Seniors made a slippery mark May 11 by coating tarps in water and dish soap, then converting the senior locker banks into a slip-n-slide. Many people laughed and enjoyed the show, but it raises the question of the impact that senior pranks have on Metea.

Senior Emilijia Morkunaite, along with many other seniors, believes that the prank can determine the fate of the senior class’ legacy. “Senior pranks leave an impression on the rest of the school,” Morkunaite said.

A senior prank can determine if underclassmen and juniors remember the seniors as utterly boring and uncreative, or rebellious and fun. Sophomore Ally Schell thinks that creativity is important with senior pranks. “That whole food fight thing last year was lame because it had been done before,” Schell said.

Not only had it been done the year before, but it had not nearly as much participation as the prior year. Now, whether this was because of just not all the seniors knowing when it was, or fear of getting in trouble, it did not leave the best impression on the rest of the school. Having to come up with an original idea, making sure all the seniors know about the prank and can get involved, and avoiding potential consequences is why some classes fall short.

Many seniors want to avoid anything that will jeopardize their graduation. However some have the feeling of who-cares-I’m-done-soon-anyway. “I’m excited to graduate and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that, but I also think it’s okay to have a little fun like a harmless prank,” senior Jessica Schell said.

Dean Adam West understood the need for a senior prank that avoids repercussions, so he had some advice for any seniors interested. “Come talk to me about it, I’ll help you out, get approval, and supervise if you need to get into the school at night to set up, ” West said.

Great, all you need to pull off a worthy senior prank is a super creative idea, a way to communicate the idea to your peers while still keeping it a surprise, and administrative approval. But once you gain administrative approval, does the prank still hit with the same satisfying feeling of rebellion? “Pranks are not as much fun when you get approval from the school,”  junior Alex Kurbyun said.

With administrative approval, a prank loses its rebellious purpose. The whole point of a senior prank is to “prank” and surprise the school, so knowing about it takes away the element of surprise, the satisfaction of breaking the rules, and the adrenaline rush of getting away with it.

However, the best people to answer that would be the seniors that turned Metea into a water park during fourth period May 11.

By Kiera Donovan