After shoving my way onto the lunch bench between two friends, I settled in and listened as my friends talked while I opened a bag of chips. The normal chatter occurred: girls talking about classes, saying how the day is going, etc. As I start to zone out, my ears perk up when someone starts their sentence with, “Did you hear about….” The table’s full attention is on the girl who is about to inform her peers of the latest gossip.

Going to an all-girls’ school with a population of above 600 students, I’m sure you’ve heard the comment before that “there’s bound to be drama.” I’ve often heard this remark from parents when they ask about how all the girls at STA get along. I simply laugh in return. Although there’s drama at any school you go to, how could there be more drama at a place where the idea of sisterhood is preached from the lips of the majority of students? Unfortunately, gossip continues to play a huge part in the conversation among students at STA.

Participating in conversations that may not seem harmful to you, at the cost of someone else, chips away at this sisterhood that STA stands so strongly for. I don’t claim to be a perfect angel that never partakes in gossip, but the sisterhood of STA would remain present in all aspects of the school if students, like you and me, made a sincere effort to not spread rumors or add to the latest gossip involving a peer at STA. Although sisterhood is, and always will be, a strong characteristic of the STA community, by passing on rumors or not so flattering stories, this sense of community gradually begins to deteriorate for those falling victim to the aftermath that gossip drags along with it.

From freshman to my current senior year, I have noticed the gradual increase of gossip. Each year, the current grade would talk about their peers as well as those in the grades below them. As I grew older, I saw that students began to gain a sense of authority. It almost seemed like the older you got, the greater right you had to gossip or spread rumors. However, the idea of “seniority” should not play a part in the right to gossip.

Not only do these hurtful words give the students being spoken about a hurt reputation, they take away the possibility of new friendships to blossom. For example, if you heard a not-so-great story about a younger student who has previously done something that affected you personally, by spreading this to other people, this younger student has a stunted opportunity when it comes to being friends with older students.

This type of meaningless drama, although it doesn’t seem to affect day to day life at STA,  gradually makes the act of gossiping more widespread and accepted. If this continues, the promise of sisterhood to incoming STA students will gradually be chipped away at.

When my friend at the lunch table continued her story, one that made a student with an already compromised reputation seem to look worse, one of my peers said something. The table got silent and eyes darted back and forth between the girl instigating the gossip and the girl trying to put an end to it. Eventually another peer broke the silence and asked another student what they had for homework in math.

Following that day, the girl who instigated the gossip has yet to bring up other unflattering stories about other peers and refrains from participating in gossip at all. Although saying something small to stop the spread of gossip may seem useless, any small act of kindness builds up the sisterhood, instead of tearing it down.