Senior pranks have been a tradition among the graduating classes from high schools and colleges, usually involving mayhem and outrageous tricks. Mostly thought of as a final distinguishing mark of their class to the school, these pranks require lengthy planning and careful consideration.
If too chaotic, fines may be handed out, school property may be damaged and the police force may be involved.
Only one prank at Cinco has been successfully carried out, and the other one failed to even make an appearance to the student body.
“A student brought a box of a few hundred mice to school,” Calfee said. “We caught them one by one.”
It took everyone in the school to participate in catching these mice, resulting in a few bitten students and faculty.
“It became a serious health hazard,” Calfee said.
The second prank was almost carried out successfully, Calfee recalls, but police caught the two pranksters right before they left the scene. Two seniors decided to take dirt from the then unfinished practice soccer fields and place the mound at the entrance next to the tennis fields, creating a barrier to surprise all the driving students.
“They decided to make a pile of dirt a couple feet high, so in the morning it would block traffic,” Calfee said.
Unfortunately for them, police happened to be on duty that midnight. He sat in his car and watched the action from afar. Once the barrier was successfully placed, a police officer caught the students and told them to carry the dirt back to the fields.
Calfee also noted that a certain limit of freedom is required for these wild pranks.
“It shouldn’t damage any property or hurt any people,” Calfee said.
School property must not be damaged and classes are not to be interrupted. With those rules, only one option is left: school pranks are not permitted. But seniors think otherwise.
Senior Cole Brachman sees pranks as a tradition each senior class passes down to the next, but understands the opposition among school board officials and administrators.
“[Pranks] are still something to look forward to, as bad as it seems, but when they involve vandalizing property, not so much,” Brachman said.
He remembers crickets being released throughout the school. According to Brachman, the band room had annoying chirping for months.
But ever since the mice, there has not been a prank that has caused district-wide recognition. It leaves skepticism about any upcoming senior pranks, and whether the tradition will kickstart again this year.