Filling a hallway with 1,000 cups of water. A classroom packed floor to ceiling with balloons. A teacher’s car covered in sticky notes. These are classics, but if they’re what comes to mind when discussing the perfect senior prank, then we aren’t thinking big enough.
The idea of a senior prank is an important high school tradition, synonymous with seniors maturing and preparing to leave after their four years are over. Each student only gets one senior year, and therefore one chance to play the perfect prank on the school. As seniors plan, they need to find the components of the “perfect senior prank.” I believe the first is planning ahead.
Great things don’t happen overnight. There’s a reason I’m writing this in October; the class of 2024 needs to prepare. If we’re caught by surprise as the year ends, then we’ll be forced to scramble together a mediocre prank. It’s clear why this would happen, as seniors’ first semester is almost entirely consumed by college applications and keeping grades high. However, we need to set aside time to plan the prank now, as it will pay off down the line, and it can be a welcome break from the work. Once we’ve begun planning far enough in advance, we need to find strength in numbers.
As a general rule, the more seniors in on the prank, the greater it can be. When the perpetrators aren’t just a small group of seniors but nearly the entire grade, the prank quickly goes from wrapping one teacher’s desk in bubble wrap to wrapping all of them. It doesn’t matter if it’s via a group chat, an email chain, or an in-person meeting; recruiting as many seniors as possible exponentially improves the scale of a prank. The added benefit of this is that everyone gets to participate and share in the memory, making it one of the last shared experiences a senior class can all have together. Some would argue that letting more people in on the idea raises the threat of it being leaked to the rest of the school before it can be executed, but this is a necessary risk outweighed by the benefits of more pranksters.
Another key component of the perfect senior prank is while it’s incredible, it’s harmless. As soon as financial damages, damaged property, or a hurt individual are introduced into the equation, the prank can have dire consequences. Towards the end of the year, the news is often filled with stories of pranks ending in arrests, formal apologies, and even groups of students prevented from graduating. For example, the class of 2023’s senior prank was followed by disciplinary action by PHS administration. After its execution, the entire class was gathered in an assembly, and nearly had their senior sunrise cancelled. Obviously, a prank that goes this far isn’t at all worth it, so seniors need to consider every possible outcome of their chosen prank to ensure it doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
The fourth thing every senior prank needs is originality. A prank should be creative to the point that its intended recipients must begrudgingly applaud the idea, even after it happens. The more creative it gets, the better. The class dressed as their teachers, trees planted in backpacks, chairs enveloped in saran wrap – this is barely breaking the surface of what the minds of the senior class can dream up. As long as it’s achievable, safe, and can be kept a secret until it’s executed, then the sky is the limit.
Once the class has come to a consensus, a date should be set, each student should be briefed on the plan, and a harmless yet unforgettable prank should be carried out for the entire school to enjoy. Ultimately, the goal is that years down the line, future classes will recount the story of the legendary senior prank they once witnessed, and the seniors that carried it out will share that memory for the rest of their lives. To the class of 2024: be original. Gather the grade together early to brainstorm, and find the prank that will make us a PHS legacy. Forget sticky notes and cups of water – think bigger.
