Girls are successful in using language to stop certain boys behaviors that annoy them. Girls and boys are heavy users of tobacco in and out the school. Girls who become pregnant are not allowed to wear the school uniform. When pregnancies become too obvious, as illustrated in the case concerning a female principal, girls are screamed at and expelled from school. This has changed since the time the book was published, and starting around July 2000 pregnant girls cannot be expelled from public schools.
Students also mobilize to organize numerous dances outside as well as inside the school.
Drunken behavior does not appear as a problem in the narrative. My own experiences corroborate that alcohol is usually considered appropriate in a party situation and is not hidden from adults. Students express the need to obtain a school diploma, which they consider valuable in their job search. Students support the use of school uniforms because some of their friends do not have money to buy a variety of dress clothes. Students would like to be proud of their school, but they think that adults do not care enough to improve the schools image.