Clique behavior pervades college system

I'm another new face on campus: I transferred to Rice this semester, and I'm a member of Martel College. While learning about the university's traditions during orientation, I had no idea the college system would force me to experience the many trials and tribulations made famous by 2004's Mean Girls - that is to say, the trauma of a stereotypical high school with a preordained, hierarchical cafeteria seating system.Maybe I'm naive. I was certainly unaware that such a lifestyle, dominated by what most counselors across the nation have dubbed the "clique syndrome," could continue to exist within universities. Take lunch at Martel, for example. At first, it was an adventure: I would sit at a different table each day, attempting to meet as many students and learn as many Rice customs as possible. It was exciting at first, but I soon found that my plight was similar to that of Goldilocks as I failed to find my niche. Each chair was either too big or too small.