Are These Stereotypes Accurate for Southern Utah’s High Schools?

When an area like Southern Utah sees a tremendous amount of growth, it’s quite common to see more and more high schools, and with more high schools comes rivalries, and with rivalries comes stereotypes.

Now let me be clear, these stereotypes are ABSOLUTELY NOT representative of what the students of these high school act like in their day to day lives.

…but they’re still really funny. I graduated from Dixie High School in 2015 and it felt like we all had a Utah version of “Grease” or “West Side Story” happening in our midst (minus the death and most of the fighting).

I had the pleasure of attending an event earlier this year at Utah Tech University where I got to speak with many students from different high schools across Southern Utah.

I was happy to find that most of the stereotypes from my day are still around, they’ve just shifted a tiny bit due to the new kids on the block at Crimson Cliffs High School.

You’ve waited long enough. Let’s talk stereotypes.

Remember, these are jokes and are NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. Cool? Cool.

Dixie High School

Ah, home sweet home. Dixie High School is nestled in the middle of the main area of St. George, and with it comes comparisons to the ghetto. We were also called the poor school, the border (since we had many Hispanic students), and the most prominent stereotype was of course, the pregnant school.

Man oh man was that thrown our way a lot, but allow me to state my case. Technically, when a student got pregnant, they were often sent to Milcreek High School…so that would mean Milcreek would be the pregnant school. So there *puffs out chest like a proud toddler*.

Pine View High School

Pine View’s stereotype is not so much about its students, but about the building itself. The prison school.

The hallways are dark and narrow with little to no windows, and even the classrooms can feel claustrophobic. While this sounds terrible for the students, it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, and not all of it is true.

Pine View doesn’t have many stereotypes as far as I could tell, so honestly, that’s a victory for Pine View in my book.

Snow Canyon High School

Drugs. They’re called the drug school. This one has always been a little weird to me because every high school, whether you like it or not, has at least a couple of kids that gets high behind the dumpster.

As for Snow Canyon in particular, when I asked some teenagers that went to the school about this stereotype, they said, “yeah, that sounds about right.”

Maybe they know something I don’t know…maybe it’s the Santa Clara air or something…proximity to sand dunes and the need to go caving?

Desert Hills High School

This one has definitely changed the most since I was in high school. Back in 2015, they were often called the rich and preppy school. Apparently, that title belongs to a different school now, so what is Desert Hills known for?

Middle class.

Kinda boring huh? I remember when Desert Hills first opened and a rumor started circulating about a time when their intercom went off and said, “Whoever owns the black Camaro in the back parking lot, you left your lights on.”

Dead silence loomed in the classroom until one student stood up, looked around, and then said, “Well that could be any one of us.”

I miss those days.

Crimson Cliffs High School

Let me introduce you to the current title holder for rich and preppy school. Since Crimson Cliffs resides in a newer area of Southern Utah in Washington Fields, it only makes sense that the mid to upper class would want to live in the area.

Allow me to regale you with a rumor I heard about the school. There was a moment when the intercom went off and said, “Whoever owns the White Tesla in the back parking lot, you need better taste.”

Dead silence loomed in the classroom until one student stood up, looked around, and then said, “Well that could be any one of us.”

Freaking copycats.

Hurricane High School

To anyone wondering about Hurricane High School, may I direct your attention to this video.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing how these stereotypes evolve in the future.