bands and stalls in Wallasey!! The aim of this big gig is for awareness and Remembrance for the alternative and TG community who are no longer with us due to bullying, bullycides and fatal attacks, and for animals suffering cruelty, who also have no voice. The weekender covers: goth rock metal cyber emo skater biker rivethead 80s punk LBGT etc etc etc...

The Liscard Alternative is a charity (based unsurprisingly in Liscard in Wallasey) to provide a drop in, media,culture,lifestyle/lifeskills,advice and retail facility for all young persons aged 11-25 who are being bullied or getting abuse for the way they dress and/or their sexuality. This remit covers Alt kids and LGBTs mostly,but anyone who is suffering bullying and abuse is welcome to come along. We have a community bank account with Barclays who are very supportive of our project."

They are also hosting regular fund-raisers and trying to establish a local alternative/LGBT centre. More details at their livejournal and myspace pages.

Mix it up Day - USA

It was Mix It up day in the States yesterday an attempt to break down divisions between racial and social groups, including subcultural ones. It is a long standing idea in the States starting in 2002. Now more than 10,000 schools are involved.

ABC News 4 Charleston - Mixing Up Racial And Social Divides At Hanahan Middle School
Tuesday November 13, 2007 5:40pm Reporter: Renee Williams

Hanahan, S. Carolina - Hanahan Middle School participates in Mix It Up at Lunch Day, a national social experiment aimed at teaching students tolerance.

Think back, way back to your middle school lunch time. You’re sitting with the same friends, day in and day out and being a part of your group. Now imagine this- taking all of that and turning it upside down.

“Students are going to come in. They're going to take the initiative to sit with someone they don't know well,” Elizabeth Scarbrough says.

She’s the one who organized the school’s Mix it Up at Lunch Day. In other words, they’re mixing it up and changing who they talk to everyday. The students are also making new friends while breaking up old cliques.

“Some kids are left out they don't have many friends and then you have some groups who are friends with everybody,” eighth grader Nick Zerbst says.

Mix it Up at Lunch aims to break the harsh social divide of middle school.
The experiment tries to melt the jocks with the goths and the popular kids.
It’s not always easy to just strike up a conversation with someone you don't know. To help break the ice, the kids came up with questions to ask each other like do you like Clemson or Carolina or do you play sports? Even with the ice breakers the nerves are obvious.

“People are trying to be popular. People feel left out they can't really make friends because they're all shy,” adds eighth grader Kenneth Spear.

Whether they’re shy or not, more than 200 students pledged to give it a try. “Here's the 6th grade doing it. It’s really working well. Maybe someone in a higher social status can bring them up,” Zerbst says.

Middle school kids typically divide themselves along gender, racial and economic lines. They learn those divides early on. So these kids are pledging and promising to cross age old boundaries, if only for one day. “These prejudices and these cliques actually start to form at age three to its very important that we catch them at the middle school age,” adds Scarbrough.

SPLCenter.org: Millions take part in fourth annual Mix It UpDecember 2005

Fourth- and 5th-graders in Sweetwater, Texas, embrace the spirit of Mix It Up.
(Bruno at Holly Kuper Photography)
SWEETWATER, Texas -- When 350 intermediate students Mixed It Up here, spirits rose as high as their red, white and blue helium balloons

"That's what I love about 4th- and 5th-graders," said school counselor and Mix It Up at Lunch Day facilitator Melissa Howard. "They are still so into everything."

In 2005, the number of participants also rose -- dramatically. Across the nation on November 15, and estimated four million students at 9,000 schools took part in the fourth annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day. That's a 50 percent increase from 2004, when 4 million students took part nationwide.

Mix It Up, part of the Center's Teaching Tolerance program, asks students to swap seats in the school cafeteria -- one of the most self-segregating settings in the nation. Football players sit with football players; cheerleaders, with cheerleaders. Band members at the table in the corner; Goths at one table; Spanish-speaking students at another.

Consider how a high school senior from Phoenix described her school cafeteria on this year's Mix It Up at Lunch Day: "That section over there is where the jocks usually sit, and this part by the benches is where the skaters are, and then the gangs are all along the walls."

A 9th-grader from Oregon took part in a discussion about school cliques on Mix It Up at Lunch Day and came away with a deeper understanding.

"I learned they (various school cliques) don't really talk to each other," she said. "It's important to get groups to mingle. In the real world, you have to mingle whether you want to or not."

On Mix It Up Day, clearly, some do not. In Philadelphia, one high school student called it "annoying." In Florida, one student called it "childish," labeling participants "losers."

