A canvas “Seniors 2012” banner was strung across the entrance gate to Hope Ranch, and a giant bouncy slide filled the senior quad. Saran wrap, toilet paper, and fishing line covered the school. Kalfas was a blizzard of Post Its.
In spite of all of this chaos—or perhaps, because of it—I have never felt more connected to my graduating class than I did at this time. This may sound like a strange environment in which to foster relationships amongst peers, but this is the purpose that the senior prank serves.
Students often complain that there is not enough school spirit on campus. Although I have never gone to a school athletic event and have only been to one dance, I am inclined to disagree with this statement. In spite of my lack of attendance at school-wide functions, I am constantly grateful to be a part of the Laguna Blanca community and am endlessly appreciative of its students, faculty, and administrators.
I believe that all of my graduating peers share this feeling. Although we do not have the same energy at athletic events nor the spirited pep rallies that are common at public schools, we do have the senior prank.
Our senior prank tradition is rooted in school spirit, not destructiveness. The care, time, and energy that the senior class channels into brainstorming their prank and putting it into action set our school apart. My friends at other schools were baffled by my reference to “Senior Prank Meetings” and our careful division into different teams—each responsible for certain aspects of the prank (thank you, Class President Kai Gamble).
The prank not only stems from the morale of the graduating seniors, but it also cultivates this feeling among other students. “I always felt a rush of school spirit whenever the senior prank happened,” recalled senior Cameron Platt about her reaction to prior years’ pranks. It is something for lower classmen to look forward to as seniors.
Students are not alone in recognizing the camaraderie precipitated by the prank.  “I think it is a tradition worth preserving, and I hope that students continue it with the same spirit of thoughtful good fun. Getting rid of it would be like pursuing a great white whale,” said Ms. Martha Elliott.
Seniors have even received some appreciation from the administration for  their generally thoughtful efforts. “I like the more creative path the senior prank is starting to go down,” said Mr. Tyler Hodges.
However, school administrators have also expressed concerns about the tradition. The most pressing include safety hazards,  aesthetic effects on the school, and profanity.
While these concerns are entirely valid, I believe that they could be easily avoided with a change in the administration’s approach to handling the prank.
If creative, benign pranks were left up by the maintenance crew for at least one day, students will be less tempted to leave their legacy through harmful or inappropriate methods.
However, as of now, we know that Mr. Matt Bray, the Director of Physical Plant, will arrive at school at 5 a.m. on prank day to begin tearing down seniors’ carefully crafted project before other students arrive.
This year, Dr. Ashley Tidey’s room—which was perhaps the most benevolent portion of the prank—was torn down first. Seniors carefully crafted a boat in honor the AP Literature class’ reading of “Billy Budd.” The beautiful, wooden vessel was chopped up and practically destroyed before Ms. Tidey was able to see it in all of its glory.
Also, in honor of Ms. Tidey’s endearing reference to her students as “chickens”, the seniors picked out personalized sketches for each student in her AP Literature class and placed them in their regular class seats with a note on the board that said “AP Lit Chickies came to class on ditch day. We love you!”
By thoughtlessly erasing this kind message the school enforced the idea that creative, kind ideas deserve no more respect than profane ones.
The administration has every right to discourage profane or dangerous pranks—and yes, we know the blow-up sex dolls were inappropriate. However, if we were confident that our witty, kind pranks would be honored and preserved, we would be discouraged from doing irreverent things.
Perhaps Matt Bray and the administration believe that if they continue to tear down the prank it will eventually stop happening. However, this creates tension, and it motivates seniors to make their pranks more permanent and therefore more destructive in order to ensure that the rest of the school will see it. I urge the administration to consider leaving up the Class of 2013’s prank for a day if next year’s seniors are creative and thoughtful in their efforts.