Eating alone: How 4 students began mission to end isolation

(AP) — The concrete courtyard at Boca Raton Community High stretches the length of a football field.

When the bell rings for lunch, a flurry of students pack it from every direction.

When they're not meeting, they're out in the school's busy courtyard searching for students who are by themselves.

Social cliques have turned even more inward, and some immigrant students now hear from others that they should get deported or go home, Estimon said.

During adolescence, kids form a sense of identity based on the social networks they share with their peers as they distance themselves from their parents, said Robin Vallacher, a Florida Atlantic University psychology professor.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote in the 1940s that humans first need food and water, then security and then belonging before they can achieve self-esteem and purpose.

[...] gangs and terrorism groups target isolated kids, Vallacher said.

Andy Pham, an assistant professor of school psychology at Florida International University, said his research found that students who were isolated were more likely to experience difficulties in emotional well-being and school work.

Seldom do the differing ethnic or racial groups mingle, so you end up with a variety of students who aren't sure where they fit in, or are afraid to try.

[...] Estimon, Sealy and two other friends started inviting everyone they knew to join them in pursuit of ending eating alone.