"The resistance is a clear sign of why the program is so important," said Tafeni English, director of the Mix It Up program. "Mix It Up is about social boundaries, and those boundaries don't dissolve in a single day or a single moment. But every time we get some students talking and thinking about the boundaries, we're taking steps in the right direction."...

POEM: Vegetable Soup

April 19, 2006 -- Two students at King George High School in Virginia write about the various social cliques in their school.

by Katie Newton and Laura McKinnon


King George High School is full of cliques

"The Wall," the Goths and the hot chicks.

It's hard enough to be a teen

Without having to deal with these kids - they're mean!

First of all, you've got "The Wall"

A sea of darkness, always having a ball.

Getting their kicks from picking on us

They laugh and they point, and they even cuss.

I know the teachers aren't hearing impaired

But they won't say anything 'cause they're too scared.

The Goths are the next crowd; they stay to themselves

Some dress like vampires, and some like dark elves.

They hate their lives, and the world, and us,

They won't be happy until their wounds seep pus.

The hot chicks are last because they're the worst

If you're not skinny and blonde consider yourself cursed.

Malibu Barbies with their fake tans

Always succeeding in stealing our "mans."

I want to break free

And then there are ones like me.

I have a friend in every group,

Like a giant pot of vegetable soup.

Carrots, peas and noodles, too,

I like being vegetable soup.

What kind of soup are you?

Some interesting comments from kids involved in the past. Lots more here:

Don't hate what you don't understand
Keala

Every one knows how the "goths" and the "preps" have hated each other for so many years now. I am considered a goth at my school, but I have friends from virtually every clique. I hate how people think if you are a certain way, you have to be friends with just that group! I dislike how the jocks make fun of my friends and how they torment us because we have an opinion. Most people think "goths" are suicidal, and that they worship Satan. Satanists worship Satan not "goths." I judge people but it's because when they hang out with others they become like that friend. I just hate how everyone hates "goths." Just because we are different doesn't mean you have to hate us. A great man once said "To be great is to be misunderstood" (Ralph Waldo Emerson) just as being different is to be great!

Another way to Mix It Up
Lindsey
It is true there are many cliques at our school, like the so-called 'gangster table' or the 'nerd table', but our lunch is only 25 minutes long, so one day would not create friendships. If it were my idea I would have it happen at least one Tuesday a month because once a year really wouldn't cut it, if you think about it. If it was held every Tuesday, then you would be forced to talk to them or exclude yourself, which shouldn't happen by the way. But instead of sitting at a new table every Tuesday, you could sit at the same color table and create friendships with those people, and after like 3 months they switch everyone, something like that.

Mix doesn't work
Bob
I HATE MIX IT UP DAY! ITS STUPID AND IT NEVER WORKS!

It was hard, but I did it
Jackie
Today at my school we had Mix It Up Day. It was very fun because we got to meet new people! Usually, I sit with my best friend, Marilyn. We always sit at the same table. It was very hard to do this but I did it. I am proud that I was brave enough to sit with totally different people whom I didn't know. Thank you for making this day exist!

Being judged sucks
Kim
In my school, people judge you by one thing: where you shop and what you wear. It's not, oh, you are so nice, or eh, you're really mean to everyone, or, you annoy me on purpose, it's that you shop here. I for one, shop at Hot Topic, a store that has been deemed rather "Gothic," but yet, has more leather alternatives than places like Wet Seal and Mervyn's, and most of the makeup in there has not been tested on animals. I am a vegetarian, in case you were wondering why I am talking about that sort of thing. People think I'm Gothic just because I shop there.

Most cliques in my school, really aren't defined by a name, it's just certain people. There's the normal people, who are more often than not popular; the freaks, who are just plain rude to everyone; the loser/skaters who made do good in school, but half of them are just, well, rather, odd; there are the skaters, the people that I hang out with some; the preps, the people who will do anything to make themselves look perfect; the potheads, people who do drugs; the sugar junkies, people who are just plain crazy; there's the jocks, who are obsessed with any kind of sport; fashionistas, people who love clothes; and then, there's what I've been defined as, a Gothic. Really though, I am a punk rock enviro skater. These cliques, aren't people I have judged. It's just where they fall in my school according to what they wear and how they act. I wear bondage pants (the big pants that have D-rings and straps on them) and because of that I'm Gothic. If you noticed, I put nothing down on Environmentally Conscious people, that's because I'm really the only one who cares about that in my school. I'm just me, and being judged differently sucks. It sucks hard.

