The hallway outside the cafeteria at Dean Morgan Junior High was a little crazier than usual Thursday afternoon. Student council members grabbed at their classmates' hands, checking for brightly colored marker scribbles before they entered the lunchroom.

"Joel, hand," a girl commanded, holding out her marker, as a student walked past her.

"I already got it," the boy said, flashing his own scribble.

Dean Morgan hosted a Mix It Up Day last week, an effort to encourage students to make new friends outside of their usual circles. The color of the marker scribbles indicated which tables students sat at.

Mix It Up is a project of the Southern Povery Law Center's Teaching Tolerance Program. More than 34,000 schools nationwide have participated in Mix It Up events.

At a table of boys, a student council member asked if cliques existed at Dean Morgan. One boy pointed to a girl sitting a few tables away.

"She's in a clique," he said. "She's one of the 'popular girls.'"

A lot of students were actually excited about Mix It Up Day, but some were not thrilled to eat lunch without their friends, according to Haylee Hunsaker, a student council member.

"Some people, they're just not willing to go out of their comfort zones," she said. "I hope they take away trying to welcome people into groups, not being cliquey about it."

Reina Portel, a seventh-grader, said the event was uncomfortable, even though she thought it was a great idea to break down the school's cliques.

"It was awkward, meeting new people," she said quietly. "I like coming to lunch with my friends."

Eighth-graders Cassidy Norcorss and Jed Hatten said the event was a good way to remind people not to judge each other.

"It just kind of takes something like this to find that out," Jed said. "You can definitely walk through the halls and tell the cliques."

"I hope it will change other people's opinions about cliques," Cassidy added. "I think I'll take away that you shouldn't judge a person by what kind of people they hang out with."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com. Read her blog at my.trib.com/jasasantos.