Headline: Classic Characters

Deck: A close look at the rebel, the jock, miss popularity, the nerd, and the loner in Legacy.

Byline: By: Madison Shafer

Pull Quote: “I am still human”

Saturday detention just got interesting. The Jock, the Rebel, Miss Popularity, the Loner, and the Nerd. Gathered together they are “The Breakfast Club.” Five very different people, from very different lives, are thrust together in the movie “The Breakfast Club,” and the results, as these varied stereotypes clash, are amazing. Now the question is, does LHS have its own “Breakfast Club”?

Nerd Alert

A feeling of ecstasy rushes up his spine, and the classroom is silent but for the soft click of the pen on the active board. There is no need for the teacher to even finish, for pride and excitement accompany the only pupil who knows the answer.

Few high school scholars are known to possess the superior skills and intellect found in an elite group of people known as… the nerds. The brain, or intelligence, of a nerd is what truly defines the “nerd” and sets him or her apart from everyone else. Although the brain can be an incredible gift, it is often stressful to be right all the time for a lot of kids. It can be an extremely hard group or name to live up to. Freshman, and self proclaimed mastermind, Yerouel Zamba fits this genius stereotype, and is extremely proud of it.

“I feel super proud of my intelligence, but when you disappoint you never forget it,” Zamba said. “I like being a nerd, it should be a status of supreme greatness.”

Nerds get some pretty sweet benefits, teachers like them, they are extremely smart, and they get to geek out on things like comic books, Star Wars, and math. A lot of times something in their background just clicks and gives them this incredible gift. For Zamba, his was particularly memorable.

“In fourth grade I read Origami Yoda, and it completely changed my outlook on life,” Zamba said. “Genetics also played a huge role, engineering is in my veins, and a Nobel Prize is in my future.”

In the “Breakfast Club” multiple different stereotypes are seen intermingling with each other, but according to Zamba, it isn't how it works at Legacy.

“Stereotypes separate us, we can’t get along with each other, or we can’t understand each other,” Zamba said. “Our cliques create even more stereotypes, and they separate even more.”

Miss Popularity

Laughter resonates through the air, along with the buzz of many voices talking at once. Cheer is in high supply. There is no feeling quite like hanging out with old friends, and making new ones.

Stylish, super friendly, and upbeat, this is one group everyone wants to meet. Loved by many, liked by all, this group of teens have a reputation for ruling the school. The popular crowd isn’t always well liked, but the majority of the time they are so honored and valued because they deserve it. Whether nice, mean, or misunderstood, all popular kids have one thing in common - their need to jabber. Freshman Eva Abfalter is one of these beloved, cool kids.

“I’ve always been a really big talker and I love to meet new people,” Abfalter said. “But I really hate the word popular. When you’re popular a lot of times you’re categorized as a mean girl, or a fake.”

Popular kids often don’t strive to be popular, they just like being well known. When surrounded by so many people, however, popular kids can get some pretty bad stereotypes thrown their way, the mean girl, and the fake are two examples of that.

“I get really irritated when people categorize me,” Abfalter said. “It’s not me they are talking about.”

Knowing so many people does have its perks - there are many great memories, lots of people to count on, and there are always new things to learn. Oftentimes, because they know so many people, the popular kids get a little taste of all the stereotypes.

“This school is really good about coming together and working together,” Abfalter said. “You have to have the right attitude, and it’s hard for some people to adapt to others, but I think we all work really well together.”

For popular people, it can be absolutely exhausting knowing and liking so many people. Not only that, but sometimes personally degrading depending on the person, but Abfalter doesn’t mind that too much anymore.

“It can be exhausting and troubling, but when you really just forget about all that stuff, you have to let go of expectations,” Abfalter said. “Although I wouldn’t trade my friends for anything, it’s so much fun knowing all of them.”

King of the Court

Adrenaline pumps through his body. Faster, and faster, and faster. Deadly silent but for the smack of the ball against the court. The win, the reputation, the bragging rights, they all depend on this moment, this game.

Probably one of the most recognizable figures in high school is the jock. Athletic kings and queens of the school, these teen are esteemed for holding up the school reputation on and off court. Many times, unfortunately, this stereotype is viewed as cocky and rude, but still envied by all. However, underneath the jock stereotype there is a true athlete, who puts grades first, and is absolutely dedicated to their sports. Junior Tyler Boone is one of these true athletes.

“The only role models I’ve looked up to have been athletes,” Boone said. “I was with my role model the first time I picked up a ball, and from that moment I’ve wanted to be good enough to be someone else's role model.”