Don't make us do it again
Damien
I'm using this little thing to tell you what I think about Mix It Up. I think its a waste of time and is not going to do anything but cause more problems. NO student I have talked to bout this said it was a good idea. There is talk of skipping lunch to avoid having to participate and also talk of deliberate defiance. I am one of the students who will NOT participate. I won't be forced to sit with people I don't like. I don't like people, not because of their differences, but because of their personality. If I was someone who sat by myself at lunch I wouldn't want people to sit with me because they had to, rather because they want to. I know I speak for a good 75% of my school when I say this is lame... don't make us do it again.

Lowest social group
Brittany
Mix It Up Day was ok for some students, but let me tell you, Mix It Up Day at Lunch did not go so well for me. I tried sitting with the "preppy" kids. But they just made fun of me and told me to go away. It doesn't matter how much you think it's a good thing, when a "goth" sits with a "prep" it doesn't go over very smoothly. It was a success for the older kids to sit with freshman and everything - kids sitting with other kids that aren't really different than them. But this was just... yeah. When the lowest social group sat with the highest at my school, it was not a good lunch.

PeaceJam brings food to Mix
Cornelia

I go to school at Tohatchi High School in New Mexico. I am in 11th grade. My group, PeaceJam, brought food for the people to eat in the classrooms. The students said it was nice to meet different students at our school. We got all the athletes, skaters and Goths to sit with the people they don't know. We had a good time with the students. But some of the students said they were shy because they don't know the students they were sitting by.

Mix was awesome
Kileigh

Mix-it-up-at-lunch day was awesome at my school. We each got a buddy to walk around with, and to hang out with in different groups. It was so fun. Everyone crossed the boundaries of preps, jocks, Goths, geeks, African Americans and those types of things. I met new people and have so many new friends now that I will never forget. I met some awesome people I would never have had the guts to go up to, and hang out with, on a normal day. It makes school such a better atmosphere when you know more people. I learned that all these people are so cool in their own ways and they all have their own types of fun. I hope this day becomes a tradition for my school district. I'll never forget this day! Thanks so much for the great idea!!

Racism and Religious Bigotry
By J.S.

I am a daughter of a United States Marine and because of that I have moved around the country a lot. I have seen and experienced many different things.

I have experienced racism, not from my white classmates, but from my black classmates. I have seen people blamed for things that are not in their control like a Wiccan at my school, who is harassed not only by kids, but in less obvious ways by teachers.

Right now my worst battle is not with anyone I know from school. It's from my mom. She thinks some of my friends are devil-worshippers just because they are goth, and when I told her some of them are actually Christians, she acted surprised!

When I told her that goths are actually some of the most tolerant and peaceful people I know because they don't care what religion, color, sexual orientation you are, she told me to shut up.

How's that for tolerance?

By C.

In my school there aren't many different groups such as freaks, geeks and wannabees, but there are some such as myself, a goth, and preps and the "in betweens" who really don't care. But even though there aren't that many groups there are A LOT of coflicts between us.

For example, when everyone found out I was a goth some preppies wanted to fight me that used to be my friends. I'm the only goth in my school and it's not surprising considering it's unfortunately a Catholic school. The reason that I go there is because I live with my aunt and uncle.

People are getting used to the idea, but I'm still hated by many people but I learn to ignore it!!!!

I'm a Pagan
By M.

I'm a Pagan. I live in a small town in Wisconsin. Everyone in my high school knows I'm pagan. At least the people who know who I am do.

I've gotten a lot of guff for being the religion that I am. I've been called devil worshiper, blair witch, Mrs. Cleo, etc... I've had people walk around me singing hymns from the Bible just to make me angry.

I believe they make fun of me simply because they are afraid of what they believe i stand for. None of them actually took the time or effort to understand what my beliefs were. I can't even count the times I've told the same people that I can't worship the devil when I don't believe he exists.

I try to explain to them what I am, but it just goes in one ear and out the other. All I want is to go to school not having to wonder what new name they're going to come up with, or what new plan they have to try and humiliate me with.

I don't think asking for the ability to go to school without having to defend my religion to everyone I meet is too much to ask, do you? I just want to make some people aware that pagans aren't bad, sure we have some people calling themselves witches who give us a bad name, but if you talk to a pagan -- a true pagan -- you'll find out otherwise. As our creed states "an it harm none, do what thou will." Thank you for reading my story, I hope you come away with a different point of view.

Don't judge lunchmates by their appearance
Amber

Everyday is a new experience for me! I used to sit at the same old lunch table day after day, but now it's a whole new change! I sit with a girl I met in named Kiritie, who now I am really close with. It's a Goth table with lots of unique people — very friendly — and I feel happy to sit and make new friends. I always look forward to sitting there. They make me feel at home! It's not all what you look like on the outside, it's what you have on the inside that counts. So don't just judge people and not consider sitting with them just because of the way they look and dress.

More details here at website which organises it.