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By Staff
Senior year: the grand conclusion to 13 grueling years of schooling. The once feeble freshman are now at the top of the food chain. Come senior year, many students seek to leave their mark on their high school, generally in unorthodox ways. Senior pranks have been a tradition in countless schools across America. They vary in degree and topic, but most end with a student being punished. While some administrations are more strict than others, there are certainly lines to be drawn for what is appropriate and inappropriate as a last hurrah.
The Dexter administration doesn’t endorse senior pranks at all: they draw the line at any prank that hurts others, causes damage, disrupts the school, costs the school money, or violates the student code of conduct, this is how pranks should be done. The term “prank” refers to a practical joke or mischievous act. As of late, senior pranks have been vandalistic and harmful, raising the question: do senior pranks need to be reconsidered?
Throughout the years, Dexter has seen both great and not so great pranks. Among the greats were putting the school on Craigslist and painting the poop emoji on the school rock. These pranks were clever, and didn’t cause any hassle or cleanup for the school to deal with. Another example of an excellent prank occurred when Mr. Moran was in high school. Some seniors from his school went to the local Big Boy and took the Big Boy statue from the restaurant, they then placed it on the roof of the high school for everyone to see. This prank caused some disarray for the administors, but was in good fun, and gave everyone a laugh. These are the types of pranks that Dexter should bring to the table.
On the not so great side, some students chose to coat the center stairwell in baby oil, creating a huge hazard for students and an inconvenience for custodial staff to clean up. Endangering other students and creating a mess shouldn’t be the way senior pranks are done. Another prank remembered in infamy was when someone pushed the school rock into a hole, causing several hours of labor and the tearing up of grass by heavy machinery to lift the rock back into place. Both pranks are vandalistic in nature, and can hardly be called pranks.
Our generation is running out of creative and witty ideas to cause mischief on school grounds, and we are resorting to damaging school property to get attention. Assistant Principal Ken Koenig recommended leaving a positive mark on the school through ways of donation such as a row of picnic tables to the courtyard accompanied by a plaque saying “Donated by Class of ‘18.” In this way, the senior class leaves a lasting legacy of charitability and school pride for generations to come.
And to the the mischievous and the troublesome: think before you prank and weigh the risks and rewards of your actions. Be sure to run your ideas by more than one person, because making a juvenile mistake your senior year simply to be remembered as a vandal just isn’t worth it.
