Senior pranks are a rite of passage; after enduring four years of hard work, it’s time for the seniors to have fun and be creative. However, there is a fine line between having a last hoorah and criminal activity.

On social media, senior pranks go viral. At one school, everyone brought their dog, while at another the whole hallway was filled with cups of water. Some go old fashioned and wrap the school in toilet paper. Often times, things are taken too far. On May 26, 2015, Gables students arrived at school to find that the Senior Class of 2015 had been there first and left it no secret. Class of 2015 markings were graffitied onto every surface in sight: the gym, the cafeteria and miscellaneous doors. Another section of the school had been wrapped in caution tape and trash cans were discovered on the roof with the trash inside of them littered around the school. Students climbing up the Ralph Moore Building’s main stairwell were greeted by crickets and a duck! The gate to the student parking lot was broken disrupting the flow of school traffic. Later, someone in a pink morph suit danced around the school and during first lunch, a mariachi band followed Principal Adolfo Costa around playing the classic mariachi tune, and more modern hits like Bailando by Enrique Iglesias.

While many aspects of this prank were harmless and provided a good laugh, some aspects should no longer be classified as simply pranks.

“I think that senior [pranks] are a cool tradition but the one this year seems kind of last minute, and not exactly lame, but just a little slapdash. Vandalism is something you should probably not be promoting in public schools,” junior Iona Hennessy said.

Vandalism is defined as, “any action involving deliberate destruction of, or damage to, public or private property.” In this case, that definitely occurred. Seniors had the intent to damage property, like gates or school walls. Such costly property destruction is unfair for school administration. On top of this, custodians are left with the job of cleaning it all up.

“Pranks involving animals are quite cruel and I don’t think it’s fair to bring a duck into a high school. And then there’s the graffiti, where those students who were responsible were just asking to get in trouble. The other pranks were cute, however. It was nice to see the administration received those well,” senior Maggie Rivers said.

Seniors should not risk graduation, or jail time, for such a silly reason. While senior pranks do belong on the list of rituals including Prom, Grad Bash and Senior Picnic, there are things that need to be off-limits when seniors are planning their practical jokes.