Every year, the graduating class at South plans a senior prank. Most South students will only see four senior pranks, but our teachers and staff remember quite a few more, and they shared them with us. Here is a ranking of the most discussed South’s senior pranks from best to worst.
Good pranks
1. Water under the bridge (2018)
Splat! The class of 2018 filled the pit with water balloons. This prank was colorful and original. “People were jumping into the balloons, and there were balloons everywhere, and then they were popping,” said American Studies teacher Mr. Bryan Fisher. “A lot of kids had fun and a lot of teachers had fun. That’s what a senior prank should be.”
2. Double trouble (1996)
These two pranks are some of the silliest. In 1996, the seniors got to school early and had a barbecue in the teacher’s parking lot. They also took a joyride through the school. “Think about 200 kids on tricycles around the commons,” said Mr. Fisher.
3. Switcheroo
One year in the mid 2010’s, South’s senior class teamed up with North’s. In the morning, all the 12th graders went to the wrong school, in a coordinated effort. This was one of South’s most exciting pranks, and fairly wholesome, but it had its detractors. “That wasn’t an administrative favorite,” said Mathematics teacher Mr. Peter Collura.
4. TP (2022)
Senior pranks made their post-COVID comeback with this simple classic. The class of 2022 covered the mezzanine in toilet paper. “It’s not very clever, but it’s harmless,” said Language Arts teacher Ms. Rose Leonard.
5. Layover (2023)
The 2023 prank was cute and slightly underwhelming. Last year’s seniors pretended for the other classes that they were waiting for an airplane by packing suitcases, bundling up in blankets, moving furniture out to the commons, and taking a quick nap before first period. “I feel like seniors are sleeping most of the spring anyway, in class,” said Mr. Fisher.
Dangerous pranks
6. Of mice and teens
A late 1990s class wreaked havoc by releasing white mice into the school. While this prank is funny in retrospect, at the time it was terrifying. “The mice ran up the vice principal’s pants, and he was freaking out,” said Ms. Leonard.
7. Vandal scandals
In the early 2000s, a group of students glued the lockers in the school shut, costing the school a pretty penny, and they were swiftly punished. Another year, students threw desks, chairs and computers into the pit, breaking them. Both of these “pranks” may or may not have been run by seniors—teachers are unsure. “When somebody damages your school, people forget that we have a hundred teachers and staff here that make this our second home,” said Mr. Fisher.
What will future seniors have up their sleeves? “The whole thing about a senior prank is that it should be clever,” said Ms. Leonard. “Let’s challenge seniors to come up with the smartest, but nicest senior pranks. Not including any live animals.”
