As the year gets closer and closer to an end, seniors begin to brainstorm. Not for the sake of their schoolwork, or their choice of college, but for ingenious ideas for a senior prank.

It’s basically a legacy in most high schools. Towards the end of the school year (usually the last week), seniors set an elaborate prank in hopes of it being clever and/or witty. Pranks like covering a hallway with cups filled with water are funny and even harmless. Then there are the more risky jokes like releasing two animals (pigs, perhaps) into the school and labeling them “1” and “3”, leaving the administration searching for a third pig labeled “2”, when there really never was one. Classic, right?

Let’s face it; most of the pranks we’ve seen here are petty if anything. The blueprints, if you will, of these pranks seem extraordinary at the time of their demise, but flop in their execution.

There was the pool party in the courtyard the class of 2011 put on display, with beach toys and even a grill, but crashed quickly due to administration shutting it down. There was a failed attempt of a food fight two years ago, vandalism by a few senior girls last year, and the seniors failed to park obnoxiously around the school, preventing anyone from leaving. Not only did these pranks fail to make history, but they were absolutely ridiculous to begin with.

Not that all pranks aren’t ridiculous (because they are), but what makes them so special, is when they’re outstanding pranks that the high school will remember for years to come.

I say the best kind of pranks, are the harmless pranks. The ones that won’t cause any physical damage to anyone, or property damage to the school. Pranks like those could make the mastermind(s) end up in court with a large fine or hospital bill. Not exactly worth it.

Now this isn’t being written to alert everyone what pranks are in process of being done or made, but to simply say “hey, if you’re gonna do a senior prank, do it right”.

It’s inevitable that someone somewhere in the school is going to pull a prank and the administration will try their best to put a stop to it, and find the perpetrator behind it all. So it’s best to make whatever plan it is that’s being passed around, safe.

“As far as senior pranks go, there’s nothing wrong with them. I think they’re great. When it gets difficult is when they cause damage, and interrupt school,” assistant principal Chris Mayfield said. “Two years ago, the seniors had a beach party in the courtyard, and that was great! Nobody expected it, nobody heard anything, it didn’t disrupt school because it was afterwards. It was fun. And that’s what these pranks should be.”

This year, many things have been said, and rumors have been passed around about what prank could take place this year. As a senior, I must say that I’m quite excited to see the outcome of these plans.

“I have not heard anything about this year’s prank,” Mayfield said.  “Hopefully it’s fun and harmless like the one two years ago, because those essentially are the best kind.”