Senior pranks have long been a tradition at many high schools. From pranks ranging from truly devious to mostly harmless, senior pranks are something that many look forward to. However, senior pranks have not been done in a very long time at Robinson, not since the baby oil incident more than two decades ago. Why is that so, and should Robinson have senior pranks?
Twelfth grade Subschool Principal Daniel Clements believed that Robinson doesn’t have, and should not have senior pranks, as he said “they [pranks] tend to disrupt the learning environment.” He cites the baby oil incident as being a factor, as he said “So I went here when senior pranks used to still be a thing, and the one that really got us into a lot of hot water was when they poured baby oil down the main hallway and a pregnant lady slipped and hurt herself.” Clements also adds, “It [senior pranks] hasn’t been a thing in so long; No, I don’t really think they’re missing out on, due to not even having [senior pranks] as an available option. I’m not a big fan of pranks because ultimately it’s just more work for people like me, frankly.”
Senior Momo Altalib, however, said, “I feel like we should do them [senior pranks]. It’s a great opportunity; trying to pull off one last joke at the teachers, you do it to the teachers, you do it to your friends. To be very honest with you, I have a couple brewing but at the same time, it probably won’t end up well.” However, he also said, “There should be [senior pranks]- I feel overall if it’s light hearted, but not too serious where they’re like bringing a whole dead shark into the building- that’s terrible- but if it’s light hearted, like ‘ohh everyone’s wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt’ and all that, just to tip everyone off, I think that’d be funny. It’s light hearted, everyone’s going to be nicknamed the same. It’d be pretty funny for the teachers.”
According to Local12, seniors in 2022 did actually bring a dead shark to their school in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for their senior prank.
Senior Brandon Baker said “I think they [senior pranks] can be fun if done safely and not dangerously.” He also added, “Unless you’re not hurting anybody and you’re not getting people in danger- do pranks on people you know.” An anonymous senior said, “I think they’re really funny and they’re a great way for seniors to bond.” They also said “I think there should be senior pranks as long as they’re not something that damages property or like hurts someone’s feelings, but they’re a lot of fun.”
Some seniors feel that they aren’t allowed to do senior pranks for many reasons. Atalib believed that the lack of coordination and communication skills among senior classes, as well as their sizes, contribute to the lack of or ineffectiveness of senior pranks. Baker said, “I think there are no senior pranks because people don’t trust seniors, pretty rightfully so, to be safe and not harmful when it comes to pranks.” An anonymous senior also said, “Probably because the admin are not okay with them doing things that might be dangerous.”
If seniors were to do a senior prank, what would they do? Atlaib said that he would want everyone to dress up as characters from “Phineas and Ferb” or as minions. Another prank idea he had was to bring miniature shopping carts to the school and scatter them around campus as revenge for his confiscated shopping cart. Baker said that he would put a whoopee cushion on his friend’s chair and an anonymous senior said they would probably spell out “class of 2024” with flowers.
While senior pranks may no longer be an observable phenomenon at Robinson, students can still live vicariously through other schools’ social media posts. The future of senior pranks still remains a mystery- will future seniors defy the administration and conduct a prank, or will Robinson still remain prank free?