High Life A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Do Boys or Girls Have the Edge in School?

When it comes to making the grade, making the team, making the clique or even making out, just about everybody looks to gain an edge, that special something that gives him or her the inside track.

Among teen-agers, this advantage is often associated with gender. But in whose favor? Hot Topics asks, “Do boys have it easier in high school, or do girls? Why?”

“Socially, I think boys have it harder because there’s still that idea that boys have to pay for dates. They have to get jobs, and high school is hard enough as it is.”

Penny Minna, 16,

junior, Connelly

“Boys mature later than girls, so they have to go through their maturity in high school. There’s social pressure and physical pressure.”

Veronica Briseno, 17,

senior, Capistrano Valley

“Boys have it easier when it comes to dating because girls feel pressured to go out with them. Boys sometimes can’t take no for an answer.”

Cristina Pacl, 17,

junior, Orange

“Girls, because they get away with more. It is harder for boys to get accepted.”

Eric Major, 16,

junior, Dana Hills

“Boys have it easier because they have more freedom.”

Tan Lam, 14,

freshman, La Quinta

“Boys have it easier because they don’t have to impress anyone.”

Tyson Tendler, 17,

senior, Mater Dei

“Girls, definitely, because they don’t have to ask the boys out.”

Mike Perham, 16,

sophomore, Los Alamitos

“Boys, of course. They can go out or date any girl. They are especially a stud if they are going out or dating an older girl.”

Annie Piyavidtayakarn, 18,

senior, Ocean View

“Boys, because parents are more protective of daughters.”

Ellen Alegre, 18,

senior, Dana Hills

“In a co-ed environment, boys would have it easier because they’re worshiped by girls.”

Tessa Goff, 16,

sophomore, Connelly

“Girls have it easier. Boys spend their high school years trying to build up their egos to manly levels. And they fail.”

Becky Griffin, 17,

senior, Capistrano Valley

“Boys have it easier because girls have to do more work. Not only do they have to do class work, they have to find time to do their hair, makeup and nails, too.”

Bobby Hall, 14,

freshman, La Quinta

“Girls have it easier because we are better at manipulating teachers into doing what we want.”

Carlee McMullens, 17,

senior, Ocean View

“Boys, because they do not take things as serious in high school, which makes their life less stressful.”

Melissa J. Nex, 17,

junior, Mater Dei

“Boys have a harder time because they have less self-confidence, and the peer pressure coming from boys is a lot more persuasive than that from girls.”

Keri Regier, 16,

junior, Dana Hills

“I think boys have it harder in high school. They get evaluated more by the older boys than girls do.”

Christine Heinrichs, 15,

sophomore, Los Alamitos

“We think girls have it easier because no matter how young a freshman girl looks, a senior boy will go for her. Freshman boys don’t get the same kind of reaction from senior girls.”

Kim Morley and Jennifer Kimble, 17,

seniors, Ocean View

“Boys don’t have to go through all the female problems and being self-conscious.”

Kristy Foreman, 15,

sophomore, Sonora

“Boys have it more difficult because they are more apt to be thrown in trash cans.”

Gina Certeza, 16,

junior, Connelly

“Girls have it easier because boys have all the stress of having a girlfriend and playing sports.”

Jason Morris, 14,

freshman, La Quinta

“In sports, coaches are harder on boys than they are on girls.”

Talisha Williams, 15,

freshman, Orange

“It is equally difficult for both because boys mature later and the girl has to compensate for this. Yet, more is expected from boys and they are unable to fulfill the demands.”

Delphi Enstine, 17,

senior, Capistrano Valley

“Boys have it easier because they don’t have to get up in the morning and put on a bunch of makeup or fix themselves up. All they have to do is jump in the shower and go.”

Tonya Simpson, 17,

senior, Orange

“Girls stress out 10 times more than boys do, especially in their junior and senior years.”

Jenny Sewel, 17,

junior, Mater Dei

“Boys have it easier in school because there are more female teachers.”

Ben Rada, 15,

sophomore, Los Alamitos

“Girls, because society puts more pressure on boys. More pressure is put on men to succeed because they have to go out into the real world and make the money for the family.”

Greg Roa, 15,

sophomore, Dana Hills

“Boys can put on a hat and leave in the morning. It’s not the same for girls.”

Megan Hanks, 17,

senior, Sonora

“Boys have it easier because girls are expected to excel in academics and sports, whereas boys are only expected to excel in sports.”

Wendy Elizabeth Naugler, 16,

sophomore, Los Alamitos

“Boys, because girls have more social responsibility.”

Christian Smith, 15,

freshman, Dana Hills

“I guess it’s equally hard for both. You’ve got your parents pushing you from one direction and your friends pushing you from the other.”

Suzanne Marxer, 15,

freshman, Los Alamitos

Next Week’s Hot Topic:

What qualities make your favorite teacher so special?

Responses gathered by Justin Chan (Capistrano Valley), Janet Bester (Connelly), Sara Schibanoff (Dana Hills), Jeanine Cardullo (La Quinta), Trisha Ginsburg (Los Alamitos), Candace Purvis (Mater Dei), Felice Wu (Ocean View), Betsy Burbridge (Orange) and Lani Kent (Sonora).