Senior Prank

Apparently, some students (not sure if they are all seniors or not) were able to get in to our school - apparently a door was left unlocked - and chose to turn 8 chickens loose, scatter chicken feed in the hallway and onto rugs, mess rooms up, and take key boards (which were later found).

The staff was abuzz all day about the repercussions.  Should the guilty parties not be allowed to walk at graduation? Suspension? A slap on the wrist since it really wasn't done maliciously?

Of course, opinions varied about this.  On one side was the hardcore, draw a line in the sand approach: throw the book at them.  Suspend them and they don't walk at graduation.  They argued that you have to set a precedent otherwise the pranks will just get worse.  There might be some truth to this too since my fourth block class that day was talking about their prank next year.  "Yeah, we'll pour vegetable oil in the hallway.  Then it'll look clear and when people step on it, they'll slide all over."

The only problem with that is people will not just slide by fall.  Legs or arms or wrists might get broken.  What happens if a teacher walks in carrying their daughter and slips and lands on the hard tile floor?  What happens if a teacher comes in with a mug full of coffee and slips and spills on their face?

These are the types of scenarios pranksters don't think through.  They think about the moment.  I can understand that, but part of growing up is to learn - some times the hard way - that actions carry consequences and some times those consequences can't be envisioned.  But you have to deal with them anyway.

Oddly enough, our principal was just telling me about some seniors who set hay bales in the hallway as a prank.  Now that seems benign enough, but apparently the dust from the bales sifted into the duct work and then got into computers, wiring, the heater/air conditioning system.  A few innocuous hay bales soon turned in to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and cleaning.

So I can see the point that some wanted to make by throwing the book at them.

But - as always - there was another side that argued why are we making a big deal out of this.  They asked, who were the ones responsible for last year's prank (placing large tractor tires inside the school at various spots).  No one could remember the name and some even had trouble remembering the prank.

And that was the point.  Because it's the end of school, it's a big issue now.  They argued we shouldn't make a mountain out of a large hill.

And they also argued what about other pranks or stupid antics that occur during the year and all that happens is an in school suspension . . . hardly having the book thrown at them.

In the end our administration decided to suspend the students . . . they have to come back next week when just the underclassmen are here to finish their work.  They cannot be in school or any school related activities.  So athletes are done with their spring sports and they don't get to see the final senior video or take part in the walk through at the Ralph.  In addition, 20 plus hours of community service was handed out.  They will walk but they will get their diplomas late.

I think the that the guilty parties were able to walk at graduation bothered a few people.  But I thought one of our administrators put it well when he said, "A kid will forget about not walking across that stage by Saturday morning.  But you know who won't forget? Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa."  A valid point.


I think a couple of productive things came out of this.  First, the mess was cleaned up in time so no trace was left when school opened the next day.  This is important.  It's kind of difficult to enjoy the prank when you don't get to actually see what it was.  That was smart.  Second, there is now going to be a policy in the student handbook stating that you will be suspended and not allowed to walk at graduation if you are part of a senior prank.

Overall, this was really a speed bump on what has been an excellent week for our seniors.  I'm glad the mess didn't obscure all that they have accomplished this year.