Who's Cool in School?
	ATHLETES, CHEERLEADERS ON TOP; "DORKS" ARE A SOCIAL
FLOP	

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 20 -- Good-looking girls and
male athletes claim the top rung of the social ladder in high
school, teenagers agree.
	And "dorks," those individuals considered hopelessly inept
in their dress and style, are at the bottom, a University of
Virginia study suggests.
	Wanting to test a theory of how relationships influence
status, U.Va. sociologist Murray Milner Jr. studied American
teenagers' social patterns.  Using descriptions of adolescent status
systems in 18 schools in locales as diverse as New Jersey, West
Virginia, California and Washington, D.C., Milner found that all
teenagers believe that they are stratified by status.  He reported
his preliminary findings at a national meeting of the American
Sociological Association last month in New York.
	All teenagers described the "popular crowd" as the schools'
male athletes and most attractive girls, who were often
cheerleaders.  A subgroup of the popular crowd was often described
as "preppies."
	"Nerds," those who were openly preoccupied with academic
success, were near the bottom of the social ladder, but the lowest
of low were those referred to as "dorks" or "geeks." They were not
only inept in social situations, but often had low grades and were
poor athletes.
	In all but the smallest schools, students identified another
group as "weirdos" or "druggies," those who may or may not use
drugs, but who are characterized by bizarre dress, hair style and
body ornamentation.  "The status of this group was frequently
characterized as neutral -- neither high nor low, but usually
outside the system.  They attempted to symbolize their rejection of
both adult authority and the cultural dominance of the popular
crowd," said Milner, who is author of "Status and Sacredness,"
winner of the 1996 American Sociological Association Distinguished
Scholarly Publication Award.
	"Hoodlums" were identified as a group in one or two
schools.  They were described as those associated with gangs who
were willing to threaten and use force.
	"Most students modeled themselves after the popular crowd,"
said Milner, who developed a theory of status relationships by
analyzing the Indian caste system.  
	His theory focuses on what elements are essential in
influencing status in relationships that are independent from
economic and political power, such as adolescents in schools or
Indians in the caste system.  The elements in Milner's theory range
from the amount of status available in a social system to the
importance of conforming to norms of a group.
	As his theory predicts, status among the teenagers was
closely tied to conformity among their peers.  Those having the
highest status were not only attractive or athletic, but they also
wore clothes that reflected the latest fashion.
	Speech also contributed to status.  Each clique developed
its own vocabulary that differentiated its members from others,
Milner found.
	Crucial to students' status was their ability to feign
non-conformity to adults in general and school officials in
particular.  "It was most important that one should not show too
much concern about grades or academic work.  It was okay to be
bright -- and high grades were even admired -- as long as you
expressed indifference about such matters.  Telling jokes or doing
something that made people laugh in class was admired, and
occasionally being late or skipping class was expected for those who
sought high status.  For most middle-class students, the trick was
to demonstrate resistance without getting into serious trouble,"
said Milner, a U.Va. sociology professor.
	Dating, of course, played an essential role in status.  The
status of cheerleaders, drill team members and, to a lesser extent,
band members, was related to their association with athletes.  Girls
who dated star athletes upgraded their status.
	Parties were important events for displaying and acquiring
status. "One of the few ways to improve one's status was to provide
an attractive location for parties or to provide alcohol," Milner
said.
	As his theory predicts, once the status system became
institutionalized, it remained stable.  Teenagers reported
difficulty in changing status once it was established, and most
believed that one's status remained fixed after the first year in
school.
	"The preoccupation of American adolescents with clothing
styles, parties and who's going with whom, as well as the pettiness
and mean-spiritedness that often accompanies such concerns, is not
just an inevitable stage of development nor the willful rejection of
traditional values.  The preoccupation, instead, can be seen as
intense competition for status, the one valued resource that
adolescents actually control themselves," Milner said.
###
September 19, 1996
	FOR MORE INFORMATION Murray Milner can be reached at (804)
924 6520, office; (804) 296-0578, home; or via mm5k@virginia.edu.
Television reporters should contact our TV News Office at (804)
924-7550.