Pranking Etiquette

Each year, as with many other schools, the seniors here at the high school at which I work devise and execute a senior prank. Unfortunately, pranks, as a breed, far too often tend to come at the expense of a victim's property, time, or dignity. As for this year, at 3:30 AM this morning, they came to the high school and set up a mock camp with tents and the like in the commons out front, then changed the sign on the board to read "Camp Seniors"; I've also heard that they also placed little yellow stickies on the principal's car, each coming personally from a senior, and bearing a memory for him from their years at the school.

Now, mind you, I don't condone any prank, and there is probably no perfect prank. As for today, I do know of several people mentioned having to find alternative parking spaces this morning (and as I type this, I'm listening to the administrative chatter on the walkie talkies, relating problems with students not coming in to class and blocking traffic now that the school day has begun), and no doubt the principal had to take a few minutes to remove the yellow stickies from his car. However, at least this prank was farther down the continuum toward the benign. I wish that pranks more often steered themselves farther toward these qualities. If the point of a prank is to do something unexpected that creates humor, doesn't it make sense that you want a prank that will make the most people possible laugh? Certainly, anyone who is hurt by a prank isn't laughing, and that suggests logically that the most successful prank is one that comes at *no one's* expense, since it leaves everyone available to laugh at it.

On a sidenote, I really hope that people will take something else away from this experience: an appreciation for the principal at this school. There are not many principals with the sense of humor, good sportsmanship, and genuninely pragmatic and caring approach of ours. His reaction and handling of this morning's circumstances are representative of the norm, and so many clearly benefitted from it. I truly hope that these seniors appreciate him (and how differently this morning could have played out under the vast majority of other high school principals).

Last, I am currently sitting in my first block senior English class with the five students that attended today. While I personally take no exception by this (my students all have their final portfolio directions and know when it is due), the first two of these students to arrive had some very wise observations about their peers currently outside. They pointed out to each other that being a senior, at its core, is, of course, about graduating... and today, there is an in-class final exam in one of the classes a vast majority of seniors are taking, calling into real question whether remaining outside rather than attending class today might be making some of these seniors potentially no longer graduating. In fact, these students noted that several of the seniors that they saw outside today are most definitely not graduating any time soon, and yet they are partaking of festivities celebrating that which they have not achieved, as those festivities themselves are potentially setting them farther back away from that unachieved goal... I'm not certain, but that seems like at least a double irony.

>>> NOTE ADDED: Since posting the above, I've heard rumor that there were some who got carried away with elaboration, in such manners as windowpainting vehicles not their own, and filling a portion of the parking lot with sand. The window painting moves the whole situation back down the continuum away from the harmless and a few steps toward the wrong kind of prank, as it does come at an inconvenience to a "victim," and unless they also have the decency to wash it off, at the cost of money and time as well. The sand, meanwhile, could still go either way, and we must wait to see - it really depends all on how vigilant these creative pranksters are in considerately cleaning up after themselves this afternoon; I do honestly hope they clear the lot, as removal of all that sand would likely be a really time consuming and potentially costly headache to someone. Let's hope they keep this prank toward the "positive" end of the continuum by seeing it through all the way to clean-up.