Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!
As camps around the country begin their staff training weeks, so many will begin fighting the constant battle of staff cliques.
The word clique is certainly weighted. It brings about memories of high school and the movie Mean Girls. But what is a clique? And is it always a bad thing?
In my mind, cliques are a sort of extreme situation. As people, we tend to form groups with people we relate with and like. But that's not the problem. Camp staffs will always have friend groups within them, and that is not necessarily a problem. It becomes a clique when it becomes exclusive, and the group seems sort of shut off from the rest of the staff.
Cliques may only hang out with each other. They don't make others feel welcome when they're around, and they create an overall negative energy at camp. It can be easy to see a clique from the outside, but when you're in one, its a challenge to realize it. It's even harder to reverse the problem, so its best to be proactive, rather than reactive.
One of the best ways to prevent cliques as a staff member starts in the very beginning. As a staff member, you can combat staff cliques forming by getting to know as many new staff as possible. It's easy to meet a few friends and feel comfortable and content with the first few people you meet and like, but it's important to continue to branch out. Most of my best friends that I have met on staff were not in the first few people I met.
As the summer progresses, all staff find certain groups of friends who they like better than others. In order to keep from becoming a clique, one of my favorite things to do was invite different groups of people home with me for our night off. My very best friend at camp last summer always had the same night off as me, and she always came home with me. However, we would always check the night of schedule, and invite a few other staff members home, especially ones we didn't really know. It's a great way to bond outside of camp, and keep friend groups from becoming exclusive.
Just remember, the more friends you have at camp, the better your summer will be! An exclusive group within the staff just brings everyone down and alienates people. Meet new people, make new friends, and have a great summer!
You are amazing!
Samantha
