(March 23, 2007) — Too often can one walk down the hallways of this school and be amazed at the sheer impudence and lack of respect coming from students every single day. These incidents of people putting themselves above others includes everything from students who think they deserve an A in class simply for showing up and trying their best, to those who think that by being a senior they are entitled to a new car, to the daily incidents of students simply cutting in line. Is this apparent narcissism a recent trend in teenagers, or simply a flaw in humanity? Since 1982, a nationwide survey called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory has been conducted among college students to examine their level of narcissism. This survey asks for responses to statements such as, “ If I ruled the world, it would be a better place, ” “ I think I am a special person ” and “ I can live my life any way I want to. ” In an interview with Fox News, Prof. Jean Twenge of San Diego State University and her 12 colleagues concluded that, of the 16,475 students who took the survey from 1982 to 2006, the number of students in agreement with such statements has been increasing steadily since the study was first conducted. The Chronicle recently gave a similar survey to 100 graduating Clark seniors, the results of which are posted in the graphs below. Senior Rachel Hahn agrees that people have been getting steadily more narcissistic. “Nowadays I think that people are more into themselves than caring for others,” she said. “I find that people are more worried about getting through the door first, rather than holding it open for someone else.” History and government teacher Nick Doom, who teaches graduate classes at Cal State L.A. in addition to being a teacher at Clark, says that although he does not see a narcissistic attitude in many of the graduate students he teaches, when it comes to undergraduates, he has seen an increase in student behavior that he would call narcissistic. “It’s almost like everything is an A if I didn’t tell them otherwise,” he said. However, he feels that that atmosphere at Clark is different. “I think Clark insulates us from this attitude because of the dress code,” Doom said. “If you follow the dress code, people are going to be less concerned with having the best pants or purses or blouses.” If college students really are growing more narcissistic as time goes by, what consequences might this have for them? In an interview with Fox News, Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia said, “ Narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others. ” The study asserts that narcissists “ are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors. ” According to librarian Susan Newcomer, self-absorbed college and high school students may face a shock when they leave school to enter the working world. “In the real world, they’re going to find out that bosses aren’t going to take anything less than real A-level work and they can’t complain their way out of it,” Newcomer said.