The athletic stereotype can be an extremely hard stereotype to live up to. Not only do athletes have to focus on school, but they also have to focus on their team. While school and the team might be first and second on the list, that doesn’t mean that they can’t get along with or communicate with other stereotypes. .

“Just because I'm a jock doesn't mean I can't get along with with other stereotypes,” Boone said. “A benefit of breaking out of our stereotype groups would be that nerds could help us jocks with our homework.”

Across the board, however, it appears that most people get to choose their stereotype, or what group they want to fit into.

“I definitely choose my stereotype, I grew up watching sports, and love sports,” Boone said. “It all starts in elementary school, groups solidify through your school career, partially causing your stereotype.”

Rebel Riot

A whole different world, a whole different place. One where blood rushes to the head. One where all that can be seen is red. He’s pumped up, fists are swinging, hands are breaking, he is winning.

The people that live in the principal's office, the group that speaks through violence, the troop that is their own. Individual. Strong-willed. Rebellious. The rebel has made himself a name that will last through the ages. Stereotype rebels are often all about drinking, drugs, sticking it to the man. However, the rebel isn’t all about defying the rules, but having, following, executing their own. Unafraid to be themselves, unafraid to say what they think, unafraid to fight for their ideas and beliefs, although they can often be spotted by their attitude. Sophomore Geovannie Tapia is one rebel who puts his fist first.

“The rebel is a really easy stereotype to be, it’s so easy to fall into the heat of the moment,” Tapia said. “How I act, how I grew up, I feel like I need to fight when I get mad, but I need to think about the consequences.”

The rebel gets in a lot of trouble, makes mistakes, and usually has a defining moment where the rebel attitude really showed up. For Tapia it dates back quite a ways.

“We were in sixth grade, and I went at it with a teacher, and then with the officer,” Tapia said. “When I mess up, and I might mess up a lot, I feel like people hold my mess ups against me.”

The jury is out on stereotypes of the rebel front, Tapia was pretty torn on whether they were a good or bad thing.

“You can make friends because they are just like you, you get along,” Tapia said. “But they can also turn us against each other.”

Lone Wolf

Silence covers the area, then a flick of the page. One person works, while others feel the need to chatter.

In every school across the globe, there is always at least one teen who is down with solitary tasks. While most people would rather be electrically shocked than be left in a room alone with their thoughts, “loners” revel in it. The stereotype loner is often seen as friendless, cynical, depressed, or incapable of making friends. When, in actuality, the lone wolf is just someone who doesn't need to be surrounded by others to validate their own personal existence.  A loner in truth is most characterized by what they don’t say, their silence. They are okay with getting their work done right away, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have friends, just that they don’t need to be constantly surrounded by, or talking to them. Junior Amanda Davidson is one girl who isn't afraid to be quiet.

“I’d rather get my work done than talk,” Davidson said. “As a quiet person people know that you work hard, certain people even hang out with you more because of it.”

Stereotypes definitely circulate Legacy and Davidson isn’t particularly partial to them.

“I don’t like the idea of stereotypes but it happens,” Davidson said. “They can be really harmful because of how they separate us into cliques.”

Stereotypes come with all sorts of expectations, and sometimes they are hard to fit into. Yet people cram others into them so that everyone will fit into neat little boxes based off of their definitions of them.

“It can be really hard to live up to a stereotype,” Davidson said. “I guess it depends on if you want to be that stereotype or not.”

Stereotypes are often inaccurate, confining, and they often stop people from setting goals. When everyone looks for people who they are comfortable with, there is no room to grow. If there's one thing that limits every single student from the time they hit middle school, it is stereotypes. Counselor Melinda Thorton sees the limitations and degradation of stereotypes ever single day.

“Working with different people takes away certain boundaries,” Thorton said. “People are people, and we need to work on seeing beyond the superficial.”

No single stereotype is easy to fit into, and overall they are viewed as a negative thing, and inaccurate. Although stereotypes aren’t always pushed onto us, Abfalter, Zamba, Boone, Tapia, and Davidson all agreed that while they might be stereotyped they also got to choose their stereotype. Oftentimes, however, when stereotypes are created, people don’t realize every single person in the whole world is different. When people stereotype others, not only is it unfair to the person they just stereotyped, but to the stereotyper as well. In the movie “The Breakfast Club”  a group of totally different personalities click together and work well together, yet in our own school this type of connection can be difficult to find.

“Judgements aren’t always accurate, and there is a lot of benefit in breaking out of our cliques,” Thorton said. “You’re depersonalizing and selling people short when you stereotype them.”

One thing for sure though is that everyone feels the need to explain that they are human, not their stereotype.

“I am still human,” the Legacy Breakfast Club said.